Foreign nationals deemed highly educated technology experts will be able to enter Korea on a specialized track, called a “top-tier” visa, with a chance to earn permanent residency and assisted services at public offices starting this month.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) on Wednesday announced a set of measures targeting foreign tech professionals, prospective students from friendly nations and foreign caregivers after convening a Foreign Workforce Policy Committee meeting at the government complex in central Seoul.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok said utilizing a foreign workforce has become “essential” in Korea to revive its economy and society.

He said Korea faces intensified global technological innovation and competition and a sharp decline in the domestic workforce due to the low birthrate, triggering an “all-out effort” to entice talents in cutting-edge technology fields and supply manpower in care services.

The newly launched “top-tier” visa will be granted to highly educated experts, researchers and entrepreneurs specializing in AI, robotics, semiconductor, display, biotechnology and defense technology.

Applicants for the “top-tier” visa should hold their master's or doctorate degrees from the top 100 universities worldwide and have three years of work experience at the world’s 500 largest companies. Also, they must be hired by Korea-based companies with annual salaries surpassing 140 million won ($95,985) — threefold that of Korea's GNI at 42.3 million won in 2023.

“Top-tier” visa’s perks will extend to the visa holders’ families.

Spouses and underage children of the “top-tier” visa holders will automatically receive F-2 resident visas. Also, they can earn permanent residency after living in Korea for three years. Parents and caregivers will be allowed to enter Korea upon invitation from top-tier visa holders.

The “top-tier” visa holders can receive their visa electronically, without visiting Korean embassies or consulates in their home countries.


Other settlement benefits for the “top-tier” visa holders will be rolled out in connection with the Industry Ministry’s K-Tech Pass program, which offers residential benefits to foreign technology experts.

The K-Tech Pass program offers a tax cut, which reduces income tax by 50 percent for a decade. Also, the pass recipients will be able to receive housing loans up to 500 million won — the same threshold as Koreans — once the Industry Ministry amends its governing provision. The current scheme for F-2 visa holders limits their housing loans to 200 million won.

Children of K-Tech Pass program participants would be allowed to enroll in foreign schools regardless of schools’ quota. The participants would be escorted to public offices and banks when they need language assistance.

Job seeking foreign specialists on D-10-T visas with master’s or doctorate degrees from the world’s top 100 universities will be permitted to explore job opportunities in Korea for two years. The OPC explained that the D-10-T visa aims to “encourage top talents’ settlement in Korea.”

The Korean government will also create a new type of visa — tentatively titled “Youth’s Dream in Korea” — for young adults from UN member states that fought for South Korea in the 1950-53 Korean War or Korea’s major economic and trade partners.

Those on a “Youth’s Dream in Korea” visa will be able to take language courses, partake in cultural experiences and seek internship opportunities.

Specifically, provincial and city governments will be in charge of designing the program so each municipality can acquire the talent they need. The central and local governments will jointly screen applicants and roll out settlement supports.

Unlike the current working holiday program that led most participants to reside in the greater Seoul area, the “Youth’s Dream in Korea” visa is intended to source foreign talent across the country, according to the OPC.

The visa issuance is scheduled to begin in the second half of this year, once local governments finish program design in the second quarter.

The visa-holders can either settle in Korea after gaining regular employment status — in the technology, agriculture and manufacturing industries — after completing their internships or return to their home countries.

The OPC said the visa is intended to offer the “Korean dream” to young people from friendly nations and facilitate people-to-people exchanges between the younger generation.

Korea will offer undergraduate courses and pilot programs to train and nurture foreign caregivers, aiming to increase a labor pool to tackle the country’s chronic staffing shortage in care services for elderly.

According to the OPC, foreign caregivers only accounted for 0.9 percent of the entire 646,000 workers domestically. The country should supply at least 116,000 care service personnel to meet its labor demand by 2028.

Qualifications such as relevant degrees and Korean linguistic ability will be assessed to select successful candidates who will undergo training. Specifically, those who studied or hold certificates related to social work or social services would be eligible for the training.

The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health and Welfare will decide on screening criteria and handpick candidates in the second half of this year. The selected trainees are expected to start the program next year.

The central government will also designate several provincial universities as institutions for nurturing foreign caregivers so they can “bring in foreign students, educate them and systematically support their employment and settlement” as caregivers, said the OPC.

The Health Ministry will design and oversee the undergraduate program and the local government and universities will support linguistic courses and employment processes. The Justice Ministry will decide on visa-related incentives so the program could be run and tailored to each region’s unique requirements.

Also, the government will expand diversity education and career consultation services for children from multicultural families as well as protection and occupational trainings for immigrant workers.

Foreign nationals permitted to reside in Korea or those who were naturalized within the last three years are eligible to receive an integration course teaching Korean culture and language at 384 institutions nationwide. Immigrants who successfully settled in Korea will visit schools for child immigrants to offer personalized advice on their adjustment into the Korean society and career paths.

The Labor Ministry will conduct inspections on workplaces hiring foreign laborers to verify they are abiding by labor regulations and guidelines. Some 33 facilities to protect foreign nationals from violence and nine consultation centers will be run under the oversight of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

For visa and social integration programs until 2027, the central government will spend 366.2 billion won with local government’s budget support for 329.9 billion won, according to the OPC.

Update, March 5: Added social integration programs and budget.



BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]