Korea startup programs and visas, explained

Hiring international students part-time: what D-2 permits and what the employer files

D-2 유학생 시간제취업 채용 안내

A D-2 student visa does not, by itself, permit paid work. HiKorea's own guidance requires a separate part-time work permit before a student starts, and this post sets out what an employer can confirm today, and what it could not confirm from a primary source.

Invest KOREA and the D-8-1 investor visa: do not confuse investment with startup eligibility

Invest KOREA와 D-8-1 투자비자 구분하기

D-8-1 and D-8-4 are separate categories on the official Korea Visa Portal. D-8-1 is listed as Incorporated Enterprise under Investment, while D-8-4 is Technology and Business Startup. Invest KOREA supports foreign investment entry, but neither fetched official page states a capital floor here.

E-7 visa from the employer's side: what a Korean startup must show to sponsor its first foreign hire

특정활동(E-7) 사증: 창업 초기 기업이 첫 외국인 전문인력을 초청하는 요건

What a Korean startup must show to sponsor an E-7 hire, from the Ministry of Justice's 2026.9 manuals: the no-revenue provision for early-stage foreign-invested or venture companies, the job-code rule that decides whether 5 Korean staff and a 20% ratio apply, the KRW 31.12 million wage floor valid to 31 December 2026, and the filing steps and fees.

OASIS-9, Support Start-Up Items Commercialization: the other 30 prerequisite points on the D-8-4 matrix

OASIS-9 창업 아이템 사업화 지원 — D-8-4 매트릭스의 30점

OASIS-9 is Support Start-Up Items Commercialization on the operator's D-8-4 page: 30 prerequisite points for early-stage policy support with three printed streams — initial commercialization expenses, R&D and post-management. The operator prints no syllabus or hours for it.

OASIS-6, Invention Start-Up Exhibition: the 30 prerequisite points on the D-8-4 matrix

OASIS-6 발명·창업 박람회 — D-8-4 매트릭스의 30점

OASIS-6 is Invention, Start-Up Exhibition on Korea's D-8-4 start-up visa matrix — a prerequisite-side item at 30 points, with the operator printing sales channels, investor connections, technology transaction and investment counseling as its job description. What the operator page says about it.

OASIS-7, Graduation from Start-Up Incubation: 15 points and the six-month rule on the D-8-4 matrix

OASIS-7 창업보육 졸업 — D-8-4 매트릭스의 15점과 6개월 규칙

OASIS-7 is Graduation from Start-Up Incubation on Korea's D-8-4 matrix: 15 elective points, an incubation space for founders who completed IP and start-up support programmes or won awards, and one printed timing rule — graduation counts only after six months since move-in.

OASIS-8, Support for corporation establishment: the 15-point item on the D-8-4 matrix

OASIS-8 법인 설립 지원 — D-8-4 매트릭스의 15점

OASIS-8 is Support for corporation establishment on Korea's D-8-4 start-up visa matrix: 15 elective points for a step the operator also lists as a bare requirement — the corporation itself. What the operator prints about the support, its printed two-week worked-example figure, and how the two roles sit next to each other.

OASIS-5 Start-Up Coaching and Mentoring: 15 points from a minimum of 6 hours on the D-8-4 matrix

OASIS-5 창업 코칭·멘토링 — D-8-4 매트릭스에서 15점

OASIS-5 is the coaching and mentoring item on Korea's D-8-4 start-up visa matrix: 15 elective points, one-on-one sessions with a start-up immigration mentor or experts, and a recognised minimum of 6 hours across 3 sessions. What the operator prints — and one numbering clash it leaves standing across its own two pages.

OASIS 4+ Basic Trading Course: the 10-point certificate on Korea trade visa (D-9-1) points matrix

OASIS 4+ 기본 교역 과정 — D-9-1 교역 비자 매트릭스의 10점

On the operator trade visa (D-9-1) page — a different matrix from the D-8-4 — the Basic Trading Course (OASIS 4+) certificate scores 10 points in the trade-expertise pool. The operator prints 25 hours over 3 full days, in Korean, open every quarter. The printed day totals and the printed modules disagree on the operator's own page.

OASIS-1 Basic Intellectual Property course: 10 elective points on the D-8-4 start-up visa matrix

OASIS-1 지식재산권 기초 과정 — D-8-4 매트릭스에서 10점

OASIS-1 is the entry-level intellectual property course on Korea's D-8-4 start-up visa points matrix: 10 elective points, an 80% attendance floor, and two different durations on the operator's own page — 2 weeks in the course listing, 2 days in its worked example. What it covers, and the one thing its points cannot do.

OASIS-4 Basic Start-up Class: the syllabus behind 10 elective points on the D-8-4 matrix

OASIS-4 기본 창업반 — D-8-4 매트릭스에서 10점

OASIS-4 is the Basic Start-up Class on Korea's D-8-4 points matrix: 10 elective points, a printed total of 20 hours across 12 modules, and an 80% attendance floor. The printed syllabus and the printed schedule disagree with each other on the operator's own page. Here is what the operator lists.

OASIS-2 Advanced Intellectual Property course: the deeper 10 points on the D-8-4 matrix

OASIS-2 지식재산권 심화 과정 — D-8-4 매트릭스에서 10점

OASIS-2 is the advanced course beside OASIS-1 on Korea's D-8-4 start-up visa matrix: the same 10 elective points as the basic course, 20+@ hours across ten modules, mock trials included, and a footnote exemption for founders who already hold an OECD-registered right. What the operator prints about it.

OASIS-3, Intellectual Property Application Support and Prototype Production Support: no printed points

OASIS-3 지식재산권 출원 지원 및 프로토타입 제작 지원 — 점수표에 없는 항목

OASIS-3 does what scored items do not: it pays for the IP application of a selected idea and supports prototype production, once per person, for patent, utility model and design only. The operator prints no points value for it. What the operator page actually says.

D-9-1, Korea's trade visa: TOPIK 3, 60 of 160 points, and a visa that only extends if you actually trade

The trade-business visa runs on its own points system — separate from the D-8-4 startup matrix: TOPIK 3 or higher, 60 of 160 points with a 10-point prerequisite item, premises leased in your own name, and extensions granted only against a real trade record. Figures are operator-published.

D-8-4, Korea's startup visa: the OASIS matrix, and the 60-point threshold the operator publishes

The technology startup visa runs on the OASIS points system: 60 points with at least one prerequisite item, plus corporation establishment — the threshold the operator's own page prints, nowhere printing 80. The courses, the point values and the inconsistencies are all operator-published.

The route into Korea's startup visa runs through D-10-2 — preparation only, and a clock you should plan around

The operator-published sequence: OASIS-4 first, change to D-10-2, incorporate, file the IP, reach 60 points, change to D-8-4. D-10-2 permits no profit-generating business activity, runs six months at a time with five extensions, and no fetchable government page states its specifics — so this post labels every claim and says where to verify.

What actually moves an OASIS score: the six levers, with the point values the operator prints

Courses, intellectual property, Korean language, degrees, incubation and investment — each lever carries a printed point value and a time cost. The operator's own worked example reaches 60 points in five moves; the inconsistent block headers are why you should verify, not assume, any total.

After the startup visa: the routes to permanence, and the two dates that disagree

Special naturalisation for outstanding talent has an official call — 공고 제2026-93호, applications to 2026-10-01 — while the Global Startup Center's own page prints a 2027 close. F-2-7 and F-5 specifics live on commercial guides today, not on any page we could fetch from the issuing body. This post traces what is sourced and flags what is not.

Korea's digital nomad visa changed on 30 June 2026. Most English guides still have the old rules.

The pilot ended and the F-1-D became permanent: the flat income bar of twice per-capita GNI became a 1x-2x range, and the maximum stay went from two years to three.