From Tokyo creative agency to Australian permanent resident: the long pathway

I left my job at a creative agency in Shibuya, Tokyo, at 26 to travel Australia on a Working Holiday visa. I had been working 14-hour days for three years and was physically and mentally spent. The plan was simple: take a year off, surf, recharge, and go back to Japan. Things did not go according to plan.

I arrived in Sydney in April and immediately felt the difference. The pace of life, the outdoor culture, the space. Tokyo is an incredible city, but it is dense and intense. In Sydney, I could walk to the beach in 20 minutes. I spent my first month in Bondi, staying at a hostel and doing freelance design work remotely for Japanese clients.

Through a freelance contact, I was introduced to a design studio in Surry Hills. They offered me part-time work, which turned into a full-time position within two months. I was designing brand identities, packaging, and digital campaigns for Australian clients. The creative scene in Sydney was different from Tokyo. Less polished, more experimental. I loved it.

When my working holiday visa was approaching its end, I faced a decision: go home or find a way to stay. My employer was too small to sponsor a 482 visa. Instead, I enrolled in a Graduate Diploma of Digital Media at UTS, which gave me a Subclass 500 student visa and allowed me to work part-time while studying.

Student life at 27 was different from my undergraduate years in Tokyo. I was more focused, more deliberate about what I wanted. The course introduced me to motion graphics and UX design, skills that expanded my portfolio significantly. I continued freelancing alongside my studies, building a client base that spanned both Australian and Japanese markets.

After graduating, I applied for the Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa, which gave me 18 months to work full-time. I rejoined the Surry Hills studio in a senior role and started building my case for permanent residency.

The 189 visa required a skills assessment for graphic designer through VETASSESS. This was the most stressful part of the process. VETASSESS requires your qualifications and experience to be closely aligned with the ANZSCO occupation description. My Japanese degree in visual communication was assessed positively, and my combined Australian and Japanese work experience met the requirements.

My PTE score, combined with my Australian qualifications, age, and experience, gave me 75 points. The invitation took five months. Processing took another seven months. Total time from arriving on the working holiday to receiving permanent residency: five years.

The Japanese community in Sydney is smaller than in cities like Vancouver or Los Angeles, but it exists. I found a Japanese-speaking social group, discovered good ramen shops in Chatswood and the CBD, and stayed connected to Japanese culture through film screenings and cultural events. But most of my daily life is conducted in English, which was a conscious choice.

The cultural adjustment was deeper than I expected. In Japan, there is an implicit understanding of social rules that does not exist in Australia. Australians are casual in ways that initially felt rude. People call their boss by their first name. Meetings start with small talk about the weekend. Work drinks are not obligatory. Over time, I came to value this directness and informality.

Financially, the creative industry in Australia pays better than Japan, but the cost of living in Sydney is high. I shared flats for most of my time here, first in Surry Hills, then in Marrickville. I recently moved to a small apartment in Redfern that I can afford on my own.

My advice for anyone considering this path: it is long, uncertain, and requires resilience. There were moments when I considered giving up and going back to Tokyo. What kept me going was the quality of life and the creative freedom I found in Australia. If you are willing to invest the time, the student-to-PR pathway is viable, but plan for five years, not two.