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Korea working holiday visa (H-1): who can go and what it allows

Which countries, what age, how many places, how much work and study, and what each embassy asks for. Sources checked October 19, 2026.

The short answers

Which countries
30 countries and regions have a working holiday agreement with Korea, according to the Foreign Ministry's Working Holiday Info Center; Vietnam, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, and Mexico are not among them. Countries
How old
The centre's table gives ages 18 to 30 for 15 of them and up to 34 or 35 for 14; for Japan it is 18 to 25, or up to 30 where unavoidable circumstances are found. Ages and places
Work
The Ministry of Justice's stay manual allows up to 25 hours a week, a maximum of 1,300 hours (25 × 52 weeks); Canadians may work 40 hours a week, and 5 countries have shorter work periods. Work rules
Where to apply
From your own country, at the Korean embassy, consulate or visa application centre that covers it; the centre says you cannot apply from inside Korea. Embassies

Not here: jobs, housing, living costs or seats left. Work limits for students: part-time work.

Which countries have a working holiday agreement with Korea?

30 countries and regions, from the Working Holiday Info Center's table (2026/27), by age band at application, with the number of places a year.

Ages 18 to 30

Andorra
50
Australia
No limit
Austria
300
Belgium
200
Czechia
300
Hong Kong
1,000
Hungary
100
Israel
200
Italy
500
Netherlands
200
New Zealand
3,000
Poland
200
Spain
1,000
Sweden
No limit
United States
2,000

United States: for students in higher education or graduates of the past year; the Ministry of Justice's visa manual sets no age limit for Americans.

Ages 18 to 34

Argentina
200
Brazil
300
Chile
100
Denmark
No limit
Germany
No limit
Ireland
800
Latvia
100
Portugal
200
Taiwan
800

Ages 18 to 35

Canada
12,000
Finland
–
France
2,000
Luxembourg
100
United Kingdom
5,000

Finland: the centre gives the age band and leaves places, work and study "to be updated". The centre's notice of May 18, 2026 says the agreement was signed on May 13, 2026 and takes effect 60 days after both governments notify each other; it had named no start date when we read it on October 19, 2026.

Japan: ages 18 to 25, or up to 30 where unavoidable circumstances are found

Japan
10,000

Japan: the Ministry of Justice's visa manual gives 18 to 30, and the Korean missions in Japan each word the limit a little differently.

The Ministry of Justice's visa manual has an older list; where they differ, this page follows the centre.

Extra conditions

New Zealand: you must have lived there at least 6 months. Hong Kong: an ordinary resident of the SAR. Taiwan: a household registration there. United States: a student in higher education or a graduate of the past year. Refugees, stateless people and permanent residents of a partner country are not covered: the agreements are for its nationals.

What do you need to apply for a Korean working holiday visa?

The Ministry of Justice and the Working Holiday Info Center set this baseline; each embassy states its own amounts and can ask for more.

Money
At least KRW 3,000,000 for the first 3 months, plus a return ticket or the money for one; the Ministry of Justice sets this won amount for every country alike.
Health insurance
Required for the whole stay; the Ministry of Justice recommends cover of at least KRW 40,000,000, and by reciprocity the amount, and whether the certificate is asked for, can differ by country.
Passport
Valid 6+ months by the visa manual (3+ months for Chileans); the centre's page says a year; embassies differ.
Purpose, family, record
A holiday as the main purpose; no dependants with you; no substantial criminal record (the visa manual refuses a visa after a fine of KRW 3,000,000 or more); health fit for travel and work.
Taken part before
Once only, as a rule. Canada and Japan allow a second time, and the visa manual lets Ireland, Sweden, and United States nationals apply again by reciprocity (the manual dates its reciprocity list to 2018).
Where and when
From your own country, at the Korean embassy or consulate that covers it, in person or by post where it allows; Germany, France, United Kingdom, and Netherlands nationals use a Korea Visa Application Center (Germany nationals may also go to a Korean consulate), and Austrians may also apply in Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong or Taipei. The centre says applications are taken year-round, first come, first served; some embassies set windows. Each embassy lists its own documents.

Working Holiday Info Center · Ministry of Justice

How many hours can you work on an H-1 visa?

On an H-1 visa, the Ministry of Justice's stay manual allows up to 25 hours a week, a maximum of 1,300 hours (25 × 52 weeks), in any type of job except the ones listed here; Canadians may work 40 hours a week, and 5 countries have shorter work periods.

Canada
40 hours a week · 2,080 hours
Australia
6 months · 625 hours
Belgium
6 months · 625 hours
Denmark
9 months · 950 hours
Israel
3 months · 300 hours
Italy
6 months · 625 hours

The centre's table words the periods of Australia, Israel and Hong Kong as limits with one employer; Hong Kong's is 6 months. The Embassy in Canberra writes both: no more than 1,300 hours, and no more than 6 months with the same employer.

The manual's table does not say "a year"; the Taipei Mission and the Embassy in Canberra call 1,300 hours a yearly limit.

Jobs the manual rules out

  • Work in entertainment establishments (the E-6 jobs)
  • Jobs that need a licence or qualification, such as doctor, lawyer, professor, pilot or conversation instructor, and E-7 jobs
  • Gambling, and businesses against public morals or closed to minors
  • Private tutoring

The manual also turns away anyone who means to do nothing but work, not travel, from the day they arrive.

Student visas (D-2, D-4) have other limits: part-time work for students.

Can you study in Korea on a working holiday visa?

Yes: language courses and private academies (hakwon), for most countries throughout the stay, but not a degree programme and not study combined with teaching a foreign language, by the Ministry of Justice's stay manual.

Australia
4 months
Austria
6 months
Belgium
6 months
Canada
6 months
Denmark
6 months
Hong Kong
6 months
Ireland
6 months
Israel
6 months
New Zealand
6 months

Where sources differ: the centre's table gives Austria no limit, and the same manual's student-visa section allows Canadians 3 months of Korean.

Fees and terms at university language institutes: Korean language programmes.

What do Korean embassies ask for, country by country?

Each line is in that embassy's words, with the date on its page; its page decides.

Embassy in Japan, Tokyo, June 19, 2026
At least JPY 300,000 (JPY 400,000 without a return ticket); insurance of KRW 40,000,000 or more for 10+ months. Only through its designated counsellors; a second time allowed once since October 1, 2025. Its page
Korean Mission in Taipei, May 4, 2026
At least USD 3,000; insurance for a year. Its notice set a window from May 5, 2026 to December 4, 2026, closing earlier once 800 places filled; no second time. Its page
Consulate General in Hong Kong, July 23, 2026
A daily balance of HKD 25,000 or more kept for the past 3 months; insurance for a year; apply while in Hong Kong. Its page
Embassy in Spain, Madrid, December 2, 2024
More than USD 3,000, or more than EUR 4,000 including the ticket; insurance of more than EUR 30,000; no visa fee. Its page
Embassy in Argentina, Buenos Aires, December 15, 2025
At least USD 3,000, kept for the last 3 full months in your own account; insurance of USD 30,000 or more; no visa fee. Its page
Embassy in Chile, Santiago, June 6, 2025
More than USD 3,000 on top of the return ticket; insurance of KRW 40,000,000 (USD 35,000) for 6+ months, plus Korea's national health insurance from month 7; no visa fee. Its notice of November 15, 2025 says the 2026 places are taken. Its page
Embassy in Canada, Ottawa, October 25, 2024
About CAD 3,400 for the first 3 months; insurance of KRW 40,000,000 or more for 2 years (one-year cover gets a one-year visa); visa fee CAD 121.5. Its page
Consulate General in Seattle, January 2, 2026
At least KRW 3,000,000; insurance of KRW 40,000,000 or more; visa fee USD 45. Other US consulates may differ. Its page
Embassy in Ireland, Dublin, read October 19, 2026
Money for 3+ months; insurance for the year. 12 months, no extension. Its page
Embassy in Australia, Canberra, February 6, 2026
A closing balance of more than AUD 5,000; visa fee AUD 588. Its page

No figures here from Embassy in New Zealand, Wellington (its page is from June 3, 2022, more than 2 years before we read it) or Embassy in the UK, London (applications go through the Korea Visa Application Center in London, whose site did not open for us). Other countries: the Foreign Ministry's list of Korean missions.

What happens after you arrive: registration, extension, changing visa?

These rules are the Ministry of Justice's, from its stay manual, unless a line names another source.

Residence card
If you will stay more than 90 days, you must register for a residence card; the manual allows no exception by agreement. The card costs KRW 35,000 under the Enforcement Rule of the Immigration Act. The Embassy in Japan warns that leaving Korea before the card is issued ends re-entry.
Extension
Up to 12 months from your entry date in all; by agreement, 18 months for Americans and 24 for British and Canadian nationals. The fee is KRW 60,000.
Leaving and coming back
Once registered, you need no re-entry permit to come back within 12 months of leaving, or before your permitted stay ends if that is sooner.
Changing to another visa
Restricted in principle. Allowed: a licensed profession or an E-7 job once you meet its requirements (not for United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Denmark, Chile, Italy, Israel, and Belgium nationals); investor (D-8) and trader (D-9) visas, barred only for Ireland, France, and United Kingdom nationals. Ruled out: marriage (F-6), and changing into H-1 inside Korea. The student (D-2), language-trainee (D-4) and job-seeker (D-10) sections do not say whether an H-1 holder can change into them: ask the Immigration Contact Center on 1345. The E-7 visa

Sources

StudySunbae is independent of every ministry and embassy on this page. Each figure is quoted from a listed source, last checked on October 19, 2026; a source can change it, and its own page decides.