Hundreds of thousands of students and workers renew their status of residence in Japan every year. The forms exist only in Japanese, the instructions are dense, and many people pay ¥40,000–¥60,000 for someone else to fill them in. VisaRenew lets you do it yourself, in plain English, in about ten minutes — for free.
How it works
- We ask plain questions in English (or Japanese), with explanations and examples.
- Your answers are written onto the official Ministry of Justice PDF — the same file you can download from the Immigration Services Agency.
- You also get a personal checklist, your filing deadlines, the right office and the current fees.
Your data stays with you
You sign in with Google so the service stays safe from abuse, but there is no database of applicants: your answers are kept in your browser, the PDF is generated on your device, and the residence-card scan runs on your device. Details are in the privacy policy.
Legal position
Under Japan's Administrative Scriveners Act (行政書士法), only licensed 行政書士 (and lawyers) may prepare documents for submission to government offices on behalf of others for compensation. The amendment in force since 1 January 2026 makes clear this applies whatever the payment is called.
VisaRenew is a self-service tool: the applicant enters their own information and prepares and submits their own application, much like tax-return software. We never prepare, review or submit documents for anyone, and our planned tools for schools and companies only track deadlines and checklists — each person completes their own form. For complex cases we recommend a licensed 行政書士.
Sources and accuracy
Forms, fees and document lists come from the Immigration Services Agency (出入国在留管理庁). Each form page shows the template version we use. Government requirements change — always check the official page before you submit.
Contact
Found a mistake or a form that changed? Please open an issue on GitHub. Please do not send personal documents.