With about a quarter million foreign students enrolled in Korea as of 2025 and more than 56,000 holding part-time jobs, questions over what international students can legally do to earn a living continue to grow.
Korean law permits limited employment for holders of study visas but only under strict conditions aimed at preventing illegal work and ensuring that academic commitments remain the primary purpose of their stay.
Study visas in Korea largely cover the D-2 category for university programs and the D-4 category for language and general training courses.
Regardless of visa type, most study visa holders must receive authorization from the Ministry of Justice under Article 20 of the Immigration Act before seeking paid work.
Employment without permission is treated as an immigration violation. First offenses carry warnings and possible administrative fines for both the student and the employer. Repeated violations can lead to deportation.
Students who obtain permission but work in fields outside what the permit allows face a warning on the first violation, revocation of the work permit on the second, and cancellation of their study status on the third.
No foreign student can be hired full-time without a valid working visa, and one must get permission from immigration authorities before starting work.
Eligibility to apply
Part-time work is limited to jobs that do not interfere with academic duties and can reasonably be performed by students.
Examples include translation and interpretation, restaurant or office support, duty-free shop or tour assistant positions, and other roles that do not require professional licensing.
Applicants must meet Korean language requirements certified by the Test of Proficiency in Korean, the Korea Immigration and Integration Program, or Korean language programs at the King Sejong Institute Foundation.
Students must also meet academic standards. University students are required to have a grade-point average of at least 2.0 in the semester preceding their application to work.
Language program students must have an attendance rate of at least ninety percent. First-semester students who do not yet have academic records are ineligible to apply.
For D-4 visa holders, eligibility begins six months after arrival.
D4 holders can receive permission for up to six months at a single workplace. Most D-2 students may receive permission for up to one year, with a maximum of two workplaces, and must reapply upon expiration.
Graduate students who have failed to complete the required academic credentials for graduation are not permitted to work.
