Japan Digital Nomad Visa vs Korea digital nomad visa
Japan's digital nomad route grants "Designated Activities (6 months)" under Public Notice No. 53 and cannot be extended — the Immigration Services Agency Q&A states the stay is "最長６か月間であり、在留期間の更新は認められません", after which you must spend six months outside Japan before applying again. You need personal annual income of at least 10,000,000 yen at the time of application and private medical insurance whose treatment-cost cover for injury and illness is at least 10,000,000 yen, plus cover for death. Only nationals of the 51 countries and regions on the ISA's Notice 53 list (visa-exempt and with a tax treaty with Japan) qualify, and since 1 July 2026 the single-entry visa fee is 15,000 yen rather than the long-quoted 3,000 yen. South Korea's F-1-D "Workation" visa stopped being a pilot on 30 June 2026 and now allows up to 3 years of residence instead of 2, granted 1 year at a time from the date of entry. The income test is no longer a flat double-GNI bar: the Ministry of Justice applies 1x to 2x of per-capita GNI (about KRW 52.41 million for 2025) depending on your age and where in Korea you live, so 18-34 year olds settling outside the Seoul capital region or in a population-decline area qualify at roughly KRW 52.41 million a year while the top tier is about KRW 104.82 million. Everyone must hold private medical insurance covering at least KRW 100 million for hospital treatment and repatriation to their home country, and working for a Korean employer while on F-1-D is prohibited.
| Japan Digital Nomad Visa | Korea digital nomad visa | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | japan | south-korea |
| Stay per entry | 6 months from the date of entry | 1 year from the date of entry |
| Total validity | 6 months, non-renewable; the designated stay must not exceed 6 months within any one-year period | Up to 3 years of residence in total since 30 June 2026 (previously 1 year plus a single 1-year extension, capped at 2 years) |
| Government fee | ¥15,000 — Single-entry visa issuance fee for applications submitted on or after 1 July 2026 (multiple-entry 30,000 yen). Paid at the Japanese embassy or consulate; the local-currency equivalent is charged. | $45 — single-entry consular fee for U.S. citizens at Korean missions in the U.S.; fees differ by nationality under reciprocity, and a change of status filed inside Korea on HiKorea is billed separately in won |
| Income required | ¥10,000,000 — Personal annual income at the time of application. Sole traders are judged on profit after deducting necessary expenses, not on contract value; income from several stable contracts can be added together. | ₩104,820,000 — per year, after tax, for the top tier (2x Korea's 2025 per-capita GNI of KRW 52.41 million). Since 30 June 2026 the requirement slides between 1x and 2x GNI by age and region: applicants aged 18-34 in a non-capital-region or population-decline area need only 1x, about KRW 52.41 million. The base GNI figure is re-announced by the Bank of Korea each spring, so the won threshold moves every year. |
| Savings required | None | None |
| Deposit required | None | None |
| Minimum age | None | 18 |
| Health insurance | Required — ¥10,000,000 | Required — ₩100,000,000 |
| Processing time | Not published | Not officially published; secondary sources cite 2 to 4 weeks at a consulate, and 3 to 10 business days for a change of status filed on HiKorea |
| Apply from | A Korean embassy or consulate abroad, or as a change of status inside Korea from B-1, B-2 or C-3 short-term status via HiKorea |
Choose the Japan Digital Nomad Visa if
- Six months in Japan with no employer sponsorship and no Certificate of Eligibility — you apply directly at the embassy or consulate where you live
- Spouse and dependent children can accompany you under Designated Activities (Notice No. 54), and the eligible-nationality list for them is wider: 73 countries and regions versus 51 for the nomad
- You can move around the country freely; the ISA Q&A says no special procedure is needed to live in different cities during the stay
- A re-entry permit or deemed re-entry permission keeps the status alive if you travel out and back before the expiry date
- Where the applicable tax treaty's conditions are met, remuneration for the work you do in Japan can be exempt from Japanese income tax
Choose the Korea digital nomad visa if
- Three years is now possible in one status, which is longer than most Asian remote-work visas allow
- Spouse and unmarried children under 18 can accompany you as dependents
- Issued multiple-entry, so regional trips out of Korea do not burn the status
- Applicants aged 18-34 who base themselves outside the Seoul capital region face an income bar roughly half the headline figure
- You can switch from a tourist or short-term business status without leaving the country
Japan Digital Nomad Visa last checked 11 September 2026; Korea digital nomad visa last checked 11 September 2026. Sources are listed on each visa page.