D-4 visa for Korean language study
In short
- Who needs it
- Staying over 90 days to study Korean at a university's language institute: a D-4-1 (한국어연수). 90 days or less: the short-term C-3-1.
- Money to show
- The university checks for 10,000,000 won at a capital-area school, 8,000,000 won elsewhere: Ministry of Education handbook, March 27, 2026.
- First visa
- Up to 6 months, single entry. You extend it in Korea.
On a GKS scholarship? NIIED places you and pays the language year: GKS scholar visa
Which visa do you need?
- 90 days or less
- The Ministry of Justice's visa manual puts language trainees staying 90 days or less under the short-term C-3-1 visa, not the D-4-1.
- Over 90 days
- A D-4-1 (한국어연수): for high-school graduates studying Korean at a university's own language institute. Private academies and lifelong-education centres, a university's own included, are not covered.
- Switching in Korea
- Enter visa-free or on a short-term visa and, the Ministry of Justice's manuals say, a change to D-4-1 inside Korea is in principle not allowed.
- Where to apply
- In principle at the Korean mission in the country where you live or where your last school is.
Institutes add rules of their own, such as registering for 2 terms: tuition and institutes' rules
Which documents does the manual list?
- Visa application form, passport, photo, fee
- A copy of the university's business registration or unique-number certificate
- Standard admission letter
- Certificate of enrolment or proof of your last school, apostilled or confirmed by a consul; schooling in China is verified another way
- Proof of funds; with a parent's bank certificate, a family-relation certificate too
- Training plan with timetable, teaching staff and facilities
- Tuberculosis certificate, for nationals of the 35 countries the manual lists
The manual examines originals of school and funds papers as a rule. A mission may add or drop documents.
Who applies with a visa issuance certificate?
In Korea the university may apply for it (사증발급인정서) for you. The manual requires it of:
- Nationals of Cuba, Syria, North Macedonia, and Kosovo; one of the manual's lists leaves Cuba out
- Trainees from Mongolia, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and China entering an uncertified university
How much money must you show?
- To the university
- 10,000,000 won or more at a capital-area university, 8,000,000 won or more elsewhere, however long you stay: Ministry of Education handbook, March 27, 2026.
- To the visa officer
- The Ministry of Justice's release of June 23, 2023 set the visa standard for language trainees at 10,000,000 won, 8,000,000 won at a provincial university. Its visa manual prints no amount: in principle, proof of 6 months of tuition and living costs; a bank certificate counts only if issued within the last 30 days.
By university and nationality
- Certified university
- At a certified university, the Government's release of February 12, 2026 says, the visa is examined on the standard admission letter alone; below the excellent tier, nationals of the Ministry of Justice's notified and key-management countries still submit proof of funds.
- Vietnam
- The manual's list for visa issuance certificates adds, for Vietnamese trainees, a separate blocked-payment certificate of study funds. It prints no amount.
Which countries has the Ministry of Justice notified?
The Ministry of Justice's notice No. 2011-534 names 21 countries, the 21 its manuals count as notified: China, Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Mongolia, Thailand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, and Peru. 5 more that the stay manual calls key-management countries are named in no document we read.
The handbook does not define the capital area; elsewhere the Ministry of Justice's manuals use Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi.
Is your school certified? Look up a school in the certified list
What applies after you arrive?
Staying
- Residence card
- Staying over 90 days, you register as a foreign resident within 90 days of entry. registration steps
- Extending
- At an extension the stay manual counts only money deposited in your own account in Korea. extension steps and fee
- Changing school
- In principle, the stay manual says, a language trainee who changes school leaves Korea and returns on a visa for the new one. Its exceptions, limited by the kind of university: the institute closes or the change is otherwise not the trainee's fault, or a holder of TOPIK level 3 (or KIIP) has a good reason. KIIP: levels, level test, test dates and fees
Total stay and attendance
- Total stay
- 5 of the 14 institutes whose fees we list tell students 2 years at most. The Ministry of Justice's manuals (September 2026) print 2 years only as the most one permit can give, and no total for D-4-1.
- Attendance
- 3 of the 14 institutes whose fees we list tie a visa extension to 70% attendance. The stay manual's D-4 extension section gives no percentage.
Work and insurance
- Work
- No part-time work in the first 6 months after you enter on the visa, then only with a permit. part-time work rules
- Insurance
- National Health Insurance enrols foreign residents after 6 months; its list of statuses enrolled on entry names D-2, not D-4-1. Until then the handbook has universities see that trainees are insured.
On to a degree
- D-4 to D-2
- Changing D-4 to D-2 is a separate permit. D-4 to D-2 steps The handbook recommends TOPIK level 3 for entering a 4-year university. TOPIK levels
What is the Ministry of Justice planning to change?
On October 7, 2026 the Ministry published plans. Its manuals had not changed on October 12, 2026.
- Planned by the Ministry of Justice for the second half of 2026: no proof of funds for applicants with TOPIK level 4 or KIIP level 4.
- Planned by the Ministry of Justice: a blocked deposit of study funds for more applicants; the release's papers give both the first half of 2027 and 2028 as the start.
- Planned by the Ministry of Justice from 2028: part-time work only with a Korean-language score.
Sources
StudySunbae is independent of every university and of the Korean Government; each figure on this page is quoted from a listed source or counted from the institutes' own pages.