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Immigrate to Australia from Japan

Immigrate to Australia from Japan

Japanese visa holders can immigrate to Australia from Japan following simpler immigration rules compared to the ones applicable for most foreign nationals. Of course, this rule applies only in certain situations, such as arriving in Australia on a short-term basis.

Immigration in Australia can be done taking into consideration 2 main categories: 1) short-term stays, 2) long-term stays. For the 1st category, Japanese nationals are exempt from visa formalities, although some formalities do apply.

You can find out the main immigration laws applied to Japanese passport holders from our Australia migration lawyer.

Japanese nationals who want to relocate for the purpose obtaining citizenship in Australia can do so by accessing various visas that grant them the right to permanent residency.

This pathway should be chosen by those who have no connection to Australia, therefore the only option remaining being citizenship by conferral, which first implies becoming a permanent resident.

Residence in Australia on a permanent basis can be achieved through many ways. Foreigners can first arrive here on temporary visas and then apply for permanent visas if they qualify.

Another option is to directly apply for a visa that is issued on a permanent basis – there are few visas that provide this opportunity to qualifying applicants, many of which are issued for work purposes.


What are the immigration formalities for short-term stays in Australia?


In the case in which a person will immigrate to Australia from Japan on a short-term basis (any visit with a duration of maximum 90 days), the law states that there aren’t any obligations to obtain a visa.

However, Japanese passport holders have to obtain the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), a digital document that holds the place of a traditional visa and which can be obtained following very simple rules.

The ETA is available only for certain nationalities, Japanese included. Some of the main characteristics of this visa can be discovered in the list below:

  • the Electronic Travel Authority is a Subclass 601 visa;
  • the ETA is currently available for the nationals of 34 countries;
  • the document is issued for a period of 12 months;
  • however, one can stay in a single visit (counting from the arrival day) only 90 days;
  • the ETA can be obtained through the ETA App, and in some cases, a fee of AUD 20 can be charged.


For other types of visas, the normal process for immigration to Australia should be started with the Australian Embassy operating in Tokyo.

How can Japanese nationals relocate to Australia for employment?


There are many visas options which grant the right to move to Australia for a certain period of time or for permanent relocation.

The decision on the most suitable visa should be taken based on the desires of the foreigner relocating to Australia, but also based on the possibility of qualifying for a certain visa type. For instance, in the case of those who want to migrate to Australia for highly skilled employment, there are 4 main options.

They are selected based on the duration of stay (by obtaining these visas, one can relocate to Australia for 4 of 5 years):

  • Subclass 482 – Temporary Skilled Shortage Visa (processing fee of minimum AUD 1,290);
  • Subclass 489 – Skilled Regional (Provisional) Visa (processing fee of AUD 4,240);
  • Subclass 491 – Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa (fee of minimum AUD 4,115);
  • Subclass 494 – Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (fee of AUD 4,115).

Depending on the visa the foreigner wants (or is eligible for), one can have various benefits – such as relocating with close family members, or the right to apply for permanent residency.

For instance, Subclass 494 grants the right to migrate to Australia for a period of 5 years. However, in some cases foreigners can become eligible for permanent residency after 3 years since they started their work activity.

Japanese nationals who want to arrive here for other purposes, such as study, can apply for the Student Visa – Subclass 500. Through this, one is entitled to live here for a period of 5 years or for how long the enrollment will last.

For the processing of this visa type, applicants are required to pay AUD 650 (exemptions can apply). This program is mainly aimed at high-school students or to other secondary enrollment.

If you want to find out more on how to immigrate to Australia from Japan, as well as other types of immigration pathways available for Japanese nationals, please contact our Australia migration lawyer.