South Korea's ministry has extended its real estate investment immigration system by three years to April 30, 2026. But there's a nuance: the entry threshold for investors has doubled.

The minimum investment that will now be required of foreign investors is 1 billion won (about $788,000) or more. It used to be half that. The name of the program also changes to the following: “Tourism/Recreational Facility Investment Immigration System”.

Since the beginning of 2000, 23,579 main applicants for investor visas have been approved in South Korea. Each has invested between KRW 300 million and 1.5 billion ($234,000 to $1,169,814). Consequently, the program has raised about $10 billion during this time, making it one of the most profitable gold visa programs in the world. The largest number of investor visas of all time was received by the Japanese and Chinese.

Recall that the government first introduced its Investor Visa for Jeju Island in South Korea in 2010 to stimulate investment and revitalize the local economy. However, in 2015, due to the overheated market, the authorities limited the range of properties subject to qualification to tourism and recreational facilities only.