Short-term employment/profit-making status for stays up to 90 days.
South Korea
South Korea sits in Eastern Asia. Its immigration system runs 39 distinct routes — led by work, other & special and study, each set out in official law. All 39 cite an official government source, shown on the route with the date we last read it. Who actually qualifies depends on your full profile.
- Immigration routes
- 39across 15 route categories, each set out in official law
- Source-cited routes
- 39 of 39cite an official government source, with the date we last read it
- Largest category
- Work13 of the 39 routes — see them under Work below
- Region
- Eastern Asia
- Capital
- Seoul
- Population
- 51,684,564
- Official language
- Korean
- Currency
- KRW
- Time zone
- UTC+09:00
Immigration routes
All 39 routes, grouped by purpose — 39 of 39 cite an official government source directly.
Work
13 routes
Intra-company transferee status for essential workers dispatched from foreign companies to Korean branches or similar entities.
Professional employment status for professors giving lectures at college level or higher.
Non-professional employment status for seafarers and similar maritime crew under a seafarer employment contract.
Professional employment status for foreign language conversation instructors.
Professional employment status for researchers in natural science or high technology industry.
Professional employment status for persons with technological knowledge in a special industrial field.
Professional employment status for fields such as law, accounting or medicine.
Employment status for profit-making artistic, entertainment, sports or similar performance activities.
Employment status for professional, semi-professional or skilled workers in a specific field.
Non-professional seasonal work status for cultivation, crop harvesting or aquatic product processing.
Non-professional employment status for citizens of designated sending countries under the Employment of Foreign Workers framework.
Work and visit status for overseas Koreans aged 18 or older with one of seven listed nationalities who wish to visit or work in Korea in designated occupations.
Investment
2 routes
Investor status for essential professional workers of foreign-invested companies and founders of venture companies.
For a foreign national who invests at least KRW 1.5 billion in a public-interest fund designated by the Minister of Justice. Excludes people with criminal records, tax debts or more than four Immigration Act violations.
Business & self-employment
1 route
Business/trade status for trade managers and persons dispatched for company establishment, trade, machinery installation or business management.
Talent & merit
1 route
Job seeker/start-up preparer status for job seeking, start-up preparation or high-tech internship.
Study
3 routes
Student status for formal education at college level or higher, including degree, exchange, work-learning and visiting student cases.
Industrial trainee status for production workers from overseas corporations receiving relevant industrial training in Korea.
General trainee status for language training and other training at university-affiliated or private institutions.
Family
3 routes
Family visitor status for visiting relatives, living together with family and similar purposes.
Dependent family status for spouse or underage children of eligible D-1 to E-7 status holders.
Marriage migrant status for persons married to a Korean national.
Digital nomad
1 route
— No eligibility summary published for this route yet
Residence-based status
2 routes
Resident status for long-term residents, recognized refugees or qualifying investors whose livelihood is based in Korea.
Permanent resident status for persons staying in Korea for permanent residency who receive treatment similar to a Korean national.
Youth mobility
1 route
Working holiday status for nationals from countries that have a working holiday program with Korea.
Cultural, religious & volunteer
2 routes
Status for non-profit cultural and artistic activities.
Religious worker status for persons dispatched from foreign religious organisations to engage in religious activities in Korea.
Short stay & visit
3 routes
Nationals of countries that have signed a visa waiver agreement with Korea may enter under B-1 status.
Short-term status for temporary news coverage or reporting.
Short-term visit status for tourism, business, visitation and similar temporary purposes.
Humanitarian protection
1 route
Miscellaneous status for persons needing humanitarian consideration, including industrial accident/disease treatment and refugee status applicants.
Ancestry & return
1 route
For a foreign national who is an overseas Korean within the meaning of subparagraph 2 of Article 2 of the Overseas Korean Act.
Transit
1 route
Visa-free tourist or transit entry for persons designated by the Minister of Justice.
Other & special
4 routes
Diplomatic status for members of foreign diplomatic missions or consular offices and family members.
Official status for foreign government or international organization officials and family members.
International-agreement status for USFK, civilian personnel, invited contractors and family members under the SOFA Agreement.
Long-term news coverage status for persons engaging in news coverage or reporting activities while residing in Korea.
Official sources
- Hi Korea e-GovernmentGovernment
- Korea Immigration ServiceGovernment
- Korea Visa Portal MOFAGovernment
- 외교부Government
- 외교부Government
- eps.go.krGovernment
- [NSO] Statistcs KoreaGovernment
See which South Korea routes you actually qualify for.
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