Moving to Japan from Australia

More than JPY 11,000,000 a year: The Immigration Services Agency says annual income that meets a minimum (to be safe, more than JPY 11 million a year) is needed at the time of application. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists a tax payment certificate, an income certificate, an employment contract or a contract with a business partner that states the period and the amount as proof. The agency's Q&A says the most recent annual income counts, an expected raise or a new job paid at that level can count, a sole proprietor is judged on profit after necessary expenses rather than the contract amount, and several stable incomes can be added together. At the European Central Bank's reference rates of 15 October 2026 (JPY 177.06 and A$1.6218 to the euro), the minimum is about A$91,600. To be safe, have more than JPY 11,000,000 a year, about A$100,800.

Seven countries (Austria, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) are marked as allowed up to six months, with an extension to apply for after 90 days; Australia is not marked, so there is no six-month visa-free stay on an Australian passport. An extension of a visit is in principle granted only for truly unavoidable humanitarian reasons, such as treatment for an illness, and the Embassy and Smartraveller say entry status cannot in principle be changed to another visa once you are in Japan. The Embassy's FAQ says tourists may not undertake any form of work, paid or unpaid, and the pages read do not say whether remote work for an employer abroad counts, so that is unknown. The six-month digital nomad status exists for people who work remotely from Japan. Smartraveller warns that penalties may apply to people who work in Japan on a tourist visa. The Embassy says you can pre-register your arrival on Visit Japan Web.

It needs annual income that meets a minimum (to be safe, more than JPY 11,000,000 a year) at the time of application, private medical travel insurance with treatment cover of JPY 10 million or more, and a passport from a country in the agency's chart, which includes Australia. You may not work for a Japanese organisation or person under an employment or contractor agreement. The agency's outline says your stay under the status must not exceed six months within a year, and its Q&A says you can re-enter with the status once six months have passed after leaving. There is no residence card. A spouse or child can come on a separate six-month status. Australians who live in Australia can also apply for a working holiday visa. The Embassy of Japan in Australia says applicants must be Australian citizens living in Australia, aged 18 to 30 (until the day they turn 31), must never have held a Japanese working holiday visa, and need funds that meet a minimum, about A$2,500 to A$3,500 depending on whether you apply alone or as a couple (to be safe, hold more than A$3,600). There is no charge, the first stay is six months, and an extension is at the discretion of Japanese immigration. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists 18 to 25 for Australia unless the two governments agree to 30, while the Embassy's page states 18 to 30. The Embassy says the programme is mainly for a holiday and people who mainly intend to work cannot apply, and no page says whether remote work for an employer abroad fits, so that is unknown. Longer routes without a Japanese job offer need more: Business Manager (periods of up to five years) asks for capital or invested funds that meet a minimum (to be safe, more than JPY 31 million), a full-time employee, Japanese at B2 level held by you or the employee, three years of management experience or a master's degree, and a business plan checked by a qualified expert; the long stay for tourism and recreation (six months, up to one year) asks for savings above a minimum (to be safe, hold more than JPY 31 million) and does not cover work; J-Find (up to two years) is for graduates of a university in the top 100 of two world rankings within five years of the degree, with savings that meet a minimum (to be safe, hold more than JPY 210,000); and the startup visa (up to two years) needs a startup plan checked by a certified local authority. Highly Skilled Professional points are scored on a salary from an organisation in Japan or on running a business there.

Documents in a foreign language need a Japanese translation when filed with the agency, and certificates issued in Japan must be under three months old. A spouse or child adds proof of the relationship and a copy of your passport. The agency's Q&A says that if you are outside Japan nobody in Japan can file the certificate of eligibility for you, so you apply for the visa directly at the embassy or consulate. The Embassy of Japan in Canberra takes visa applications only from residents of Canberra and its immediate surrounds. Everyone else applies to the consulate-general for their area: Sydney for New South Wales and the Northern Territory, Perth for Western Australia, Brisbane for Queensland, Cairns for the Cairns area, and Melbourne for Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. Processing time for the digital nomad visa itself is not stated on the pages read, so it is unknown.

Anyone else is a non-resident, taxed only on income from sources in Japan, and the guide says pay for personal services performed in Japan is Japan-source income even if it is paid abroad. The agency's digital nomad Q&A says pay for work done in Japan can be exempt under the tax convention when the conditions are met, and that it is not exempt if you go over the days or a Japanese employer pays you. The Australia-Japan convention puts it this way for an employee: tax only in Australia if you are in Japan no more than 183 days in any 12-month period commencing or ending in the tax year, your employer is not a Japanese resident, and a Japanese permanent establishment does not bear the pay. The Australian Taxation Office says that if you go overseas temporarily and do not set up a permanent home in another country you are generally still an Australian resident, and you declare income from Australia and overseas. A stay of six months can last 181 to 184 days, and earlier visits in the same 12 months count, so plan your dates with an adviser.

Non-residents are taxed only on Japan-source income. In Australia, the tax law treats someone whose domicile is in Australia as resident unless the Commissioner is satisfied their permanent place of abode is outside Australia, and someone who has been in Australia for more than half the year as resident unless their usual place of abode is outside Australia and they do not intend to live here; the ATO lists a resides test, a domicile test, a 183-day test and a Commonwealth superannuation test. Your plan of up to six months with no residence card points to non-resident status in Japan and continuing residence in Australia, but a stay that turns into a longer one can change both.

The convention has no separate article for independent services, so a sole proprietor falls under Article 7: a business's profits are taxable only in its home state unless it has a permanent establishment in the other. Whether a rented flat or shared desk could be a permanent establishment was not checked. Article 4 decides residence if both countries claim you: first the country where you have a permanent home, then the one where your personal and economic relations are closer, then your nationality; a person taxed in a country only on income from sources there is not a resident for the convention. Under Article 23 an individual is a qualified person for the limitation on benefits. The National Tax Agency lists Australia among the treaties with such an article and says an Australian resident claiming a treaty exemption on a Japanese return must attach its convention application form, the attachment form for the limitation on benefits article and a certificate of residency, and that a non-resident with Japan-source pay for services not subject to withholding files a quasi-final return before leaving Japan. Whether a nomad who claims a full exemption has to file at all was not settled; ask.

If you stop being an Australian resident while overseas, assets other than taxable Australian property, such as many shares, are treated as sold at market value unless you choose to disregard this. If you have a HELP, VET Student Loan or Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan you must still repay it: submit an overseas travel notification within 7 days of leaving if you intend to be away 183 days or more in any 12 months, and report your worldwide income each year (the deadline is 31 October). If you cancel private hospital cover while away, you may owe the Medicare levy surcharge if your income is above the threshold.

Japan's notes say the Australian Superannuation Guarantee is covered for the elimination of dual coverage, a worker detached by an employer stays covered in the sending country for up to five years, and self-employed people are not covered by the dual coverage rules. Only the Australian Age Pension is totalized, and public health insurance is not listed among the systems the agreement covers. Whether a six-month remote worker needs a certificate of coverage, and whether your Australian employer must keep paying super while you work from Japan, was not found, so ask the ATO. As a citizen you cannot cash out super because you move: the ATO says citizens and permanent residents leaving Australia stay under the same super rules, and the departing Australia superannuation payment is for people who are not Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents. The digital nomad status carries no residence card, and the agency says holders are not eligible to join Japan's public medical insurance, which is why private cover of JPY 10 million is required. This describes the system, not your bill.

The Embassy's visa page lists fees from 1 July 2026 of A$156 for a single-entry visa and A$313 for multiple entry, up from A$31 and A$63. It does not say which applies to the digital nomad visa, so confirm the fee with your office before paying. Pre-register your arrival on Visit Japan Web.

Smartraveller says medical facilities are of a high standard, English-speaking staff can be hard to find outside Tokyo, care can be expensive for non-residents, you may need to pay up front or give a guarantee, and some facilities accept only cash. Japan has strict rules on medicines: Smartraveller names dexamphetamine, pseudoephedrine and cannabis products as banned and says narcotic medicines such as codeine need a certificate. The price of a policy that meets the rule was not found, so it is unknown.