A student stands at the counter of an immigration office with a folder she has checked four times. The clerk does not ask about her grades or her plans. The clerk asks which status she holds, and what she is doing in Korea. That one question, answered honestly, decides almost everything that follows: how long she can stay, whether she can work, and what Korean ability will do for her.
We are Korean teachers, not immigration lawyers, so this article does one job. It explains what each visa (체류자격, chaeryu jagyeok) is for, what Korean level it touches, and which of our numbers are solid and which we could not confirm. Every figure carries its source, the date we checked it, and a tag. Official means a government or university page. Media and community mean a news report, an agency blog or a forum, and those can be out of date. Where sources disagree we show both.
Two ideas that run through all of it
First, your visa depends on what you are doing in Korea: studying Korean, studying for a degree, looking for work, working for a sponsor, or living long term. Second, Korean ability rarely decides a visa by itself. What it does is raise your weekly work hours or your points, and that matters more than most people expect.
Korean rarely decides a visa. It raises your hours and your points.
Read that box as a weather forecast, not as law. Plans like these arrive in stages, dates slip, and the final rules can look different from the press summary. If you are deciding something this year, plan under the rules that exist and treat the proposal as a reason to build your Korean sooner.
The seven statuses students meet
Most students pass through two or three of these in order. A typical path is D-4-1 for the language year, D-2 for the degree, then D-10 to look for work, though many people use only one or two of them, and nothing here promises you can move from one status to the next.
D-4-1 Korean language training (어학연수)
For students at a university-affiliated Korean institute (어학당). The visa follows your enrolment, for example a six-month visa for a one-year registration, then extensions. Universities say total stay is up to two years, but we found no ministry text and cannot confirm exceptions. Proof of funds is roughly KRW 10 million per university pages. No Korean is needed to enter. Private academies do not qualify.
D-2 degree study (유학)
For undergraduate and graduate students. It lasts as long as your studies. Admission and funds are set by the university, and universities often ask for TOPIK 3 or similar. National health insurance is mandatory. The exact conditions are in the HiKorea manual, which we could not read, so check with your university.
D-10 job seeking (구직)
For graduates of Korean colleges and some others, scored by points. Since the late-2025 change, graduates can get one-year grants up to three years in total. Agencies say the first switch from D-2 skips the points test. You cannot hold regular employment. Interviews, an internship and permitted part-time work are fine.
E-7 specialist work (특정활동)
For a foreigner hired by a sponsoring company in a listed occupation. You may do only the sponsored job. Salary floor sources conflict, see the table below. No Korean is formally required, though many employers expect TOPIK 4 or higher.
F-2-7 points residence (거주)
Long-term residence for people who score 80 of about 170 points. Age, education, Korean level and income count. Income is the biggest block. We could not read the official scoring notice, so treat point values as an agency summary.
F-5 permanent residence (영주)
Permanent status, usually after about five continuous years in a qualifying status. Agencies cite an income bar of about twice per-capita GNI (roughly KRW 104.8 million in 2026) and KIIP level 5 or a PR test. Sources conflict on details. It is hard, and we will not suggest otherwise.
E-2 foreign language teacher (회화지도)
For native English teachers from seven countries, working only for the contracted school. See the Teaching tab for documents, pay and warning signs. No Korean is required.
Side by side
The table below puts the seven statuses next to each other. The right-hand column is the one our students ask about most: where does Korean actually matter?
| Status | Who | Work allowed | Korean level that matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-4-1 | Language-institute students | Only with a permit, after 6 months in Korea | None to enter; TOPIK 2 or KIIP 2 raises hours |
| D-2 | Degree students | Only with a permit; 10 to 35 hours a week by level and TOPIK | TOPIK 3 or 4 often cited for hours; university sets its own |
| D-10 | Graduates, by points | No regular job; internship, permitted part-time | TOPIK 4 or higher gives exemptions or points (agency) |
| E-7 | Hired by a sponsor | Only the sponsored job | None formal; employers vary |
| F-2-7 | Points holders (80+) | Broad, with limits we could not confirm | Up to 20 points |
| F-5 | Long-term residents | Broad | KIIP 5 or PR test |
| E-2 | Native-speaker teachers | Only the contracted school | None |
Compiled from the sources named in each card. Agency and media rows can lag the law, so confirm with HiKorea or 1345 before you decide.
Notice that for four of the seven statuses the formal Korean requirement is none. The pressure comes from elsewhere: universities ask for TOPIK 3 or similar for degree study, employers expect TOPIK 4 or higher for specialist jobs, and the permit system rewards each step up in level with more hours.
How Korean level counts toward points
Two of the statuses, D-10 and F-2-7, are scored. Korean is one part of a larger score, never a visa on its own, but it is the part you can improve fastest and cheapest.
| Level | D-10 Korean points | F-2-7 Korean points |
|---|---|---|
| TOPIK 5-6 or KIIP 5 | 20 | 20 |
| TOPIK 4 or KIIP 4 | 15 | 15 |
| TOPIK 3 or KIIP 3 | 10 | 10 |
| TOPIK 2 or KIIP 2 | 5 | 5 |
| TOPIK 1 | not listed | 3 |
Agency summaries of the scoring tables; the official ministry notices were not read. Korean is one part of a larger score, never a visa on its own.
- 20
- points for TOPIK 5-6 or KIIP 5 in both D-10 and F-2-7
- 80
- points of about 170 needed for F-2-7 long-term residence
- 5
- years of continuous stay usually needed before F-5 permanent residence
The gap between 5 points for TOPIK 2 and 20 points for TOPIK 5 is the clearest argument we know for studying beyond the survival level. It does not make the target easy, and F-2-7 needs far more than language, with income the largest block of points.
Sources disagree, so we print both sides.
The conflicts we could not settle
Some of the most quoted numbers in student forums are the least stable. Rather than pick a winner, we list the disagreements we found and mark each as awaiting confirmation.
| Item | What we found | Tag |
|---|---|---|
| E-7 salary floor, 2026 | About KRW 31.12 million for specialists (E-7-1) per one agency citing a ministry notice, against the older rule of 80 percent of GNI, roughly KRW 39 million, still quoted elsewhere. Check the yearly ministry notice each December. | unverified |
| D-4-1 proof of funds | KRW 10 million per university pages. Ministry 2023 figures were KRW 10 million for language study and 8 million at regional universities. Rules are being revised. | unverified |
| D-4-1 two-year cap | Repeated by several universities, no ministry text found, exceptions unknown. | unverified |
| F-5 income and route | Agencies disagree on income thresholds and on whether a TOPIK route still exists. | unverified |
We print both sides rather than choose. Each row is marked as awaiting confirmation on the page.
If one of these rows affects your plan, ask the university or the immigration office directly and keep the answer in writing. A figure on a blog is a lead, not a ruling.
Paperwork that comes first
Before any of the larger decisions, there are four small tasks in your first weeks. They are dull, and the deadlines are real.
Alien registration (외국인등록)
Within 90 days of arrival, per university guidance. Report a change of address within about two weeks (up to 15 days in law).
Health insurance (국민건강보험)
A university notice gives KRW 79,320 a month for international students in 2026. D-2 students are enrolled immediately; D-4 general language students after six months. The insurance corporation's own page was not read.
e-Arrival Card
Reported as mandatory for foreign visitors from 1 January 2026, filed up to 3 days before arrival. Whether registered foreigners are exempt is unclear.
Help in your language
1345 answers in 20 languages on weekdays, though after 18:00 only Korean, English and Chinese.
A last honest note
A school, a course or a level certificate can improve your odds and your hours, but none of them guarantees a visa, an admission or a job. Decisions are made by the university, the ministry and your employer, and the rules change often. If an agency promises otherwise, that is a warning sign, not a bonus.