South Korea Cuts Nomad Visa Income Threshold for Under-35s Outside Seoul

South Korea has made its digital nomad visa a permanent program and rebuilt the income requirement around two factors: an applicant's age and where they choose to live. As of June 30, 2026, a foreigner aged 18 to 34 who bases themselves outside the greater Seoul region can qualify at roughly 52.4 million won, about 38,000 US dollars — half the old flat threshold.

What changed

The visa began as a pilot in January 2024 and applied a single income floor to everyone: twice Korea's per-capita GNI, or roughly 104.8 million won (about 76,000 US dollars). The Ministry of Justice has now converted the pilot into a standing program and replaced that flat number with a sliding scale.

The threshold now ranges between one and two times per-capita GNI, depending on how young you are and whether you settle in a non-capital or designated population-decline region. The lowest rate — one times GNI, roughly 38,000 US dollars — is anchored to the youngest applicants living outside the capital. Older applicants, or those choosing the capital region, land higher on the scale.

A second change: the maximum stay rose from two years to three, with the ministry stating it wants remote workers to stay long enough to consider settling.

Why Seoul is excluded

The geographic condition is strict. "Outside Seoul" means outside the entire capital region — Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon. The reduced rate is designed for the provinces, not the suburbs.

The policy is aimed at regional depopulation. During the pilot, Korea issued 743 nomad visas, and of the 398 registered residents as of May 2026, about 85 percent were living in the capital region. Roughly 70 percent held OECD passports, and just over half were in their thirties. A flat income bar drew a relatively affluent crowd that clustered around Seoul — the opposite of what a regional-revitalization program needs. The new tiers are the correction.

What it means for nomads

The cheapest route into Korea's program is now to be under 35 and willing to base outside the capital, in exchange for a threshold near 38,000 US dollars and a stay of up to three years. That favors early-career remote workers over established high earners.

One caveat: the ministry only published the single worked example for the youngest, provincial tier. It did not release the full age-by-region table in its announcement — that detailed schedule sits in the official press-release attachment. Anyone mapping their own eligibility should pull the exact tier from that document rather than assume the lowest floor applies to them.

Korea's move fits a broader trend. The ministry noted that Germany, Spain, and Greece already allow nomad stays of up to three years. The longer a country lets a remote worker stay, the more it treats that person as a potential resident rather than a tourist — and Korea's three-year cap and province-weighted pricing now put it firmly in that camp.

Originally reported by Stamped Nomad.