Korea Digital Nomad Visa (F-1-D): 2026 Rules and Income

Korea launched its digital nomad visa as a pilot in January 2024 with a headline number that put most people off: an income of twice Korea’s per-capita GNI, about ₩85 million a year at launch and more than ₩100 million by 2026.

On 30 June 2026 the pilot ended and the visa became a permanent programme, with a lower bar for younger applicants and those willing to live outside the Seoul capital area, and a longer maximum stay. If you looked at this visa in 2024 or 2025 and gave up, the numbers are worth a second look.

This is Part 4 of our Living in Seoul 101 series. The official name is the workation visa, 워케이션 비자, with the status code F-1-D.

Who can get Korea’s digital nomad visa?

Remote workers employed by a company outside Korea, who have worked in the same field for at least one year, and their spouse and minor children. You must be 18 or older (accompanying children excepted).

“Remote” is the key word. The visa is designed for someone whose job and income stay abroad while they live in Korea: a software developer on a foreign company’s payroll, a designer employed by an overseas agency. It is not a route to a Korean job.

Those figures, from the Ministry of Justice’s July 2026 announcement, explain the redesign. Almost everyone on the pilot lived in the capital region, and the government now wants nomads to spend time, and money, in the rest of the country.

What is the income requirement in 2026?

Between 1x and 2x Korea’s per-capita gross national income, based on the Bank of Korea figure for the previous year. The Ministry of Justice puts the 2025 GNI per capita at about ₩52.41 million.

Until June 2026, everyone needed 2x GNI. Since 30 June 2026, the multiple depends on your age and on whether you will live in the capital area (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon) or elsewhere. Officially designated depopulating areas (and “areas of concern”) count as outside the capital area even when they sit inside Gyeonggi or Incheon.

💼 F-1-D income requirement from 30 June 2026 (2025 GNI basis)

What changed when the pilot ended?

Two things: a lower income bar for younger applicants and those living outside the capital area, and a longer maximum stay. The Ministry of Justice analysed two and a half years of the pilot, held consultations with regional governments in February 2026 and a visa policy council in April, and published the permanent rules in July.

🔄 F-1-D pilot vs permanent rules

How long can you stay on the F-1-D visa?

Up to three years in total. When you register as a foreigner after arrival you receive one year of stay counted from your entry date, and you can extend one year at a time. Under the pilot the ceiling was two years; the Ministry of Justice raised it to three, citing Germany, Spain and Greece as countries that allow the same.

Registration works like any other long-stay visa: you apply for a residence card within 90 days of entry (Part 1), and once you have been in Korea six months you are enrolled in National Health Insurance as a regional subscriber (Part 2), on top of the private insurance the visa requires.

How do you apply for the workation visa?

At a Korean embassy or consulate abroad. There is also a route inside Korea, available since the pilot began: people who entered on a short-term visitor status (B-1, B-2 visa waiver or C-3 visa) and meet the requirements can apply to change status to F-1-D.

Embassies may ask for apostilles, translations or extra documents, and each mission publishes its own checklist, so read your local Korean embassy’s F-1-D page before you gather anything.

What can't you do on a digital nomad visa?

You cannot take employment or do profit-making work in Korea. The Ministry’s summary of the programme is blunt: employment and profit-making activities are restricted. That rules out working for a Korean company, freelancing for Korean clients, or picking up local part-time work.

What you can do is what the visa is named for: live in Korea and keep doing your overseas job remotely. Coworking spaces, cafés and 24-hour study cafés are where most nomads end up working.

Is the F-1-D the right visa for you?

It fits people with a steady foreign salary who want a long, flexible stay without studying or taking a Korean job. For others, a different route is often simpler or cheaper.

🧭 Long-stay options compared, at a glance

One more practical note: the old pilot drew very few applicants to regional cities, according to Korean press reports in early 2026. That is exactly what the new income discount is meant to change: seven provincial and metropolitan governments and the Seoul Tourism Organization took part in the February 2026 consultations that shaped the permanent rules. If you are flexible about location, it is worth asking a regional tourism office what workation support it offers.