Work and Travel in South Korea With This New Workation Visa

(SPOT.ph) New Year, new work location? It's looking like a clear possibility, especially for fans of Hallyu and everything K-culture. South Korea just announced its plans to roll out a Digital Nomad visa, a.k.a. Workation Visa for foreigners in 2024. This new work + vacation visa scheme allows foreigners working for non-Korean companies to stay, work, and travel around South Korea for an extended period of time. In case you're planning on a change of scenery for the upcoming year, here's what you need to know about this new visa option to the land of Hallyu.

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Here's what we know about South Korea's new Workation visa:

South Korea's new Workation scheme was announced by the Ministry of Justice just in time for the New Year. According to reports, South Korea will test the new visa scheme starting January 1, 2024. This new policy aims to encourage individuals to stay in Korea for an extended period and travel and explore the country, thereby giving the economy a much-needed boost. 

The Workation visa comes after the rise in popularity of "work from anywhere" setups common back when COVID-19 was at its peak. The term workation is a combination of work and vacation. It is a post-pandemic working trend where individuals continue their regular work routine while going on long-term trips. Think of it as working remotely as a way to fund your adventures.

If you're wondering just how different this new policy is from current work visas and tourist visas, you should know that previously, foreign nationals interested in working and traveling in Korea could only get a tourist visa. However, the tourist visa was limited to stays of less than 90 days. It's not enough to fully immerse in the culture and lifestyle, but it's great for some basic sightseeing.

The newly proposed workation visa will allow individuals to stay for up to one year from their entry date, extendable for another year. As another perk, eligible foreigners can also extend the visa to their families, excluding children aged 18 or older and the children of accompanying family members.

Initial requirements to qualify for a South Korean Workation visa

But before you start packing your bags and planning your move to SoKor, you must know that the new visa scheme comes with a few big requirements. First, foreigners must be affiliated with foreign companies and have worked in the same industry for over a year to be eligible. A separate work visa is required to participate in for-profit activities with Korean companies. 

Another criterion for eligibility requires the applicant's income to be more than twice Korea's gross national income per capita from the previous year. According to reports, This is roughly KRW 42.48 million (U.S. $33,000) or an income of around P1.8 million per year. To put things into perspective, this means that only Filipinos earning roughly P138,500 per month can apply. 

Other requirements that must also be met include purchasing personal medical insurance and home evacuation coverage of more than KRW 100 million or P4.2 million.

While all of this may be too hard to swallow (because, really, P135,000 monthly is a dream), note that these policies are still under review and testing. As of writing, there's no word yet from the Embassy of South Korea in the Philippines about the application process for the Workation visa for Philippine nationals. But, we're keeping our eyes peeled for more details.

For more information, visit the Embassy of South Korea Philippines' Facebook page.

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