David Kim (27 years old, a college student), a British national who majored in business administration at a university in Seoul, wants to work while staying in Korea after graduating from university but complains that getting a work visa is not as easy as he thought. Canadian national Jason (40 years old) is an excellent talent with three intellectual property rights, but he has no choice but to enter and stay without a visa, not a work visa, so he has to go abroad to renew his visa every six months, or he does not have an alien registration card. According to the monthly statistical report (January 2020) of the Immigration and Foreigner Policy Headquarters of the Ministry of Justice, the number of foreign students (including language trainees) staying in Korea reached 160,000. Among foreign students residing in Korea, the proportion of those who want to stay for a long time by getting a job in Korea is increasing rather than returning to their home country after graduation. The problem is that many of them complain of difficulties because they do not know the method or procedure to obtain a work visa or start-up visa in order to find a job or start a business in Korea after graduating from university.


Below, we will take a closer look at employment and start-up visas for foreign students graduating from domestic universities.
First, those who have completed the master's program and are preparing the thesis are allowed to stay in Korea for up to 3 years after completion if they submit a certificate of completion, a letter of confirmation from an advisor, and documents proving finances. Those who have completed the doctoral course and are preparing their thesis are allowed to stay in Korea for up to 5 years after completion if they submit a confirmation letter from their advisor and financial documents. Part-time employment is permitted in the case of preparing a dissertation after completing the master's or doctoral course.
Second, if a foreign student who is expected to graduate from a domestic university (including junior college) wants to train at a foreign-invested company, he/she can apply for permission to change his/her status of residence to a general training (D-4-2) qualification (within 1 year). Documents to be submitted include documents proving the need for training (employment confirmation, training plan, etc.) and documents proving the foreign-invested company.
Third, foreign students who graduated from universities in Korea can consider obtaining permission to change their residence status as a point-based job seeker (D-10) or professional human resource (E-1 to E-7).
Fourth, if you want to do business or start a business in Korea, corporate investment (D-8-1), joint investment with Koreans (D-8-2), individual investment (D-9-3), point-based technology startup (D-8-4), a point system trade (D-9-1) qualification, etc. can be considered.
Fifth, in the case of international students who fall under the category of excellent professionals, it is possible to consider ways to obtain a point-based residence (F-2-7) or permanent residence (F-5) qualification. Foreign students can apply for permanent residence status after graduating from a domestic university, changing their status of residence to Special Activities (E-7), staying in Korea for 5 years, and meeting the income requirement of at least twice the gross national income (GNI) per capita of the previous year. In addition, foreign students who obtained a master’s degree from a domestic university got a job at a domestic company, changed their status of residence to point system residence (F-2-7), and stayed in Korea for 3 years. If you meet more than twice, you can apply for permanent residence status.
< Employment Procedures After Graduating from Domestic Universities for International Students >


D-2
Study
abroad
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D-10
Point based
Work visa
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E-7
Professional
Work visa
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F-2-7
Point based
Resident visa
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F-5
Permanent resident status