Immigration Services Agency (ISA): Who Decides What
The 出入国在留管理庁 (shutsunyūkoku zairyū kanri chō, "Immigration Services Agency," ISA) is the body that grants, renews, changes, or refuses your status of residence.1 Every residence filing you will ever make goes to ISA, so knowing its structure and filing paths pays off before the first application.
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Immigration Services Agency site. This article is general information, not legal or immigration advice; for your specific case, consult a licensed gyoseishoshi before filing, or an immigration lawyer for refusals and appeals.
Last verified: 2026-09.
Overview
ISA decides grants, renewals, changes, refusals, revocations, and removal, while regional bureaus do the examining and embassies handle only the pre-entry visa side.12 ISA is an external bureau (外局) of the Ministry of Justice, and residents still call its offices by the old short name 入管 (nyūkan, "immigration office").1
National rules are uniform, but counter reality varies: congestion and appointment-versus-walk-in handling differ between Tokyo or Osaka and smaller offices, so the bureau-specific caveats below matter as much as the national rules.
What ISA decides
Regional bureaus examine and decide status grants through the landing and Certificate of Eligibility chain, period extensions, status changes, activity permissions, and re-entry permissions.123 ISA also administers revocation, detention and removal, and refugee recognition.1
A visa from a diplomatic mission is entry-side only; every post-arrival permission belongs to ISA alone.2 That split is why renewal and change questions go to the bureau covering your address, never to an embassy.
From bureau to agency: the 2019 upgrade
On April 1, 2019, the Ministry of Justice Immigration Bureau became the Immigration Services Agency, an external bureau of the Ministry of Justice.1 The upgrade added comprehensive coordination of the residence environment for foreign nationals alongside the traditional control duties.1
The colloquial "nyūkan" predates the upgrade and still refers to ISA offices in everyday speech. Older guides saying "immigration bureau" and newer ones saying "agency" describe the same institution across the rename.
The regional bureau network
Eight regional bureaus form the network: Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima, Takamatsu, and Fukuoka, plus the Naha branch, airport branches at Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, and Kobe, and detention centers.4 Each bureau runs branch and sub-branch offices across its prefectures.
Residence procedures are filed at the bureau with jurisdiction over your registered address, not your employer's or school's.23 Airport branches handle entry and departure examination, not residence filings.4
How to file: in person, online, or by representative
The standard path is in-person filing at the competent bureau counter, weekday mornings 9:00 to 12:00 and afternoons 13:00 to 16:00.23 Some procedures set specific days or hours, so check with the bureau or the information center before traveling.2
Online filing through the ISA online system exists for major procedures, but some filings go online only when combined with a change, extension, or acquisition application.23 Filing by representative is possible: the applicant, a statutory agent, an approved application agent such as employer or school staff, or a registered lawyer or gyoseishoshi acting on request; minors and those unable to appear may use an approved relative or cohabitant.2
Money changed recently: from October 1, 2026, online filings pay fees by convenience-store or bank transfer instead of revenue stamps, and change and extension fees scale with the granted period (as of 2026-09; confirm current figures with the Immigration Services Agency).5 Hardship reduction or exemption exists under a published guideline.5
What to expect after filing
Each procedure publishes a standard processing period: same-day for re-entry permission, 2 weeks to 2 months for activity permission, with other procedures on their own pages.23 These are targets, not guarantees, and longer files draw follow-up document requests.
Direct form and document questions to the 外国人在留総合インフォメーションセンター (gaikokujin zairyū sōgō infomēshon sentā, "Foreign Resident Information Center") at 0570-013904, not to the examination counter.23 Results arrive as directed by the bureau: a postcard notice for counter filings, a completion mail for online filings.5
Good to know
File at the bureau for your address, not your office
Jurisdiction follows the registered residence, and branch offices divide prefectures further, so confirm the exact counter before the first visit.23 The Gyoseishoshi for Visa and Immigration describes representatives who file correctly the first time.
Counters close on weekends and year-end holidays
Published hours are weekday-only, and the year-end closure runs December 29 through January 3.26 Expiry-adjacent filings must allow for closure days, since no counter accepts a deadline-day filing on a closed day.
Peak seasons stretch every estimate
Published standard periods assume a complete file, while student-intake and fiscal-year turnover swell queues, especially at Tokyo and Osaka.23 Filing early in the window is the only reliable hedge against the seasonal queue.
See also
- The Gyoseishoshi for Visa and Immigration
- Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
- Extension of Period of Stay
- Change of Status of Residence
- Foreign-Resident Services Counters