GlobeQuest

South Korea visas and residency

Who can visit South Korea without a visa, and the 5 long-stay routes that let you actually live there.

Short stay

Visiting South Korea, by passport

How the 198 passports we track get in. A visitor entry is never permission to work, study or settle — that is what the routes further down are for.

United StatesVisa-free · 90 daysUnited KingdomVisa-free · 90 daysIndiae-VisaCanadaVisa-free · 180 daysAustraliaVisa-free · 90 daysGermanyVisa-free · 90 daysFranceVisa-free · 90 daysNetherlandsVisa-free · 90 daysIrelandVisa-free · 90 daysSpainVisa-free · 90 daysItalyVisa-free · 90 daysPortugalVisa-free · 90 daysPolandVisa-free · 90 daysSwedenVisa-free · 90 daysSwitzerlandVisa-free · 90 daysSouth AfricaTravel authorisation
Long stay

How you actually move to South Korea

Digital nomadHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

F-1-D Digital Nomad (Workation) visa

Remote workers employed or contracted outside Korea. Piloted from 2024 and formally launched on 30 June 2026.

What you need
  • Income pegged to the previous year's GNI per capita, which the Bank of Korea restates annually — the 2025 figure is KRW 52,416,000 (about US$36,960), so the standard 2× bar is about KRW 104.8 million. Budget against the multiple, not against a dollar number.
  • Three bands: 2× GNI per capita is the default; a middle band of about 1.5× applies to most relaxed cases; and 1× applies to applicants aged 18–34 living outside Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi
  • At least one year of continuous experience in your field with a foreign employer, or running your own foreign business
  • Private health insurance covering at least US$75,000 of treatment and repatriation for the whole stay
  • Work for a non-Korean employer or clients; no Korean-source employment
How long it lasts
Issued for up to 1 year and extendable; the maximum cumulative stay was raised from 2 years to 3 at the formal launch.
Path to permanent residence
None. F-1 is a visitor-class status, so time on it does not build toward the F-5 permanent residence you would get from a work or points-based route.
Cost
Modest application fee at a Korean mission.
Processing time
Several weeks.
Worth knowing
  • The regional discount is the headline: an 18–34-year-old living outside the Seoul capital region qualifies on 1× GNI rather than 2×, halving the income needed. Almost no other country prices its nomad visa by geography.
  • The threshold is indexed, not fixed. It moves every time the Bank of Korea publishes a new GNI per capita, so a figure quoted in dollars goes stale within a year.
  • It is explicitly not a route to settling in Korea. If that is the goal, E-7 then F-2-7 is the path.
Sources:Ministry of Justice — Korea Immigration ServiceKorea Visa Portal
Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

E-7 visa (specially designated activities)

Skilled professionals with a Korean employer. The main work route for foreign white-collar staff.

What you need
  • Job offer in one of the designated E-7 occupations — the list is specific and updated periodically
  • A degree in a related field plus 1 year of experience, or 5 years of experience without a matching degree
  • Salary generally benchmarked against a proportion of GNI per capita
  • The employer must meet Korean-to-foreign staffing ratio rules
How long it lasts
Up to 3 years, renewable.
Path to permanent residence
Feeds the F-2-7 points-based residence visa, which in turn leads to F-5 permanent residence. Direct F-5 is otherwise available after 5 years of qualifying residence.
Cost
Application fees are modest; the employer bears the sponsorship burden.
Processing time
Several weeks to a couple of months, including the employer's confirmation of visa issuance.
Worth knowing
  • The occupation must map onto a designated E-7 category. A job that is real and well-paid but outside the list simply cannot be sponsored on this visa.
  • Employer staffing-ratio rules mean small Korean startups often cannot hire foreigners even when they want to.
  • Changing employer requires permission, not merely notification.
Sources:Hi Korea — official immigration portalMinistry of Justice — Korea Immigration Service
Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

F-2-7 points-based residence visa

People already in Korea on a work visa who want status that is not tied to an employer. The intended stepping stone to permanent residence.

What you need
  • A points score across age, education, Korean language ability (TOPIK or KIIP completion), income, and work experience
  • Existing qualifying status in Korea, usually E-7 or similar
  • Clean record and no immigration violations
How long it lasts
3 years, renewable.
Path to permanent residence
F-5 permanent residence after 3 years holding F-2-7 — faster than the general 5-year route, and the reason this visa exists.
Cost
Modest government fees.
Processing time
Weeks to a couple of months at an immigration office.
Worth knowing
  • F-2 status decouples you from your employer, which is the practical prize — you can change jobs freely.
  • Korean language ability is worth a large share of the points. Completing the KIIP social-integration programme is the most reliable way to close a scoring gap.
  • F-2-7 is no longer the only F-2 route. The Top-Tier visa launched in 2025 grants F-2 residence directly to high-tech specialists — semiconductors, bio, batteries, displays, with more sectors being added — who hold a master's or doctorate from a top-100 university plus global experience and are offered roughly 3× GNI per capita (around KRW 140 million). It carries permanent residence after 3 years and extends to spouse and children. If you fit it, it beats the points route outright.
Sources:Hi Korea — official immigration portal
InvestmentMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

D-8 corporate investment visa

Founders and investors establishing a Korean company, including the D-8-4 startup variant.

What you need
  • Investment in a Korean corporation — commonly cited at a minimum of KRW 100 million for the standard D-8
  • Foreign-investment registration with KOTRA and a registered Korean entity
  • For the D-8-4 technology-startup variant, a bachelor's degree plus intellectual property or an OASIS programme score instead of the capital threshold
How long it lasts
Up to 5 years depending on the sub-category, renewable.
Path to permanent residence
Counts toward F-5; substantial investors have a dedicated faster F-5 sub-category.
Cost
The investment itself plus incorporation and registration costs.
Processing time
Months, dominated by the investment registration rather than the visa.
Worth knowing
  • The capital must be genuinely remitted and registered as foreign investment — moving money into a Korean account is not sufficient.
  • The D-8-4 startup route is the one worth knowing about: it substitutes IP and programme participation for cash, which is a very different proposition.
Sources:Hi Korea — official immigration portalMinistry of Justice — Korea Immigration Service
StudentMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

D-2 student visa

Students at accredited Korean universities.

What you need
  • Admission to an accredited institution
  • Proof of funds for tuition and living costs
  • Tuberculosis screening for some nationalities
How long it lasts
Course length, renewed annually.
Path to permanent residence
Study time counts only partially toward F-5, but graduates of Korean degrees earn significant F-2-7 points, which is the more useful effect.
Cost
Application fee plus tuition.
Processing time
Several weeks once the institution issues its confirmation.
Worth knowing
  • Part-time work is permitted with permission and is capped by hours and by your Korean level.
  • Graduating from a Korean university plus TOPIK level is close to the ideal F-2-7 profile — worth planning for from the start of the degree.
Sources:Hi Korea — official immigration portal
On the ground

Where you'd land in South Korea

Seoul

Hyper-connected megacity — palaces and street food beside K-pop, all-night cafés and the world's fastest internet.

Full Seoul guide
Busan

Korea's port and second city — beaches, a blunt dialect, and rents well below Seoul's.

Full Busan guide
Incheon

Korea's gateway airport, a treaty port, and Songdo's reclaimed-land free economic zone.

Full Incheon guide
Daegu

Korea's textile city in a hot inland basin, with the cheapest big-city rents in the country.

Full Daegu guide
Gwangju

Honam's capital — the May 1980 archives, Korea's most serious food, and a national bet on AI.

Full Gwangju guide
Daejeon

Korea's science city — two dozen national research institutes, KAIST, and Seoul an hour up the line.

Full Daejeon guide
Suwon

Samsung's home town inside a UNESCO fortress — Korea's biggest city that isn't a metropolitan city.

Full Suwon guide
Ulsan

Hyundai's company city — the world's biggest car plant, a shipyard, and Korea's highest output per head.

Full Ulsan guide

South Korea at a glance

Capital
Seoul
Population
51.7M
Languages
Korean
Currency
KRW