South Korea Startup Visa (D-8-4S)

1. Residence permit24 months
2. Renew24 months at a time
3. Permanent residencyafter 5 years
4. Citizenshipafter 5 years

• Permanent residency 5 years
• Citizenship 5 years
• Dual citizenship not allowed
• Language required for citizenship KIIP level 5

Country

South Korea

Program

South Korea Startup Visa (D-8-4S)

Local name

스타트업 코리아 특별비자

Type

Startup

Status

Active

Initial duration

24 months

Renewable

Yes (24 mo)

Technology-startup residence for a foreign founder whose business a private committee judges on feasibility and innovation. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups recommends the person, and the Ministry of Justice issues corporate-investment status D-8-4. A degree and an OASIS point score are not required for this recommendation route.

Tax regime

Remittance

Regime name

Foreign resident, first five years

Regime duration

5 years

Foreign income taxed

Yes

Capital gains taxed

Yes

Method

online, embassy, in country

Apply from abroad

Yes

The ministries launched recruitment on 7 November 2024. The first window ran from 7 to 20 November 2024 on the K-Startup portal and the Global Startup Center site. The recommendation is a committee decision. It does not by itself issue the visa. The applicant then files at a Korean immigration office or at a Korean embassy or consulate. The Ministry of Justice examines the case under the immigration rules and can refuse it. No capital floor is published for this route. The older KRW 100 million figure belongs to a foreign-invested company under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act, which is the separate D-8 corporate-investment route. The points-based D-8-4, including OASIS courses, K-Startup Grand Challenge and government startup-support selections, remains a different way into the same status code. This file is only the committee route. The visa navigator's general permanent-residence line for D-7 through D-10 is more than five years in Korea, plus conduct, livelihood and basic attainment. That booklet predates this route, so the five years are the ordinary D-8 class rule, not a sentence that names the special visa. General naturalization is five continuous years of address and requires permanent residence already. Korean attainment for naturalization is Social Integration Program level 5 or the naturalization exam. A spouse or underage child of a D-8 holder can receive dependent status F-3 under the KOTRA investor guide. That guide does not name D-8-4S. The fee shown is the statutory unlimited multiple-entry visa fee, USD 90 per person. A single visa for a stay of 91 days or more is USD 60. The launch release does not say which form this visa uses, and a mission may charge a different fee by reciprocity. An in-country change of status is KRW 100,000 under the fee rule in force on 15 September 2026, and an extension is KRW 60,000.

• Workcation Visa (F-1-D)digital nomad visa

1. Oct 10, 2026
   • Official page https://www.immigration.go.kr/ https://www.mss.go.kr/site/eng/ex/bbs/View.do?bcIdx=1054489&cbIdx=244
   • Investment options updated

   minimum age and processing-day range cleared. They were not on the launch release. Citizenship language set to Social Integration Program level 5. Tax set to the five-year remittance rule (law.go.kr).