South Korea digital nomad visa (F-1-D)
South Korea's Workation visa, the F-1-D, lets you live there for up to three years while working for, or owning, a company abroad, according to a law firm and EY. Since 30 June 2026, they say, the bar depends on your age and where you live, from KRW 52.41 million a year to KRW 104.83 million, and you apply at a Korean consulate or, in some cases, switch inside Korea.
At a glance
- The visa
- Workation visa (F-1-D)
- What you need
- About $3,280 to $6,560 a month (KRW 52,410,000 a year, depending on your age and where you live); in pounds, about £2,460 to £4,930 a month
- What counts as proof
- Annual income. An employment letter dated within two weeks, the last three months of bank statements, and payslips or tax returns. Also insurance and apostilled criminal record checks issued within six months. For the lower bands outside the capital, a lease of at least a month or a workation booking there.
- Who can apply
- Employees of a company abroad: yes (you must have worked for the foreign company for at least a year. No work for Korean employers or clients). Freelancers: unclear (the official text names only employment by, or ownership of, a foreign company. Freelancers are not mentioned either way). Owners of a company abroad: yes (the Korean Embassy in Canada lists owning a foreign company for more than a year. That is the pre-June 2026 text, and nothing since confirms it).
- How long
- One year, renewed a year at a time: three years at most, up from two on 30 June 2026
- Without a visa
- British visitors: 90 days, with no K-ETA needed until 31 December 2026. American: 90 days. No K-ETA needed until 31 December 2026; required from 1 January 2027
The catch. The bar depends on your age and address. The lowest checked figure, KRW 52.41 million, is only for 18 to 34 year olds living outside Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi or in a population-decline area; in Seoul you need KRW 78.62 million at 18 to 34 and KRW 104.83 million at 35 or over. The bands follow GNI per capita, so they move every year, and many embassy pages still show the old flat rule.
See where you stand against South Korea and every other country. Check your income
How to apply
- Apply at the Korean consulate or visa centre for where you live. In the US that's the consulate covering your state, by appointment: New York takes applications in person only, Chicago takes post from most Midwest states, and Seattle accepts post if you can't get an appointment.
- In the UK the embassy no longer takes visa applications. They go to the Korea Visa Application Center in London (KVAC), which takes postal applications only, no more than two months before you travel. We couldn't confirm that it handles the F-1-D.
- In India, Korean visas go through VFS Global centres. The embassy doesn't say whether that includes the F-1-D.
- Already in Korea on a short-term B-1, B-2 or C-3 status? The Chicago and New York consulates say you can change to the F-1-D at your local immigration office if you meet the conditions. No official page we read says whether a visa-free entry counts.
- The visa is multiple entry, valid for a year and issued electronically: you carry the visa grant notice to enter.
- Staying more than 91 days: register for a residence card at the immigration office for your area within 90 days of arriving, and report every move within 14 days.
Fees and timing
- Visa, US citizens
- USD 45 at the Seattle and New York consulates. Chicago doesn't give a figure: it depends on your nationality.
- Visa, elsewhere
- Fees vary by mission: CAD 121.50 in Canada and EUR 81 in Ireland. The UK embassy says the visa fee is waived, but we couldn't confirm that covers the F-1-D. We found no figure for India or Singapore.
- In Korea
- A university's guide gives KRW 35,000 for the residence card, in cash, and KRW 60,000 for an extension or a change of status. KRW 100,000 is also commonly cited for a change of status. We couldn't find the official figures, so none of these is confirmed.
- How long it takes
- No official figure. The Seattle consulate says three to four weeks, with no exceptions; the UK embassy says about two weeks for visas in general. In Korea, a university says the residence card takes about six weeks, and the office keeps your passport meanwhile.
The documents
The main items. Your consulate's own checklist is the one that counts, so check it before you start.
- Application form, signed on every page, and a photo
- Passport valid more than six months, plus a copy
- Proof you live in the consulate's area; if you're not a citizen there, proof of permanent or long-term residence
- A letter from your employer showing your job and at least a year of past employment, issued within two weeks of applying at Seattle, Ireland and Canada
- Proof of income: payslips, three months of bank statements or tax returns, depending on the consulate
- A criminal record certificate, apostilled and usually issued within the last six months, plus one from other countries you've lived in (for more than a year, or more than six months at Seattle)
- A health insurance certificate showing the cover
- For family: marriage and birth certificates
- For the lower bands outside the capital, a lease of at least a month or a workation booking there, according to a law firm
- Documents not in Korean or English need a notarised English translation, the New York consulate says
Health insurance
Cover for medical treatment and repatriation for the whole stay, of at least KRW 100 million, according to the Chicago and New York consulates. Other missions quote other figures: EUR 70,000 (Seattle, Ireland) and USD 75,000 (Canada). No official page says the insurer must be Korean, and we couldn't confirm whether international policies are accepted.
Nomad policies differ on cover limits, excess and whether they're accepted for a visa. Compare nomad health insurance
Family, renewing and tax
- Family
- A spouse and children can come; the New York consulate says a legal spouse and unmarried children under 18, each with their own application. Bringing them puts you on the top band in the Seoul metro area and the middle one outside it, whatever your age. We found nothing on whether a spouse may work.
- Renewing
- A year at a time, at the immigration office for your address, up to three years in all since 30 June 2026, up from two. The consulate pages still show the old limit.
- What it leads to
- Nowhere directly, says one weak source. Years to permanent residence and citizenship not checked
- Tax
- 183 days or more in a tax year, or from 2026 183 days in a row across two tax years, or a domicile in Korea
Worth knowing
- 30 June 2026: the F-1-D became permanent. The flat bar of twice GNI per capita gave way to bands by age and region, and the longest stay went from two years to three. This rests on a law firm, Koreabridge (relaying Korean press) and EY: we couldn't open the Ministry of Justice's own release.
- Embassy and consulate checklists, including Seattle's of January 2026, still show the old flat rule: twice GNI per capita and two years at most. Go by the bands, not their income figures.
- The bands follow the previous year's GNI per capita, so they move when a new figure is published.
- British and American visitors need no K-ETA until 31 December 2026, and the US says it's required from 1 January 2027. That matters if you enter as a visitor and switch inside Korea.