How to extend the Korea digital nomad visa
Extension is a separate process from the original application, judged by a different office against different documents. Most of what goes wrong here is specific to that difference.
The procedure
| Where to file | Inside Korea only, at the immigration office or branch office with jurisdiction over your registered address — the notice handed to F-1-D holders says to visit a jurisdictional immigration office for extension. Korean consulates abroad do not issue or extend the alien registration card. |
|---|---|
| Form | 통합신청서 (신고서) / Application Form (Report Form) — Immigration Control Act Enforcement Rules form no. 34 [별지 제34호서식], with the 체류기간 연장허가 / EXTENSION OF SOJOURN PERIOD box ticked. The first-application visa form is a different one, form no. 17 [별지 제17호 서식]. |
| Fee | ₩60,000 |
| Timing | The permitted stay is one year from the date of entry and is extended one year at a time. The Immigration Control Act Enforcement Decree requires only that the application be filed before the stay expires and sets no earliest filing date; no official page states an advance window. Overstaying exposes you to removal and penalty, so the failure mode is filing late. A first application at a consulate is far slower than an extension: Hong Kong quotes at least 1.5 to 2 months with no express service. |
| How many times | One year at a time, to a maximum of three years under the permanent scheme; the 2024-2026 pilot capped it at two years with one extension. An accompanying spouse and minor children hold their own status and extend alongside the principal. |
What goes wrong at extension time
- Moving into the capital region mid-stay is the trap specific to this visa. The official notice for F-1-D holders states that if you change residence from a non-capital or population-declining area to the metropolitan area during your authorised stay, the metropolitan income criteria apply at the extension and the permitted stay is reduced to six months. A cheap first year in a regional city followed by a move to Seoul converts a 1x-GNI qualification into a 2x-GNI test and a six-month permission.
- The threshold is pegged to the previous year's GNI per capita as of the application date, so the won figure rises in most years even when your salary does not. The 2025 base is KRW 52.41 million, making 2x equal to KRW 104.83 million.
- Age bands split at 35, and Hong Kong measures age by the calendar year of the submission date. Someone who first qualified at the 18-34 rate can face the higher band at extension — in the capital region, a jump from 1.5x to 2x.
- Bringing family later re-bands you: applicants accompanied by a spouse or minor children are held to 2x in the capital region and 1.5x outside it regardless of age, so adding dependants at extension raises the income you must show.
- Employment and profit-making activity in Korea is restricted on this status and punishable under the Immigration Act. Korean-source deposits appear in the bank evidence you file at extension.
- Foreigner registration is due within 90 days of entry and any change of residence must be reported within 14 days; those records are what immigration checks a non-capital-region claim against at extension.
- Documents that were current at first application go stale: an insurance policy expiring mid-extension, or an employer letter that never covered remote work from Korea for the coming period.