Technology professionals looking for employment in South Korea can now look forward to a new visa program that the government has launched.
South Korea has introduced a Top-Tier Visa program aimed at attracting foreign workers in high-tech sectors. The program is designed to bring in foreign professionals in high-tech industries such as semiconductors, biotechnology, secondary batteries, and display.
Top-Tier Visa eligibility includes a foreigner who has obtained a master’s or doctoral degree from a university ranked among the world’s top 100 with experience in a global company or research institute.
After evaluating the implementation outcomes, plans are in place to examine whether to include a bachelor’s degree or higher from one of the top 200 universities in the world.
The newly launched visa track has been designed to attract top-tier foreign talent with residency support in Korea by granting ‘Top Talent Resident (F-2)’ status to senior engineers and their family members who are expected to plan projects and drive technological development in advanced industries.
Applications for the F-2 visa may be lodged at authorized immigration offices or through the Ministry of Justice’s official website. Eligible applicants can sponsor their dependents and apply for an Immigration VIP Card, which allows for faster immigration processing and priority security checks.
Under this new Top-Tier Visa program, world-class top-tiered talent and their family members are granted a Resident (F-2) visa that allows free economic activities and settlement in Korea and permanent residency is obtainable for them after three years of stay.
Top-Tier Visa Program Eligibility
South Korea’s Top-Tier Visa program with F-2 resident status will be open to persons holding a master’s or doctoral degree from an overseas university ranked among the world’s top 100.
Only those foreign workers with at least 8 years of work experience, including at least 3 years at a global top 500 company, or a person who has at least 5 years of research experience with a doctorate degree, including at least 3 years at a world-class research institute will be eligible for the Top-Tier Visa program.
There is an additional requirement that the foreign worker has to sign an employment contract with a domestic company.
Most importantly, the foreign worker’s annual earned income should be at least 3 times the GNI per capita (KRW 149.865 million). If the annual earned income is 4 times the GNI per capita (KRW 199.82 million), the education or work experience requirements will be exempted.
The eligibility also includes individuals from Korea-based universities or companies fulfilling the above requirements as well as those from overseas universities and companies.
The QS University Rankings for South Korean universities are: Seoul National University (31st), KAIST (53rd), Yonsei University (56th), Korea University (67th), Pohang University of Science and Technology (98th)
The Forbes Global 2000 South Korean companies include: Samsung Electronics (21st), Hyundai Motor Company (93rd), Kia Motors (234th), KB Financial Group (250th), Shinhan Financial Group (304th), Hana Financial Group (411th), POSCO (412th), Hyundai Mobis (465th), Samsung C&T Corporation (493rd).