Japan has updated several rules that affect HSP applicants, their supporting documents and the cost of applying. This guide was checked against official sources on September 25, 2026. The October fee increase is scheduled; the Business Manager reform is already in effect; further HSP salary and permanent-residence proposals remain separate from the published rules used by our calculator.

The published points framework still uses 70 points for HSP and 80 points for the potential one-year permanent-residence route. Meeting a points threshold does not by itself establish visa or PR eligibility.

What changes, and when?

Date	Status as of September 25, 2026	Main impact
October 16, 2025	In effect	Tighter Business Manager conditions also affect HSP management based on those activities.
February 24, 2026	Published PR guideline revision	Changes the treatment of three-year residence permits from April 2027, with a limited transition.
March 31, 2026	In effect	Revised list of innovation-support programs qualifying for HSP bonuses.
April 15, 2026	In effect	Additional documents for certain employer categories and language-focused work.
October 1, 2026	Officially scheduled	Higher residence-permit fees, determined by application receipt date, procedure, channel and granted duration.
Further HSP salary / August PR proposals	Under review / draft	No new proposed thresholds are applied by this calculator.

The October 2025 and February 2026 reforms predate the most recent six months, but remain important when planning an application today.

October 1, 2026: residence-permit fees increase

The Immigration Services Agency's official fee leaflet announces new fees for applications received on or after October 1, 2026. Applications received by September 30, 2026 keep the previous fee even if permission is granted in October or later.

Change of status or extension of stay

Before the change, the fee is ¥6,000 for a counter application or ¥5,500 for an online application. From October 1, it depends on the period actually granted:

Granted period	Counter application	Online application, before processing fee
3 months or less	¥10,000	¥10,000
Over 3 months, up to 6 months	¥18,000	¥15,000
Over 6 months, under 1 year	¥25,000	¥21,000
1 year	¥33,000	¥27,000
Over 1 year, under 3 years	¥48,000	¥42,000
3 years or more, under 5 years	¥64,000	¥56,000
5 years or more	¥75,000	¥65,000

The online payment guidance adds a ¥550 processing fee. For a five-year grant, that makes the online total ¥65,550. HSP(i) normally receives a five-year period, making that row particularly relevant.

Permanent residence and payment methods

The counter PR permission fee rises from ¥10,000 to ¥200,000 for applications received from October 1. These are residence-procedure fees; they are not a price list for every embassy visa or Certificate of Eligibility procedure.

For online applications received from October 1, payment is through a convenience store or bank, with payment instructions sent after examination. Revenue stamps are no longer the online payment method. Counter applications continue using revenue stamps. Check the actual notification and any applicable reduction or exemption before paying.

Example: a five-year HSP change-of-status application received at the counter on September 30 retains the ¥6,000 fee even if approved in November. The same procedure received on October 1 costs ¥75,000 if five years are granted.

Impact: budget for the correct procedure and submission channel. A higher fee does not alter your points. A PR residence-period exception does not exempt you from the PR fee. See the official revision notice.

October 16, 2025: Business Manager requirements became stricter

The official before/after summary and detailed guidance cover the reform. It also affects HSP(i)(c) when the underlying activity is Business Manager. Other underlying activities need their own applicable requirements.

Condition	Previous position	Revised requirement
Business scale	¥5 million capital/investment, or the qualifying two-employee route	¥30 million qualifying capital/investment and at least one qualifying full-time employee
Japanese ability	No equivalent general requirement	Applicant or a full-time employee has the required B2-equivalent Japanese ability
Entrepreneur's background	No equivalent general entrepreneur requirement	Relevant master's, doctorate or professional degree or at least 3 years of management/administration experience
Business plan at status determination	No equivalent general expert-confirmation requirement	Review by an eligible expert where required, subject to the official employer/category exceptions

Capital and salary are different

For corporations, the capital requirement uses the specified paid-in capital/contributions. Corporate revenue, an applicant's salary, capital reserves or arbitrary combinations of running costs do not replace this amount. For sole proprietors, the guidance instead defines qualifying investment in the business, including specified premises, staffing and equipment costs.

The calculator asks for business capital/investment separately from annual personal income. The separate ¥100 million investment bonus is another rule; it does not replace the ¥30 million admission requirement.

Employees, language and evidence

The employee meeting the headcount rule must be Japanese, a special permanent resident, or a holder of an Appendix II status, such as permanent resident or the relevant spouse/long-term-resident status. An employee holding only an ordinary work status does not meet that headcount rule.

For language ability, accepted evidence includes JLPT N2 or higher, BJT 400 or higher, and specified residence/education alternatives. An applicant can satisfy this through an eligible full-time employee. The pool of employees who can supply language ability is broader than the headcount pool. An employee's Japanese ability does not give the applicant Japanese-language bonus points.

The plan reviewer must have an accepted Japanese professional qualification, such as SME management consultant, certified public accountant or tax accountant. Confirm exemptions for the applicable organization category. Suitable premises, actual management activity, business permits and tax/social-insurance obligations also matter.

Example: a manager with 80 points but only ¥5 million qualifying corporate capital has not met the current capital condition for a new Business Manager-based HSP application. The calculator keeps the points visible and identifies the unmet condition.

Existing residents: renewal is not the same as PR

Applications received before implementation and still under examination use the previous criteria. For qualifying existing residents' renewals during the transition toward October 16, 2028, failing a new condition alone does not automatically mean refusal. ISA considers business performance and prospects of compliance.

After that transition, the revised criteria generally apply. The guidance still describes individual consideration where the business is sound, taxes are paid properly and the new criteria can be met by the next renewal. The calculator therefore marks these cases for individual review rather than promising renewal or automatically rejecting them.

PR from the relevant management activities, and HSP(i)(c) to HSP(ii), require the revised criteria after implementation. The renewal treatment is not a PR exemption. Startup-related transitional cases have additional details in the official reform guidance.

February 24, 2026 PR revision: check the granted period of stay

The published PR guidelines require the longest period of stay for the applicant's current status. Their temporary treatment accepts a three-year permit as the longest period through March 31, 2027.

From April 1, 2027, that general concession ends. The actual longest period becomes relevant—commonly five years for work statuses. This concerns the length of the permit granted, not simply the number of years already lived in Japan.

There is a limited transition: someone holding a three-year permit on March 31, 2027 can retain the deemed-longest treatment for the first decision made within that existing permit's validity. An early filing alone is not an unlimited guarantee of that treatment.

Impact for HSP users: HSP(i) normally grants five years, but someone pursuing points-based PR on another work status may still hold a three-year permit. Check the residence card and its expiry, rather than assuming 80 points resolves the permit-duration condition.

The current guidelines still describe the 70+ points / three-year and 80+ points / one-year residence exceptions, including routes for applicants without an HSP residence status. Applicants must establish the relevant continuous residence and qualifying points, as well as good conduct, livelihood where applicable, timely taxes/pension/health insurance and other applicable conditions. The calculator evaluates present inputs; it does not certify historical eligibility or predict approval.

March and April 2026: bonuses and supporting documents

The March 31 amendment adds innovation-support programs and removes ended programs from the official special-bonus notification. The bonus remains 10 points, with 10 additional points for qualifying SMEs. Use the employer's actual eligible program and supporting evidence. A recognized advanced project in a growth field is a separate bonus.

From April 15, the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services page specifies additional representative declarations for employer categories 3/4 and B2 language evidence for specified language-focused interpersonal work, such as interpreting or hotel front desk. Same-work renewals generally do not require the language evidence, though ISA can request it. The Business Manager page also contains a conditional representative-declaration requirement.

HSP applicants submit documents for their underlying activities. These changes do not impose N2 on every technical engineer. The calculator's application details tailor the supporting-document prompts; unknown employer categories still need verification.

What changed in this calculator?

Alongside the policy update, we corrected mismatches with the official points table:

The ¥3 million personal-income floor applies to technical and management, not academic research. Unanswered income no longer passes as confirmed income.
N2 cannot stack with the Japanese-degree bonus; N1 plus Japanese degree can still total 25.
Technical research earns 15 points total for one or more eligible achievements. Academic research earns 20 for one or 25 for multiple achievements.
The designated-university bonus is capped at 10. Foreign universities using the rankings route need top 300 in at least two of the three specified latest rankings.
“Other education” no longer receives an unsupported automatic 5 points. Notified training and employer bonuses follow their eligibility and stacking conditions.
Management checks are separate from points. PR results describe a possible route rather than declaring that an applicant is eligible to apply now.

Old saved assessments must be recalculated under the revised rules. These scoring corrections should not be interpreted as newly enacted September 2026 legislation.

Proposals we have not applied

The July 24 government progress report discusses review of HSP income criteria and bonuses without publishing a replacement table. The August PR proposal covers income, pension/assets, B1-equivalent Japanese ability and other matters; final adoption was not verified in the sources checked on September 25.

These proposals are separate from the officially scheduled October fee increase. We have not turned proposed salary or language requirements into active scoring rules. Recheck the linked official pages before filing.

Recalculate your HSP points or review the application process and PR route guide.

Japan HSP Policy Update 2026: October Fees, Business Management and PR