South Korea's F-1-D checklist is stricter than Southeast Asia's nomad visas: on top of a high income bar it wants a full year of prior remote employment with a foreign company, an apostilled criminal-history certificate, and a private health policy covering roughly KRW 100 million. Everything below is drawn from the Korean consular F-1-D requirement sheet and the Ministry of Justice's 30 June 2026 formal-adoption announcement (retrieved 2026-07-13).
Eligibility
- Age 18 or older (accompanying dependents may be younger).
- Employed by, or the owner of, a foreign company for more than one year in the relevant field, and able to perform that work remotely from Korea.
- No work inside Korea. Employment activity in the territory of the ROK is strictly restricted — all income must come from outside Korea.
- Income above the applicable GNI multiple (see below).
- Private health insurance covering treatment and repatriation for the full stay.
- Clean criminal record evidenced by an apostilled home-country certificate.
Income threshold — a band, not a single number
The core rule is that after-tax income must exceed twice the previous year's per-capita Gross National Income (GNI) as announced by the Bank of Korea. On the current Korean consular figure that standard bar is about USD 65,800 a year (≈ USD 5,483/month) after tax. With the prior-year per-capita GNI near KRW 52.41 million, the standard 2× threshold is roughly KRW 100 million a year.
The 2026 formal program added relief keyed to age and location: the required multiple slides down a 1×–2× band for younger applicants and those settling outside the Seoul capital region. The Ministry of Justice's published example is an applicant aged 18–34 living outside the capital region, who can qualify at 1× the 2025 per-capita GNI (~KRW 52.41 million). Treat that as the best-case relief figure — not a universal threshold. If you are over 34 or plan to live in Seoul, budget for the full 2× bar and confirm your exact multiple with the issuing consulate.
| Case | Multiple of per-capita GNI | Approximate income bar |
|---|---|---|
| Standard applicant | 2× | ≈ KRW 100 million/yr (≈ USD 65,800/yr after tax) |
| Age 18–34, living outside the capital region (MoJ example) | 1× | ≈ KRW 52.41 million/yr |
| Between those cases (by age/location) | 1×–2× | Confirm the exact multiple with the consulate |
Employment-history requirement
Unlike visas that only ask for current income, Korea wants continuity: you must have been employed by (or the owner of) a foreign company for more than one year in the field you will keep working in remotely. Freelancers and business owners qualify, but expect to show that the foreign company or client relationship pre-dates your application by at least a year.
Health insurance
Private medical insurance is mandatory: it must cover treatment and repatriation, be valid for the full period of stay, and carry coverage of roughly KRW 100 million (about EUR 70,000). Confirm the policy explicitly names Korea and meets the consulate's coverage minimum before you file.
Criminal-record certificate
You need a criminal-history certificate from your home country, apostilled (or consular-legalised where the country is not in the Apostille Convention), issued within 6 months of submission. US applicants specifically need an FBI identity-history summary apostilled by the US Department of State — with no exceptions on the six-month window.
Document checklist
- Completed visa application form and a recent passport photo
- Passport valid for the intended stay
- Proof of remote employment or business ownership with a foreign company for more than one year
- Proof of income meeting the applicable GNI multiple (pay records, tax documents, bank statements)
- Private health-insurance policy meeting the coverage minimum for the full stay
- Apostilled home-country criminal-history certificate issued within 6 months
- For family: marriage certificate (spouse) and birth certificates (children), apostilled
- Visa fee (varies by nationality)
Family application
Spouse and dependent children may accompany you; dependents may be under 18. Include apostilled marriage and birth certificates. Family members join under the accompanying-dependent framework rather than each qualifying on income, but the household should be able to demonstrate it is supported by the qualifying applicant's foreign-sourced income.
Fees
The F-1-D visa-issuance fee varies by nationality — for US citizens it is about USD 45 for a multiple-entry visa. Confirm the exact single/multiple-entry fee with your issuing consulate, and budget separately for the apostille, insurance, and translation costs, which usually exceed the visa fee itself.
Sources
- Korean consular F-1-D Workation visa requirements — income (2× per-capita GNI ≈ USD 65,800/yr after tax), one-year foreign-employment history, KRW-100m/EUR-70,000 insurance, apostilled criminal check within 6 months, USD 45 US fee; retrieved 2026-07-13
- Korean Ministry of Justice — formal-adoption announcement — 1×–2× GNI income band and the 18–34/outside-capital 1× relief example; published 2026-07-08, retrieved 2026-07-13