F-1-D
South Korea's workation digital-nomad Visa, made permanent 30 June 2026 with regional income discounts.
Permanent since 30 June 2026, South Korea's F-1-D Visa now allows three-year stays and halves the income bar for under-35s WHO base themselves outside the Seoul capital region.
Last refreshed: 3 October 2026
Why does South Korea's nomad visa now favour applicants outside Seoul?
Timeline for F-1-D
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The F-1-D is South Korea's digital-nomad or workation visa, administered by the Ministry of Justice and the Korea Immigration Service. It lets foreign remote workers employed or contracted abroad live in South Korea while working for that overseas employer or client.
The Visa ran as a pilot from January 2024 and became permanent on 30 June 2026. The maximum stay rose from two years to three. The pilot's income test, about twice per-Capita gross national income, now applies in the capital region, while 18-to-34-year-olds living elsewhere qualify at about one times per-Capita GNI, roughly US$36,963. Regions with declining populations get further reductions.
The regional discount is what makes the F-1-D distinct. Most nomad visas, including Indonesia's E33G, Bulgaria's permit and Colombia's Type V, price access by income alone. South Korea uses the Visa to steer young foreign workers towards provinces that are emptying, tying migration policy to its birth-rate problem.
The F-1-D becomes a regional lure
The F-1-D left pilot status on 30 June 2026 and changed purpose as it did. The pilot, run from January 2024, asked for income of roughly twice South Korea's per-Capita gross national income. The permanent version tiers that bar by age and address: under-35s WHO make their home beyond Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province qualify at about one times per-Capita GNI, roughly US$36,963, with further cuts in regions losing population.
The change puts the F-1-D on a different track from income-only nomad visas. In June justice minister Jung Sung-ho described the aim as foreigners choosing to put down roots, which makes the Visa a tool against depopulation rather than a revenue or talent play. Japan spent a decade on relocation subsidies without reversing Tokyo's pull, a precedent Korean planners face.