The Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) commitments on the movement of natural persons guarantee entry and temporary stay for Australian and Japanese skilled service providers, investors and business visitors in each other´s country. These commitments build upon those made by both countries in the World Trade Organization.

Under JAEPA, Japan provides entry and temporary stay commitments for:

• Australian intra-corporate transferees for up to three years (this includes Australian personnel who are executives, managers and specialists)
• Australian investors for up to three years
• Australian professional and contractual service providers, in certain sectors, for up to three years
• Australian business visitors for up to 90 days.

Japan also permits equivalent entry and stay for dependants and spouses of Australians granted entry under the categories above (excluding business visitors).

Under JAEPA, Australia provides entry and temporary stay commitments for:

• Japanese intra-corporate transferees for up to two years for specialists and up to four years for an executive or a senior manager
• Japanese investors for up to two years
• Japanese contractual service providers for up to one year
• Japanese business visitors for up to 90 days.

Australia also provides access for dependants and spouses of Japanese that have been granted entry and temporary stay for a period of longer than 12 months.

The Annex to the Chapter on the Movement of Natural Persons sets out the details and definitions of the various entry and temporary stay categories referred to above.

Other key benefits:

• Japan's commitments on temporary entry apply equally to Australian citizens and permanent residents.
• Japan and Australia process immigration formalities for entry and temporary stay expeditiously and provide timely decisions on visa applications.
• Japan and Australia also make information on respective immigration requirements for temporary entry available and will respond appropriately to enquiries from persons interested in entry and temporary stay under JAEPA.

Fact sheet last update: August 2018