A certificate of eligibility and a renewal cost the same. So does a difficult case and a simple one. What you pay for is records, storage and how long they are kept — published in advance, the same for everybody, and never negotiated.
Enough for one procedure, start to finish, if you file within six months.
Twelve months covers the longest of the five routes with room to spare — the measured average is about 111 days from filing, and the paperwork before it takes longer than most couples expect.
Three records — a certificate of eligibility now, a renewal later, a child's case beside them.
Six records, for a household filing more than one procedure over a few years.
A one-off export is available on every tier instead of a subscription: ¥1,500 · ¥3,800 · ¥7,800 · ¥12,800. Consumption tax is added at checkout for accounts billed in Japan and is shown separately.
A city office does not charge you to fill in a form. It charges when it issues the copy, and it charges the same whatever the document says. This works the same way, and for the same reason: the fee is for producing and holding records, never for the procedure and never for how hard your case is.
Nothing reads your account or your procedure before deciding a figure, and there is no rate we negotiate. A price that moved with difficulty would be a price for legal difficulty, which is not what this sells.
Five rungs, each switched on or off by itself. None of them is required, and a listing costs nothing.
If what we charged depended on whether you won the client, our revenue would rise with your conversions — and a listing charge that moves with conversions is consideration for a referral. It is severed deliberately. Reviewing a case and declining it costs exactly what taking it on costs.
Published averages, so you can weigh it honestly. These are not our rates and we receive none of it — the arrangement is between you and them.
| Procedure | Average fee | Approx. USD |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of eligibility, new application | ¥120,000 | ≈ $755 |
| Change of residence status | ¥103,000 | ≈ $648 |
| Renewal of period of stay | ¥56,000 | ≈ $352 |
These are averages published by the Japan Federation of Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialists' Associations in its FY2025 fee statistics survey, which it conducts once every five years. They are not quotations. They do not represent the fees of any individual licensed professional, and nobody registered here is bound by them or has agreed to them. What any one of them charges is theirs to set and yours to agree with them. US dollar figures are converted at 159 yen to the dollar, the rate on 2026-09-02 (Trading Economics, USD/JPY 158.93), and move with the market.
Licensed professionals listed here are registered users of this platform. They are independent practitioners who hold their own qualifications and offer their own services on their own terms.
They are not employed by, contracted to, partnered with or affiliated with TakumiPen. Nothing on this platform is a referral, a recommendation, an endorsement or an introduction. TakumiPen does not select a professional for you, does not vouch for any of them, and takes no part in what you agree with them.
Any engagement is entirely voluntary and is formed directly between you and the professional. Its scope, its terms, its fee, its performance and its result are matters between the two of you. TakumiPen is not a party to that arrangement, receives no share of any fee, and accepts no responsibility for it. Nothing here is a promise, a guarantee, or a committed or dedicated offering of any professional's services.
You are free to approach any professional listed here, several of them, or none at all. You are equally free to instruct someone found elsewhere, or to prepare and file entirely by yourself.
The figures above are published averages for the profession as a whole. They are a reference point by which to form a general expectation, not a quotation. No professional listed here is bound by them or has agreed to them, and each sets their own fees and defines their own services.
Both are set out in full in the Terms of Service: what “User Content” means and why the fee never varies with it, and the separation between this platform and the licensed professionals listed here — including the two fee structures, which never meet. Terms of Service.
Many applicants complete a draft, check it against their own documents and proceed without further assistance. Others prefer a qualified review before filing. Neither course is unusual, and neither indicates a difficulty with the case.
Where you are uncertain, the practical step is to make enquiries. Contacting two or three of the professionals listed here allows you to compare how each would approach your circumstances, what they would charge, and what they would require from you. Initial enquiries are routine and place you under no obligation.
You may conclude that instructing someone for the whole matter is appropriate, or that a single question answered is sufficient and you can continue independently. Either conclusion leaves you better informed than before.
