South Korea Unveils New Visa Program with Path to Permanent Residency for Foreign Workers – Know Details

South Korea has unveiled a preferential immigration program, the Top-Tier Visa Program to recruit highly skilled foreign nationals in high-tech fields. The scheme provides a route to residency and ultimately settlement for individuals working in semiconductors, biotechnology, secondary batteries, displays technologies and more.

The visa is intended for foreign nationals holding a master’s or doctoral degree from one of the top 100 post-secondary (university degree) education institutions in the world and considerable experience working for world-class companies or world-class research institutions. Specifically, applicants must have a minimum of 8 years of work experience where 3 years were at a global top 500 company or 5 years of research experience during the course of the doctorate, effectively including 3 years of research at a globally recognised institute. An employment contract with a South Korean domestic company is also required.

Residency Benefits and Application Requirements

To qualify financially, the annual earned income must be at least 3 times Korea’s GNI per capita (KRW 149.865 million). If the income is at least 4 times the GNI (KRW 199.82 million), education or experience can be waived. Both overseas and Korea-based universities or companies can apply.

Qualified candidates will acquire a Top Talent Resident (F-2) visa which enables free economic activity and residence and allows for the prospect of permanent residence after a 3-year period. The visa will allow applicants to sponsor dependents as well as other benefits such as an Immigration VIP Card for faster processing and priority security checks.

Submissions can be made through authorized immigration offices or on the official website of the Ministry of Justice. This is a meaningful milestone in South Korea’s aspiration to be responsible for advancing the technological frontier as a global center of technology.