South Korea Digital Nomad Visa for Families (2026): Income, Kids and 3-Year Stay

🇰🇷 Can Kids Come? The Short Answer

I’ve only had a taste of South Korea so far: a stopover with Louie on the way out of Australia, and another on the way home. I loved the vegetarian food. And even on such a short trip, I felt so much warmth there.

Short as it was, it left us wanting more. So we looked into what it would take to stay a lot longer, as a family.

The good news? Yes, your spouse and kids can come. South Korea’s digital nomad visa, called the workation visa (F-1-D), became a permanent visa on 30-06-2026. It now lets you stay up to three years. The catch? Bringing your family changes the income you need, and where you live in Korea changes it again.

The Short Version (checked 03-10-2026)

• Can kids come? Yes. Your spouse and minor children can come with you.
• Income with family: KRW 104.83 million a year if you live in the Seoul capital region, or KRW 78.62 million if you live outside it, whatever your age. That’s roughly €62,000 or €46,500 (our guide, at mid-2026 exchange rates).
• Length: 1 year, extendable a year at a time, up to 3 years.
• Already in Korea as a tourist? You can switch to this visa from inside the country if you meet the requirements.
• The catch: no local work for anyone in the family, and private insurance of at least KRW 100 million is compulsory.

Checked against South Korea’s Ministry of Justice and Korean embassy pages on 03-10-2026. Visa rules change, so check current details with your Korean embassy or consulate before you apply.

📋 South Korea’s Digital Nomad Visa at a Glance

Comparing countries? Our digital nomad visas by country tracker shows which visas let the whole family come, and our family visa guide explains where to start.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Who Counts as Family in South Korea

• Your spouse. The Ministry of Justice says spouse. It doesn’t mention de facto partners, so if you’re not married, ask your embassy first.
• Your minor children. The main applicant has to be 18 or older, but that age rule doesn’t apply to children coming with you.

Each family member needs documents proving the relationship, such as a marriage certificate or birth certificate.

⚠️ The Rule That Trips Families Up: Income Depends on Family and Location

Korea sets the income as a multiple of its GNI per capita (gross national income per person) for the previous year, as published by the Bank of Korea. For 2025, that’s about KRW 52.41 million. The multiple you need depends on your age, where you’ll live, and whether your family comes too.

What that means for a family: the young-solo discount doesn’t apply once your family comes. A family living in Seoul needs about KRW 104.83 million a year (roughly €62,000, or €5,200 a month). Base yourselves outside the capital region and it drops to about KRW 78.62 million (roughly €46,500, or €3,900 a month). The euro figures are our guide at mid-2026 exchange rates, not official amounts.

The capital region means Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon. To get the lower figure, you’ll need to prove you’ll live outside it, for example with a lease of at least one month or a booking at a workation centre or accommodation.

Good to know: the figures are tied to the previous year’s GNI on the date you apply, so they change every year. And the spouse and kids don’t need their own income. It’s the working parent’s income that counts.

For what life there actually costs a family, see our South Korea nomad guide and our guide to what it really costs to live abroad with kids.

📅 Up to Three Years

When you register as a foreigner after arriving, you get one year from your entry date. You can then extend one year at a time, up to three years in total. During the pilot, the limit was two.

For a worldschooling family, three years is a real chapter: time to learn some Korean, explore beyond Seoul, and settle into a rhythm.

Good to know: the visa itself is a multiple-entry visa valid for one year, so side trips around Asia are possible.

🩺 Insurance

You need private medical insurance with cover of at least KRW 100 million (roughly €59,000) for hospital treatment and for evacuation back to your home country, for your whole stay in Korea.

The official pages describe this for the applicant. Plan on cover for every family member, and ask your embassy exactly what it needs to see for the kids. Our health insurance guide for nomad families compares options.

📄 Documents You’ll Need

For the Working Parent

• Visa application form (Form No. 17), passport and one passport photo
• Proof of income: certificate of employment, payslips and bank statements
• Criminal record certificate
• Private medical insurance certificate
• If you’ll live outside the capital region: a lease of 1+ month, or a booking at a workation centre or accommodation

For the Spouse and Each Child

• Visa application form, passport and photo
• Proof of the family relationship: marriage certificate or birth certificate

Embassies add their own requirements. The Korean Embassy in Manila, for example, wants criminal record certificates from any country you’ve lived in for more than a year in the last five years, exempts children under 14 from the criminal record check, and asks for TB screening from some nationalities. Check your own embassy’s checklist.

📝 How to Apply

You have two routes:

1. From home: apply at the Korean embassy or consulate that covers where you live. Each family member applies with proof of the relationship.
2. From inside Korea: if you’ve entered as a tourist (B-1, B-2 or C-3 status) and meet all the requirements, you can apply to change your status to the workation visa.

Once you’re in Korea on the visa, you register as a foreigner, and your one-year stay runs from your entry date.

Tip: the Ministry of Justice has wide discretion and checks documents closely, so make sure your income proof is clear and consistent.

💳 Fees

Visa fees depend on your passport and the embassy where you apply. Two official examples:

Example: a family of four on Australian passports would pay about 4 × A$225 = A$900 (our calculation, assuming each person needs their own visa at that fee). Fees can change, so check the current table with your embassy.

🎒 Kids: What Parents Need to Know

• No age minimum for kids: the 18+ rule is only for the working parent.
• Proof they’re yours: a birth certificate for each child.
• Insurance: plan on cover for each child, and confirm what your embassy wants to see.
• Where you live matters: choosing a city outside the capital region, like Busan or Jeju, lowers the income your family needs.
• School: we couldn’t confirm from an official source whether children on this visa can enrol in Korean public schools. See our international school directory and worldschooling legal guide.
• Only one parent travelling? Our solo parenting guide explains what to carry.

💻 Work and Tax

• What you can do: keep working remotely for your company outside Korea, or run your own overseas company.
• What nobody can do: take a job or earn money from activities in Korea. That applies to the whole family.
• Freelancers: the official wording is about being employed by, or owning, a foreign company. If you freelance for several clients, ask your embassy how they’ll assess you.
• Tax: we couldn’t confirm from an official source how Korea taxes workation visa holders. On a stay of up to three years, speak to a tax adviser before you go.

Our remote work guide for families covers setting up location-independent work.

🔍 What We Couldn’t Confirm

We only use official government sources, so we’d rather tell you what’s missing than guess:

• Whether children can enrol in Korean public schools on this visa
• How Korea taxes workation visa holders
• Whether de facto partners qualify, and exactly how “minor” is defined for children
• Whether each family member needs their own insurance policy, or can be covered under one family policy
• The cost of foreigner registration and each yearly extension
• Whether time on this visa counts towards permanent residence
• Which areas count as “population-decline areas”

🧭 Is South Korea’s Visa Right for Your Family?

It suits families who:

• Earn KRW 78.62 million+ a year (or KRW 104.83 million+ for Seoul) from a job or company outside Korea
• Want a longer base in Asia, with up to three years
• Are happy living outside Seoul, in places like Busan or Jeju, to lower the income bar
• Love great food, including plenty of vegetarian options

Think twice if:

• Your partner needs to work locally
• You freelance for lots of small clients and can’t show employment or a company
• You need the kids in a local public school

Weighing up the cost? Our 50-destination cost comparison shows how Korea stacks up.

❓ South Korea Digital Nomad Visa for Families: FAQs

Can my kids come on South Korea’s digital nomad visa?

Yes. Your spouse and minor children can come with you on the workation (F-1-D) visa. The 18+ age rule only applies to the working parent.

How much income does a family need for South Korea’s digital nomad visa?

With family, it’s 2x Korea’s GNI per capita in the Seoul capital region (about KRW 104.83 million a year) or 1.5x outside it (about KRW 78.62 million), whatever your age.

How long can we stay in South Korea on the workation visa?

One year from your entry date, extendable one year at a time, up to three years.

Can we apply from inside South Korea?

Yes. If you entered on a B-1, B-2 or C-3 tourist status and meet the requirements, you can change to the workation visa.

Can my partner work in South Korea?

No. Employment and profit-making activities in Korea aren’t allowed on this visa.

How much insurance do we need?

Private medical insurance of at least KRW 100 million, covering hospital treatment and evacuation home for your whole stay.

Is the workation visa permanent now?

Yes. After a pilot that started in 2024, it became a permanent visa category on 30-06-2026.

🍲 Our Takeaways

South Korea’s workation visa is one of the most family-friendly in Asia: kids are included, you can stay up to three years, and you can even switch from inside the country.

The rule to get right is income. Bringing your family means 2x GNI in Seoul or 1.5x outside it, so where you choose to live could make or break your application. And remember, nobody in the family can work locally.

Our short stopovers were enough to win us over. Next time, we’d love to stay long enough to really get to know the place. 🇰🇷

Planning the rest of the move? Start with our South Korea nomad guide.

🔗 Official Sources

• Ministry of Justice (Korea Immigration Service): Press release on the permanent digital nomad (workation) visa, 07-07-2026 (PDF, Korean)
• Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines: Workation (Digital Nomad) Visa F-1-D requirements
• Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Australia: Visa Processing Fee
• Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the USA: Visa Application Fees

Last checked 03-10-2026. Visa rules, income figures and fees change, so check current details with your Korean embassy or consulate before you apply.