Just 7 people applied for 'Digital Nomad' visa in January, Korean gov't says

One obstacle is that the visa isn't currently open to freelancers, who make up a large portion of the digital nomad population.

A promotional image inviting people to a workcation in Gangwon [GANGWON TOURISM ORGANIZATION]

About a month has passed since the highly-anticipated workcation visa for digital nomads was launched, but the visa is off to a slow start.

Just seven people applied for the visa as of Jan. 31, according to the Ministry of Justice.

The workcation visa, or the F-1-D, was introduced in a trial run on Jan. 1 for foreigners to work remotely in Korea over a longer period. Applicants must be employed at a company abroad, working remotely for their company. Applying for a job within Korea is strictly prohibited.

The visa allows a one-year stay, which can be extended for another year for a total two-year stay. Without a visa, many foreigners can only stay in Korea for up to 90 days.

One obstacle is that the visa isn't currently open to freelancers, who make up a large portion of the digital nomad population.

The Ministry of Justice's visa guidelines state that only foreign nationals employed by an overseas company are eligible for the workcation visa.

According to the ministry, this doesn't include freelancers.

"Currently, freelancers that aren't officially part of a company abroad aren't eligible for visa issuance," a spokesperson for the Justice Ministry said. "However, we plan to listen to various opinions regarding the digital nomad visa and consider making changes if necessary."

The annual income requirement is another factor keeping more people from applying.

To apply for the workcation visa, foreigners need annual income that is at least double Korea's per capita gross national income (GNI) for the previous year.

In 2022, Korea's per capita GNI was 42.48 million won ($32,000), so applicants currently need an annual income of 85 million won — $64,000 — or above.

With high requirements, it may be hard for the visa to bring in more foreigners and benefit the local economy as it initially intended.

"We do know that the visa has been on a trial run since January, but there are many requirements like the minimum income of 85 million won that makes the visa target high-income earners, and there hasn't been inquiries of foreigners currently employed abroad [that want to use our workcation centers]," said a spokesperson for Busan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, which runs the Busan Workation Center.

The center offers access to co-working spaces in Busan, along with discounts on hotel accommodations in the city.

"We do have foreigners employed at a Korean company while living in Korea using our workcation centers, but not those who are employed abroad," the spokesperson said.

Malaysia, which also offers a digital nomad visa, sets an annual income requirement at $24,000. Spain requires applicants to have a minimum annual income of 25,920 euros ($28,000).

Although there are countries with lower income requirements, countries with similar requirements to Korea's also exist.

Japan's Immigration Services Agency announced on Feb. 2 that it plans to introduce a digital nomad visa around March.

Japan will require an annual income of 10 million yen ($67,000) and allow a six-month stay.

Like Korea, Japan will require applicants to have health insurance, allowing people to bring spouses and children, but prohibiting employment at Japanese companies.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]