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Pathway

South Korea Remote Work Visa

South Korea Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

South Korea's F-1-D workation status is for adults employed by a foreign company or operating an overseas business who have at least one year in the same industry, can work remotely, meet the age-and-location income test, and carry required medical insurance.

Type
Remote-work residence
Work setup
Foreign-company employees or overseas-business owners working remotely
Core requirements
Remote work, foreign income, insurance, and funds
Local work
Usually does not allow ordinary local employment
Minimum monthly income
KRW 4.368M-8.736M equivalent (2026; age/region dependent)
Savings option
No

Summary

South Korea's F-1-D workation status is for established workers who can perform their foreign job remotely from Korea. Current official guidance describes the principal applicant as an adult employed by a foreign company or operating an overseas business, with at least one year of work in the same industry. It is not a general visa for anyone with online income.

The rules changed on June 30, 2026. The income requirement now varies by the applicant's age and intended place of residence in Korea. Using 2025 Korean gross national income (GNI) per person of KRW 52,416,000, the current annual thresholds are:

Applicant Seoul capital region Outside the capital region or a designated population-decline area
Age 18-34 KRW 78,624,000 (1.5 × GNI) KRW 52,416,000 (1 × GNI)
Age 35 or older KRW 104,832,000 (2 × GNI) KRW 78,624,000 (1.5 × GNI)

When a spouse or minor child applies with the principal applicant, current guidance uses a family threshold regardless of age: 2 times GNI in the capital region or 1.5 times GNI outside it. The GNI figure is updated annually, so a later filing must use the figure then in force.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

The principal applicant should be able to show all of the following:

Income evidence can include employment and salary certificates, tax records, payslips, and bank statements. The mission handling the case decides which period and documents it will accept. Applicants using a lower regional threshold should expect to document accommodation in the qualifying region and must genuinely comply with the regional condition.

A spouse and minor children can apply as accompanying family members. Family-relation documents usually need apostille or other required authentication. Accompanying family members should not assume they have work permission.

What This Route Allows

F-1-D allows the principal applicant to live in Korea while continuing the approved foreign work arrangement. Current Korean mission guidance states an initial stay of one year, with one-year extensions available in Korea up to a current maximum total of three years.

Some short-term visitors in Korea under B-1, B-2, or C-3 status may be allowed to request a change to F-1-D if they meet the rules, but the local immigration office controls that process. A person abroad normally applies through the Korean mission serving the person's residence.

The status provides temporary residence for a remote-work lifestyle. It can also allow an accompanying spouse and minor child to reside in Korea under the family provisions.

What This Route Is Not

F-1-D is not Korean work authorization. The Ministry of Justice describes employment and profit-making activities in Korea as restricted. A contract with a Korean employer, locally provided services, or Korean-source business activity may require a different status even if the work is performed online.

It is not designed for a newly remote worker without the required work history, a person living only from savings, or a freelancer who cannot show a qualifying foreign-company or overseas-business basis.

It is also not a direct permanent-residence or citizenship route. Time on F-1-D does not promise an F-2, F-5, or nationality outcome. A later change requires independent eligibility for another status.

Next Steps

  1. Confirm whether your arrangement is foreign-company employment or a documented overseas business, and obtain written remote-work permission.
  2. Collect at least one year of employment, business, and same-industry evidence.
  3. Decide where you will genuinely live in Korea and calculate the correct age, region, and family income threshold.
  4. Gather tax returns, salary certificates, payslips, and bank statements that clearly show qualifying income.
  5. Purchase insurance covering at least KRW 100 million for medical treatment and repatriation for the full stay.
  6. Order criminal records early and check the mission's apostille, translation, validity-period, and country-of-residence rules.
  7. Prepare apostilled family records for an accompanying spouse or minor child.
  8. Confirm the final checklist and filing location with the Korean mission or, for a permitted in-country change, the local immigration office at 1345.
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Sources