South Korea digital nomad visa (2026)

Who can apply

• Aged 18 or over
• Employed by a foreign company (or owner of one) for more than 1 year, able to work remotely
• Income at or above the threshold for your age and region
• Private health insurance with at least KRW 100 million cover
• Clean criminal record

Income requirement

You need to show at least KRW 52.4–104.8 million per year (1x–2x GNI per capita), by age and region (about US$3,256 a month at rates from 11 Nov 2026). Based on the previous year's GNI per capita (KRW 52,416,000 for 2025): ages 18–34 need 1.5x in the Seoul area or 1x elsewhere; 35 and over need 2x in the Seoul area or 1.5x elsewhere. With a spouse or minor children the threshold is 2× GNI per capita in the capital region, or 1.5× elsewhere.

Documents you need

• Visa application form, photo and passport
• Employment certificate showing at least 1 year of service
• Proof of income (pay slips, tax returns, bank statements)
• Criminal record certificate (plus any country lived in over 1 year in the last 5 years)
• Medical insurance certificate
• Marriage or birth certificate for family members; TB test for some nationalities

How to apply, step by step

1. Apply at the Korean embassy or consulate covering your residence
2. Submit documents and pay the fee
3. Enter Korea and register as a foreigner within 90 days
4. Apply for extensions at the local immigration office

Where and how to apply

The standard route is a visa application at the Korean embassy or consulate that covers the place where you live; the Ministry of Justice summary of the permanent scheme (July 2026) names overseas missions as the place to apply. Missions apply their own jurisdiction rules: the Ottawa embassy, for example, only accepts applicants physically present in its district, will not ship passports abroad, and requires certain third-country nationals living in Canada to show at least 730 days of continuous residence there. Most missions take paper files in person, with the form completed online first through the Korea Visa Portal (visa.go.kr) e-Form and then printed. The mission issues the visa, but the Korea Immigration Service under the Ministry of Justice sets the rules and handles everything after entry. Since the scheme became permanent on 30 June 2026, people already in Korea on a short-term B-1, B-2 or C-3 status can also ask the local immigration office to change status to F-1-D if they meet the requirements, so a separate trip to a consulate is no longer the only option. After arrival, foreigner registration, extensions and status changes are handled by the immigration office with jurisdiction over your address; the Immigration Contact Center (1345, or +82-2-1345 from abroad) answers questions in several languages.

Timeline

1. Gather documents 2-6 weeks before applying
   Police certificates generally need to be recent (Ottawa asks for ones issued within 6 months, apostilled) and the employment letter fresh (Ottawa: issued within 2 weeks of applying), so order them last.
2. Submit at the mission Day 0
   File the printed visa.go.kr form with originals, photo and fee. You cannot file a new application while you still hold an unused, valid Korean visa.
3. Mission decision About 10 business days (Ottawa)
   The Canadian embassy states roughly 10 business days; other missions do not publish a figure and may ask for extra documents during review.
4. Enter Korea Within the visa's 1-year validity
   The visa is valid for one year from issue and allows multiple entries; the one-year permitted stay is counted from the date of entry.
5. Foreigner registration Within 90 days of entry
   Register at the immigration office covering your address to receive a residence card. The one-year stay period is granted at registration.
6. Report address changes Within 14 days of moving
   Report a new address to the immigration office or the local Si/Gun/Gu office. A move from a non-metropolitan area into the capital region changes your income tier at the next extension.
7. Extend Before the current stay expires; yearly
   Extensions are granted one year at a time up to a three-year total, at the jurisdictional immigration office.
8. Annual tax return (if resident) May of the following year
   Individuals with income not settled through Korean withholding file a global income tax return in May for the previous calendar year.

Proving your income

Income is tested against a multiple of Korea's gross national income per capita for the previous year, as published by the Bank of Korea; the Ministry of Justice used about KRW 52.41 million for 2025, giving tiers of roughly KRW 52.41 million, 78.62 million and 104.83 million. What missions ask for as evidence differs. The Ottawa embassy wants an employment verification letter issued within two weeks of the application confirming current employment and at least one year of past service, three months of bank statements bearing your name and a bank stamp, and pay stubs or tax returns. The Manila embassy asks for an original employment certificate listing position, hire date, pay, office address, an HR landline (mobile numbers are not accepted) and an HR email, plus a copy of the employer's business registration, a bank certificate showing the six-month average daily balance, payslips and the latest income tax return. The Ministry's own list is generic: employment certificate, payslips and account transaction history. Business owners should expect to prove ownership of the foreign company in place of an employment letter. Documents from abroad generally have to be apostilled or notarised by a Korean consulate; this is stated explicitly for criminal record certificates (Ottawa: issued within 6 months, apostilled). The pages checked do not set general translation rules, so ask your mission whether non-English documents need a certified Korean or English translation. If you apply under the lower non-metropolitan tier, add proof that you will live outside the capital region, such as a lease of at least one month or a booking at a workation facility or other accommodation.

Bringing your family

The spouse and minor children of the main applicant can apply for the same visa; the age floor of 18 does not apply to accompanying children, and the Manila embassy exempts children under 14 from the police certificate. Each family member proves the relationship with a marriage or birth certificate. Bringing family raises the income bar rather than adding a fixed sum per person: under the July 2026 rules, a main applicant accompanied by a spouse or minor children must meet 2x GNI per capita in the capital region regardless of age, or 1.5x GNI if living in a non-metropolitan or population-decline area. Employment and profit-making activities in Korea are restricted for the F-1-D status, and the official pages do not describe any separate work right for family members, so dependants should assume they cannot take Korean jobs on this visa.

Health insurance

Before the visa is issued you must show private medical insurance in your own name that covers hospital treatment and emergency evacuation to your home country with a sum of at least KRW 100 million, for the whole period of stay in Korea. Some missions state the requirement in other terms: Ottawa asks for cover of up to USD 75,000 including emergency repatriation, lasting one year to match the stay, with the policy document showing the coverage details. Make sure the certificate names repatriation or evacuation explicitly and that the policy start date is no later than your planned entry date. Separately, Korea's National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) has required foreigners who have stayed more than six months to enrol in the national scheme since 16 July 2019, with premiums assessed per household on income and assets; NHIS warns that unpaid premiums can lead immigration to refuse a stay extension. Official sources checked do not say whether F-1-D holders fall under this compulsory enrolment, so confirm with NHIS (foreign-language line 1577-1000) before your sixth month.

Cost and processing time

The fee is varies by embassy and nationality (e.g. USD 45 for US citizens in Seattle). Processing takes about 10 business days. Budget extra for translations, certified copies and health insurance.

After you arrive

• Complete foreigner registration at the immigration office covering your address within 90 days of entry; you receive a residence card with a foreign registration number, and the one-year stay is granted from your entry date.
• Carry your residence card; the foreign registration number on it is what Korean banks, mobile carriers and government portals usually ask for.
• Report any change of address within 14 days to the immigration office or the Si/Gun/Gu office of the new area.
• If you registered under the non-metropolitan tier and move into Seoul, Gyeonggi or Incheon (outside designated population-decline areas), the capital-region income test applies at your next extension and that extension is cut to six months.
• Do not take paid work or run profit-making activity for Korean businesses; the embassies state that violations are penalised under the Immigration Act.
• Check whether you must join NHIS once you pass six months in Korea, and keep your private policy active until then.
• Apply for each one-year extension at the immigration office before your permitted stay ends; the total stay cannot exceed three years.

Tax

Korean tax residence does not depend on visa type or nationality. Under the Income Tax Act, as explained in the National Tax Service guide for foreigners, you are a resident if you have a domicile in Korea or a place of residence there for 183 days or more; you can also be treated as domiciled if your occupation normally requires you to live in Korea for 183 days or more, or if family living with you in Korea and your work or assets suggest you will stay that long. Residents are taxed on worldwide income and non-residents only on Korean-source income. There is an important exception for newcomers: a foreign resident who has had a domicile or residence in Korea for a total of five years or less in the ten years before the end of the tax year is taxed on foreign-source income only to the extent it is paid in Korea or remitted to Korea. Foreign taxes paid on income that is taxed in Korea can be credited. Residents with income not covered by Korean withholding file a global income tax return in May for the previous year. The F-1-D pages say nothing about tax, and the NTS guide does not address how salary from a foreign employer for work physically done in Korea is sourced, so remote workers staying past 183 days should get advice and check the tax treaty between Korea and their home country.

Does it lead to permanent residence?

Official F-1-D material describes a visiting status with a maximum stay of three years and does not say that this time counts toward permanent residence (F-5) or a resident (F-2) visa. In its July 2026 announcement the Ministry of Justice said it intends to design a 'settlement model' so that digital nomads who come to like Korea can stay on, which implies no dedicated route existed when the scheme became permanent. Anyone who wants to settle long term should plan to qualify for a different status, such as a work or investor visa, on its own requirements.

Why applications get refused

• Income below the tier that matches your age, the region where you will live and whether family come with you, or a lower non-metropolitan tier claimed without proof of accommodation outside the capital region.
• Employment letter that is too old, lacks a fixed HR phone line or email, or does not show at least one year of service with the foreign employer; or a Korean employer or Korean clients behind the remote work.
• Police certificates missing for a country where you lived more than a year in the last five years, older than the mission allows, or not apostilled or consular-notarised.
• Insurance below KRW 100 million, not covering the full stay, or with no explicit cover for evacuation to the home country.
• Applying at a mission outside your place of residence, not being physically present, or holding an unused valid Korean visa.
• Missing TB screening certificate for nationals of the countries on the Korean TB list.

Cost of living in Seoul

1-bedroom rent

KRW 1,000,000-3,000,000 per month in the city centre (average about KRW 1.25 million); KRW 600,000-2,200,000 outside the centre (Numbeo, November 2026)

Coworking desk

From about KRW 263,500-310,000 per month for a WeWork Seoul coworking membership (WeWork website, November 2026)

Numbeo lists home broadband at about KRW 18,700-65,000 a month and a monthly public transport pass at around KRW 62,000 (November 2026).

Good to know

• Working for Korean employers is not allowed
• Moving from a non-Seoul area to the Seoul area triggers the higher income test at extension and a 6-month stay
• Family members can apply with the main holder

Visiting first? Entry rules for popular passports

62 passports can enter South Korea visa-free for a short stay, a common way to try the country before applying. Check South Korea visa requirements for your passport.

Official source

Embassy of the Republic of Korea (MOFA) – F-1-D visa

Not yet confirmed on an official source: tax. Check these with the consulate before you apply.