This post is written from a D2 visa holder perspective. There might be differences on the required documents if you have no visa yet or you own a different type of korean visa.
D10 visa is the ‘Seeking for Employment‘ visa that gives you 6 months stay in Korea to find a job. Take note though that you are not allowed to work when you are on D10 visa. Once you get a job, you should report immediately to the local immigration to change your status again.
Backstory. I went to our local immigration office here in Chuncheon yesterday to inquire about the D10 visa. However, I brought along the necessary documents as well minus the bank statement, just in case. Fortunately, it seems like the Ministry of Justice have loosened the requirements.
Here are the list of documents I submitted:
- 1 passport size photo (3.5*4.5)
- 1 copy – Certificate of School Admission
- 1 copy – School Transcript
- 1 photocopy – passport (front only)
- 1 photocopy – ARC (front & back)
- Change of Sojourn status form (available at the immigration)
- Seeking for Employment form (available at the immigration)
- ₩100,000 in cash – visa application fee
- ₩30,000 in cash – processing fee
Surprisingly, they didn’t ask for any bank statements or anything related to money. There is a portion on the seeking employment form where you have to indicate your finances (cash/deposit/credit card/remittances) but i wasn’t sure if it’s for a guess estimate or what is available at hand. I chose the former.
The Seeking for Employment form simply asks about your plans on how to obtain a job for the next 6 months. There are six rows allotted for this but I think it’s okay to be vague about it. I, for example, wrote “find a job online/ask my network/inquire at local offices, etc.” However, there is this one part where you have to write exactly where you are planning to work for – specific company, job, and salary.
When I first handed out my documents, the very first thing that the immigration officer asked me was my class standing, my grades – I suppose this is one important criteria. From my reading, you need to have a grade of 3.0 and above in order to qualify (the one I submitted was in a 4.5 scale).
If you find this post helpful, please like/share/or post your comments below 🙂
Other helpful information
Chuncheon Immigration Address: Saamgil 6 (or hakgongni 29-1), Dongnae-myeon, Chuncheon, Gangwondo. Phone: 033-244-7352 / 7353
Opening Hours: Open from Monday to Friday from 09:00 am until 18:00 pm. Closed for 1 hr between 12:00 pm and 13:00 pm for lunch. Open on Saturday from 09:00 am – 13:00 pm.
Closed on Sundays and Holidays.
For other Visa inquiries, you may check this website: http://www.hikorea.go.kr/
49 Comments
Komal
December 30, 2018 at 11:34 pmHi, thanks for such an informative post. I have completed my Master’s recently however, I cannot receive the graduation certificate before the graudation date. Can I apply for D-10 visa based on transcripts only?
Melanie
July 9, 2020 at 3:09 amThank you for your comment and my apologies for the very late response. For the sake of other readers, a graduation certificate is not necessarily your diploma. You can ask your college or uni if they can provide a docuemnt stating that you have graduated or will graduate in a certain month/year. This may be submitted to the immigration 😄
Suhel Ahmed
August 5, 2018 at 4:20 pmHi sir,
I like to seek a job in south Korea
I am an computer engineer with 1 year experience in networking and cloud computing field
Is itt possible to get a job in your country please guide me..
I hope you can do my favour
Thank you
Melanie
July 9, 2020 at 3:15 amHi Suhel, if you meant South Korea – sure, go ahead and try! Working in South Korea may require you to speak immediate to advance Korean language skill so that Korean can work easily with you. I guess that’s the main driver to hire someone in South Korea. Good luck! 😄
Mahmoud Alnajjar
July 8, 2018 at 6:19 pmhello!
regarding the D-10 job seeker visa, I have graduated from Korean university last year but i left Korea after that, now im thinking to come back to Korea for seeking a job.
can i apply for this visa from out of Korea even i m no longer D-2 holder??
Melanie
July 9, 2020 at 3:18 amHi Mahmoud! Thank you for your comment and sorry for the late response. For the sake of other readers – if you are no longer a D2 holder and intend to go back to Korea, you may still apply for the D10 visa off shore provided that you are either of the following: (1) A previous employee of a listed company on the Fortune’s Global 500 companies for more than 1 year in recent 3 years; (2) A graduate of a university listed on the Times’ Higher World University Rankings (Top 200) in recent 3 years; (3) A graduate of a Korean community college or higher in recent 3 years ☺️
RAMANAN.R
May 1, 2018 at 3:18 pmSir I am a law graduate in India but I don’t like to practise in court.i want to earn money more .what’s the procedure to come to Korea and how much time to take for visa
Melanie
July 9, 2020 at 3:20 amHi there, my apologies for the late response. You may apply for a D10 visa but you should fall under the following categories: (1) A previous employee of a listed company on the Fortune’s Global 500 companies for more than 1 year in recent 3 years; (2) A graduate of a university listed on the Times’ Higher World University Rankings (Top 200) in recent 3 years; (3) A graduate of a Korean community college or higher in recent 3 years ☺️ If not, you may come to Korea to study again, and while studying you can try looking for a part time job to help you earn money.
Leakhena
November 22, 2016 at 2:26 amHi
Now I am a one that studying in Korea for MA and I will finish soon on July 2017 while my ARC expire on September 30. So I want to change my visa from D-2to D-10. How can apply it ?
On other hand .. After 2 days- 1 week of my graduation day ,my school will purchase ticket for me to leave Korea . but I will just back to my country only 2 weeks , and than I will back to Korea for change my visa . So is it possible ?
And for D-10 we have to extent on every 6 months for 2 years , right , in case if I can’t find a job with in 2 years. So we can extent 3 times for 2 years ?
And what kind of work or company that immigration office allow us to change visa ?
I means I plan to get partime job or full time job with industry .. So can immigration office allows us to do the kind of job or change visa for us?
When we are on D-10 can we do part time job or full time job in industrial with in 2 years .. If I can’t find work in office or company ? I means that if I can’t find job with in 6 months !
Thanks yoy
splurk
March 7, 2017 at 8:36 pmHello Leakhana,
I hope I can answer all your questions. Let me write it down again and answer one by one.
1. When should you apply for a D10 visa?
Apply for the D10 visa 2 months before your D2 visa expires. In your case, you can apply on July. It means that when you go back to your country after your graduation (August), you already have the D10 visa.
From what I know, you can only apply for the D10 visa only in Korea.
2. What kind of work is allowed for D10 visa?
When applying for the D10 visa, you will be asked about your “Finding a Job plan” . The Immigration will expect that you will look for a job related to your major/course. For example, if you are an engineering student, you should look for engineering related jobs.
3. Will the immigration office change visa for us? No. You will always have to apply for a visa and it needs approval by the immigration office.
4. Can I do part-time job with D10?
Yes you can. However, once you get a REAL job, you need to apply for an appropriate working visa.
I hope this was helpful. Please ask the Korean embassy in your country for further clarification 🙂
Leakhena
March 7, 2017 at 8:56 pmThank you so much !
By the way after graduation I will back to my county for visit for 1-2 weeks … and u told me that I should apply visa D-10 before I back to my country.. but as my experience.. at the airport.. the staff always ask us for ARC.. so I think i have to carry on my ARC during I am back to my country.
So may I apply D-10 after I back on late July or early August??
And 1 more question: about part time job while D-10 … u told me that I can do part time job… but I found in Korea immigration office ‘s page .. they said D-10 can’t do part time job.. if do .. it is illegal!
So how can I do ?
Thanks
Alia
July 31, 2016 at 4:16 pmHello there. I’m actually a student in a Korean university. But I thought that I want to change my school. It seems that my school won’t help me exchange. And the other schools told me that for transfer student, they only except during spring admissions. So I thought maybe I’m gonna go back home first and maybe during spring I’ll come back and apply the school. The problen is my visa is going to end this September. And my teacher told me that I had to apply back D2visa which I had to go through a lot of things to do.
So I thought maybe I can change my D2 to D10 visa? For that whole 6months I can stay in Korea and find other school to enter? Please help me find the easiest way to settle this. Thank you 🙂
splurk
March 7, 2017 at 8:51 pmHello, Under the KGSP program, you are not allowed to transfer to another university!
If you want to transfer school and get a scholarship, maybe you should check the university you want to transfer to.
D10 visa is provided to graduating students only.
Good luck to you ^^
narvir
July 13, 2016 at 11:41 amHii
i finished my 2 years college in Mechanical engineering here in korean college…how can i get job seeking visa??
splurk
March 7, 2017 at 8:53 pmHello narvir, If you read this blog post you will find the instructions 🙂
bolor
July 1, 2016 at 10:37 pmwhat is arc?
can anyone without topik get D 10?
splurk
March 7, 2017 at 8:57 pmHello bolor,
ARC means Alien Registration Card.
D10 is only given to graduating int’l students from Korean universities. The Topik is not required in applying for a D10 visa.
gulbecha
June 19, 2016 at 7:42 pmI graduated from a university in Korea this February 2016, but I came back home country after, and now I want to look for a job in Korea but I no longer have the student visa. Is it still possible for me to apply for the D10 visa? How?
splurk
March 7, 2017 at 9:08 pmHello gulbecha, From what I know, you can apply for a d10 visa only in Korea? Please let me know if your question has been answered already.
will
June 14, 2016 at 10:46 amThanks for the post. I’m also D2 holder…
If you already have a job offer is it advisable to still apply for D-10 and immediately change to E_? Do you directly apply for E_? And does the job offer/contract help in the D-10 application process? Thanks.
splurk
March 7, 2017 at 9:10 pmHello will, If you have a job offer already – it is better to apply directly for an appropriate working visa 🙂
Jimmy
May 3, 2016 at 7:44 pmHello Splurk.
I’ve been living in Korea for 4 years until now. And I will be graduating soon here. And I’m thinking to apply for this visa. Do you know that if it is possible to do part-time job(coffee shop or etc) while you are on this visa? Because i’m thinking to find a part time job to support myself for that six months.
And do I need to renew my TOPIK to apply for this visa? Because mine had expired two years ago. Thank you in advance 🙂
splurk
May 5, 2016 at 4:43 pmHello Jimmy! Thanks for visiting my blog. No, you don’t need to renew yout TOPIK when pplying for this visa. And for the part-time job, I guess this is okay as long as you report yourself to the immigration 🙂 The D10 visa though expects that you’d be able to get a job similar to that of your academic background. Check this official sojourn guide from Korea’s immigration, page 87 file:///C:/Users/elaie/Downloads/150817%20SOJOURN%20GUIDE%20FOR%20FOREIGNERS%20(ENGLISH).pdf Good luck!
Jimmy
August 5, 2016 at 5:48 pmHey Splurk!
Thanks for the reply! I’m so sorry for being late to check out my post again because I think i forgot to check the notify new comments via email.
Ohh really? I thought that we foreigners need to renew our TOPIK every 2 years haha. I think i give this one a try first.
Well anyways, thanks again for the reply Splurk 🙂
Jimmy
August 5, 2016 at 5:53 pmOh yeah one more thing, do youy know where I can download the PDF?
The link you had give is unclickable. Sorry about this though.
Peter
April 24, 2016 at 12:41 amHow can i apply for d10 visa if im not in korea or im only in my home country… i want to find a job for korea… i want to apply d10
splurk
May 5, 2016 at 4:54 pmHello Peter, I am not really sure about that. You may consult or call the Korean Embassy in your country to check that. On the other hand, you may try reading this official Korean sojourn/visa guidelines to review your eligibility. Thanks! http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/NtcCotnDetailR_en.pt?pageSpec=&targetRow=&lafjOrderBy=&sRange=&sKeyWord=&bbsGbCd=BS10&bbsSeq=2&ntccttSeq=45&pageCode=list&langCd=EN&bbsNm=Notice By the way, let me know how it went with you 🙂
Maieth
April 18, 2016 at 4:29 pmHi!i just want to ask if it is possible for me to apply for G10 visa..my E-9 visa will expire on June 16,2016..my employer want me to work for him,but he can’t give me more visa because I came from other company before I work to his company..thank you..
splurk
May 5, 2016 at 4:51 pmHello Maieth, I’m sorry but I don’t really know the answer to your question. You may check this official page http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/NtcCotnDetailR_en.pt?pageSpec=&targetRow=&lafjOrderBy=&sRange=&sKeyWord=&bbsGbCd=BS10&bbsSeq=2&ntccttSeq=45&pageCode=list&langCd=EN&bbsNm=Notice for proper guidelines 🙂
Heely
April 11, 2016 at 3:08 pmhi.. i took off one semester because i cant pay my fees for next semester.. and my gpa is below 3.. and i am want to change from integrated doctorate course to master course because i cant finish doctorate course without scholarship now.. so, during this take off semester, is it suitable to apply D10 visa?? How should i answer immigration officer’s question if they ask about my low GPA ??
Any idea, any one please?? Thank you for your any kind of help.. thank you
splurk
May 5, 2016 at 5:00 pmOh my, that is sad to hear Heely. Maybe you should talk to your professor first or department secretary- maybe there are other options at your school where, instead of a full scholarship, you can apply as an assistant researcher while completing your degree. Also, on D2 you are allowed to do other-part time jobs too. I wish you all the best of luck dear. Check this also for proper guidelines on visa/sojourn http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/NtcCotnDetailR_en.pt?pageSpec=&targetRow=&lafjOrderBy=&sRange=&sKeyWord=&bbsGbCd=BS10&bbsSeq=2&ntccttSeq=45&pageCode=list&langCd=EN&bbsNm=Notice
Jenn
March 24, 2016 at 3:24 pmCan foreigners with tourist visa apply for D-10 visa too?
splurk
April 18, 2016 at 9:39 pmHello Jenn, Please visit http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/main_en.pt 🙂 all the proper guideline and requirements for korean visa are well listed in this website. Good luck!
splurk
May 5, 2016 at 4:52 pmHello Jen! It depends on your background. You may check this official page for proper Korean visa/sojourn guidelines 🙂 http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/NtcCotnDetailR_en.pt?pageSpec=&targetRow=&lafjOrderBy=&sRange=&sKeyWord=&bbsGbCd=BS10&bbsSeq=2&ntccttSeq=45&pageCode=list&langCd=EN&bbsNm=Notice
Okon Emmanuel Sunday
March 18, 2016 at 3:53 amHi please i’m a recent national Diploma graduate of marine engineering, I want to know if I can apply for a D10 visa without applying for the job down here in my country?i would be grateful if you can explain how I can get a job with the D10 VISA
splurk
April 18, 2016 at 9:38 pmHello 🙂
For proper korean visa guidelines, please refer to http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/main_en.pt it has everything, from requirements to qualifications 🙂 Good luck!
Bem
March 15, 2016 at 11:00 amJust an addition to this information. The D10 visa (I had D2, too) may be extended for 2 years but needs to be renewed every 6 months. ^^
splurk
April 18, 2016 at 9:37 pmThank you bem 🙂
nxxseo
March 9, 2016 at 4:34 amCan i try to get D10 visa if i haven’t been in Korean schools? If i have graduated from schools in different country?
splurk
April 18, 2016 at 9:30 pmHello nxxseo,
I don’t know the answer to your question but you may check http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/main_en.pt for proper guidelines regarding korean visa. Good luck!
wasig
January 7, 2016 at 3:48 pmWhen was your visa expiring and how manu days before you applied for d10. Did they take your old arc and gave a new one?how long does it take for the processing after submission?
splurk
March 7, 2016 at 9:22 pmI actually applied for the D10 visa two-three months before my d2 visa expires. And yes, they will take the old arc card and you will receive a new one. The processing takes 2-3 weeks 🙂 Good luck!
splurk
March 7, 2016 at 9:24 pmHello, it is sad to hear this from you. The KGSP program is a highly competitive program – which means, many of the people who apply to this program excel in their respective field. If you are confident to get this program, then you should be confident that you will not fail your program… or else… you may have to complete your studies without the scholarship 🙁
Jansen (@janxgarcia)
November 12, 2015 at 10:33 amHi! I just want to ask if it’s possible for someone to apply for D10 visa even though I don’t have the ARC anymore. I graduated from a university in Korea last year, but I came back home after, and now I want to look for a job in Korea but I no longer have the student visa. Is it still possible for me to apply for the D10 visa? How? Thanks in advance.
splurk
March 6, 2016 at 6:34 pmHello Jansen, Sorry for my very late reply. Congratulations if you got the d10 visa already but if not… Yes, you can still apply for this visa even though you’re not a student anymore. It will require you to show academic documents such as diploma/transcript tho 🙂 Good luck!
Aamir reyaz
January 16, 2017 at 2:29 amHi , i have one question. I have graduated from South Korea and after graduation i stayed in korea for 18 months on D 10 visa . I have still 6 months left to complete the 2 years , but i am not in korea currently. Can i apply for D10 visa from any country other than korea.
splurk
March 7, 2017 at 8:20 pmHello Aamir! I am not so sure about this. Is your D10 still valid? Do you have it with you? If your D10 is still valid and you have not surrendered it to the Korean embassy, then I guess you can still re-apply. However, if it expired already, it may mean that you have lost your chance to complete the 2 years. Please ask the Korean embassy in your country for further clarification 🙂
wasi
February 28, 2017 at 7:03 pmI do not think he can apply once he finished his D2 and chose to go back to his country, that is considered as your final departure, He should have gotten D10 before going to his country. Once you are gone , there is noway he can get d10 and come back to find jobs.
splurk
March 7, 2017 at 8:16 pmThank you so much for this very handy information wasi 🙂