South Korea's Ministry of Justice has set out a plan to rebuild its student-visa system around Korean-language ability. Applicants with TOPIK level 4, or stage 4 of the government's Korea Immigration and Integration Program (KIIP), would no longer have to prove they can pay for their studies. Students without Korean from countries the ministry monitors closely would instead have to hold their study funds in a deposit account. Part-time work would require a set Korean level, and graduates who do not meet the language requirement would get a shorter job-seeker visa. The ministry published the plan on 7 October 2026. Changes within its own powers start in the second half of 2026; the larger ones follow up to mid-2028.
Background
Korea's international student population has grown about twentyfold in two decades, from 17,000 in 2004 to 353,527 on 31 August 2026, according to ministry data. The largest groups come from Vietnam (125,459) and China (87,978), followed by Uzbekistan, Nepal and Mongolia. The ministry says the system was built to attract numbers and does too little to match visas to students' ability. Its own figures show that 34.3% of 2019 to 2025 graduates who stayed on after graduating had found work in Korea, and that 71.8% of bachelor's graduates left the country altogether. In April it set up a council of university, education and immigration experts, chaired by the vice minister of justice. The plan is that council's result.
What exactly is planned
Today, students at universities without the government's internationalisation certification must show KRW 20 million, or KRW 16 million outside the Seoul capital region. Under the plan, TOPIK 4 or KIIP stage 4 would exempt a student from this proof regardless of nationality or university, including when extending a visa during studies. For students without Korean from countries the ministry treats as high-risk for overstaying or illegal work, an existing deposit scheme would be widened: study funds are placed in an account and released term by term, a model the ministry compares to Germany and Canada. Part-time work permission would be simplified to Korean ability and grades, with KIIP stage 3 as the language bar after a one-year grace period, so from 2028 students below that level could not work part-time. The D-10 job-seeker visa, which today allows up to three years, would stay at three years only for graduates who meet the Korean requirement. Everyone else would be capped at two years: one year, then two six-month extensions.
The main changes and their target dates
- Funds proof waived at TOPIK 4 or KIIP stage 4: second half of 2026
- Gap-year visa (D-2-8) for OECD high-school graduates: second half of 2026
- Multiple-entry visa valid 3, 5 or 10 years for graduates of Korean degrees who have gone home: second half of 2026
- Part-time work tied to KIIP stage 3: rules revised from late 2026, one-year grace, binding from 2028
- D-10 job-seeker visa: 3 years with Korean, 2 years without, from the first half of 2027
- D-2 to E-7 route for STEM graduates and a new K-Tech Master Visa leading to F-2 residence: by the first half of 2027
- Wider deposit scheme for students without Korean from high-risk countries: from 2027
Who it affects
Applicants who learn Korean before they arrive gain the most. A student with TOPIK 4 applying to a regional university without the certification would skip the KRW 16 million bank-balance check. A classmate without Korean, from a country on the ministry's watch list, could instead have to lock the money in a deposit account. The ministry has not said which countries are on that list. Current students who rely on part-time work have until 2028 to reach KIIP stage 3, and weekend, evening and online courses that the ministry sees as fronts for work could lose their visa privileges from 2027. Science and engineering graduates get new routes: a switch from D-2 into the E-7 skilled-worker visa for manufacturing and other short-staffed sectors, and a K-Tech Master Visa leading to F-2 long-term residence.
What to do now
If you plan to study in Korea from 2027, a TOPIK 4 score would save you the funds paperwork and keep the three-year job-seeker option open. If you are already enrolled, check your KIIP or TOPIK level against the part-time work rule well before 2028. Nothing changes today: visa officers keep applying current requirements until the ministry publishes revised guidance. Our [South Korea guide](/country-guides/south-korea) covers the existing visa routes, and the [visas and status field guide](/field-guide/visas-status) explains how study, work and residence permits fit together.
When it takes effect
Ministry-led items begin in the second half of 2026 (Ministry of Justice press release, 7 October 2026). Items that need other ministries, an Immigration Act amendment or new budget, such as five regional student-visa support centres, are scheduled up to the first half of 2028.
What is not yet confirmed
These are announced plans, not published rules, and most items carry only a half-year target. The ministry's own documents give the first half of 2027 in one place and 2028 in another for the wider deposit scheme. The E-7 switch still needs agreement with the labour ministries on numbers and timing. The deposit amount and the list of affected countries have not been published.
Key Takeaway
Korea plans to reward Korean ability at every stage of a student visa: TOPIK 4 removes the funds proof, KIIP stage 3 becomes the bar for part-time work from 2028, and graduates without Korean would get two years on the job-seeker visa instead of three.