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South Korea launches digital nomad visa to boost remote work options in 2024

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Re: South Korea launches digital nomad visa to boost remote work options in 2024

#51

So I've got to prove I make $70k a year, and then put down a $7500 deposit on a small apartment that costs me $1800 a month in a crappy part of Seoul, and get insurance and a bunch of other things, and then I only get to stay six months, and if I extend it it's only up to two years? No thanks. When will the demographic time bomb racial supremacist countries learn that people want to ACTUALLY IMMIGRATE to countries? B…

What's wrong with a country having its population getting lower in an overpopulated continent? South Korea is a highly educated and developed country and most families are very well happy with a single child.

With the advancement of technology, robotics, AI and so on I don't see how manpower is going to be absolutely necessary in the future either.

If the problem is retirement and how to finance it, don't worry, alternative ways exist to fix that, fearmongering isn't necessary.

No, you are not a "racial supremacist" if your goal is to keep social peace and prevent the society you live in to crumble with millions of individuals who don't share the same values as you. Death to the merchants.

Re: South Korea launches digital nomad visa to boost remote work options in 2024

#52
As I wrote a year ago the range of new digital nomad visas are largely poor attempts at attracting more tourism dollars.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/digital-nomad-visa-dilemma-ma...

Most digital nomads still don't use them as other Commenters have outlined, they are cumbersome, expensive & don't address the taxation elements well.

Digital Nomad entrepreneurs can often work under standard 'tourist' visas in any case if they stick to the 'business' rules attached to those visas in any case.

While Permanent Establishment rules scare many employers off permitting much remote work for their employees.

With competition between countries to attract tourism the current version 1 DN visas will need to change to become attractors.

I'd suggest removing the 30/90 limit from tourism visas is an easy way to improve tourism economics.

Changing taxation policies will take longer but are also needed as the remote worker world grows so strongly & favour 'tax friendly' nations.

Re: South Korea launches digital nomad visa to boost remote work options in 2024

#53
post #46

My memory may be failing, last time (15 years ish? ) I looked at living / staying in Korea most places asked for a full years rent up front, then additional rent each month. You are supposed to get it back at the end of the lease. It would be trivial for a land lord to abuse a foreigner in this circumstance on the VISA, its not like you can stay around after the end of your lease to take them to court to recoup your…

That is a very specific legal arrangement, which I understand is getting rarer and rarer these days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeonse

Ah, that is good to hear. Can foreigners enter a 'western' like rent agreement ?

Re: South Korea launches digital nomad visa to boost remote work options in 2024

#54

Again no mention of taxation

Which usually means you’ll be caught my the country’s general tax provisions, and the local tax agency will have no institutional knowledge of how this is meant to work for people on this visa.

[deleted]

Re: South Korea launches digital nomad visa to boost remote work options in 2024

#55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shouldn't rich people be able to get hassle free visas? Why ban them from your country if they just want to live there and spend their money, regardless of whether they earn some more or not? Just prove you have 100k and you get to stay this many days.

This is the hassle free rich people visa version of South Korea. Prove you earn $XXXXXX, leave $XXXXXX deposit, buy $XXXXX insurance = get a golden visa for two years, then get the hell out. It's not to accommodate people who might actually want to live there (for whatever crazy reason)

But that means you need to have a job. Which many rich people don't really need or have.

Re: South Korea launches digital nomad visa to boost remote work options in 2024

#56

So I've got to prove I make $70k a year, and then put down a $7500 deposit on a small apartment that costs me $1800 a month in a crappy part of Seoul, and get insurance and a bunch of other things, and then I only get to stay six months, and if I extend it it's only up to two years? No thanks. When will the demographic time bomb racial supremacist countries learn that people want to ACTUALLY IMMIGRATE to countries? B…

> USA (if you get off H1B).

Funny joke. Everybody laughs.

Re: South Korea launches digital nomad visa to boost remote work options in 2024

#57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the hassle free rich people visa version of South Korea. Prove you earn $XXXXXX, leave $XXXXXX deposit, buy $XXXXX insurance = get a golden visa for two years, then get the hell out. It's not to accommodate people who might actually want to live there (for whatever crazy reason)

But that means you need to have a job. Which many rich people don't really need or have.

I think many top percenters have income without tradjob, stuff like investment dividends and all that.

Re: South Korea launches digital nomad visa to boost remote work options in 2024

#58
post #37
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So I've got to prove I make $70k a year, and then put down a $7500 deposit on a small apartment that costs me $1800 a month Nice, And that's places that are suitable for 2 people to live in - the large majority of digital nomads live on their own, in which case it's even cheaper.

As someone who tried to find a suitable sub-$1000 rent in Seoul, I call your claim. Maybe you can provide online listings to counter?

Sure, as I live in such a place myself, and I got the contract last year. Since then housing prices have fallen in Seoul.

- Random building here https://fin.land.naver.com/articles/2402864693 Last March, 2 contracts at 2,000/63 and 2,000/80 respectively.

Still too high of a deposit? https://fin.land.naver.com/articles/2402982978 @ 1,000/90, building is less than 2 years old.

Need 2 bedrooms? Here: https://fin.land.naver.com/articles/2356138769

Re: South Korea launches digital nomad visa to boost remote work options in 2024

#59
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So I've got to prove I make $70k a year, and then put down a $7500 deposit on a small apartment that costs me $1800 a month Nice, And that's places that are suitable for 2 people to live in - the large majority of digital nomads live on their own, in which case it's even cheaper.

You must be aware of a different Seoul then I am. I've looked at moving there and asked my Korean friends. "Fully furnished, two-bed room apartments in central, well-connected areas of Seoul are <$1000 per month" does not jibe with anything I have seen, ever. Please send me the property link because I'm obviously looking in the wrong place.

I've replied to the person below you with links: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39026946

The last one is 2 bedrooms for about $1000/month, fully furnished. Sure, it's stretching it, but a world of difference with your claim of $1800 for a small apartment in the context of digital nomads.

Re: South Korea launches digital nomad visa to boost remote work options in 2024

#60
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most digital nomads I know (including myself) do not go back to the same country at the end of their 30-90 days though. They hop to another country or do a stop at home for a while to do anything they may need to at home before heading somewhere else. I regularly stay somewhere for 90ish days, then go home for a while to do anything I need to back home days and then somewhere else. This is also why a digital nomad vi…

I'm curious - since the individual stops are so relatively short, how do you manage to stay on top of it all? How do you consistently find short-term housing every 30-90 days at a reasonable price? This model sounds pretty appealing to me as something to consider doing in the future, but I'm not sure on just how much hassle this would introduce.

I usually plan it out way in advance. Usually I have accomodations booked at the least 6 months out for the next trip.

Example: right now I'm somewhere in the middle of a 90 day stay. We also were somewhere else just before for the holidays for ~30 days, but mostly for vacation. I plan to go back home at the end of March for ~2 months or so to get things straightened out there before then heading out for another 4-5 months afterwards. I've already booked that trip. Usually just as one trip is starting I book the next one for 6 months later.

I travel with my wife so we either book private rooms in a hostel or AirBnB's, though we've been trending away from this.

To be fair, we're both software devs so our salaries together make living basically anywhere "reasonable" depending on how you look at it. We know we're paying a premium but since we can afford it we don't really look at it as unreasonable. Most places we stay come out to ~$2000 USD per month for AirBnB's, and much less for most hostels.

I also keep a cheap studio apartment back in the US for when I'm back for a while, so I don't have to plan where to stay when I'm back. But I know many digital nomads who just use their parents places or another close family member.

Though this is just my experience, many digital nomads I know don't have things planned out as far as we do. And literally just plan things on a whim less than a month out.

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