How to Buy Yourself Time the Day After Graduation — D-10 Job-Seeking Visa: Points System, Length of Stay, and Where Part-Time Work Stops

The graduation ceremony is over, hiring results still haven't come, and your D-2 period of stay is running out. The track that makes that gap legal is Job Seeking (D-10). It is item 13 of [Annex Table 1-2] Long-Term Stay Statuses in the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act, and the definition reads: "a person who intends to undertake training, job-seeking activities and the like in order to obtain employment in a field falling under a status of stay from Professor (E-1) through Specific Activities (E-7), and who is recognised by the Minister of Justice" (the basis for setting long-term stay statuses in Annex Table 1-2 is Article 12 of the same Decree, as of 2026).

Start with the scale: as of 31 July 2026 there were 26,559 D-10 holders in Korea. At the same point there were 236,884 D-2 international students and 88,988 E-7 Specific Activities holders, so this is the corridor between studying and working (Ministry of Justice, Monthly Statistics on Immigration and Foreign Policy, July 2026). The top nationality is Vietnam with 12,269 people, so there is a lot of information in Vietnamese-language communities — but much of it was written against the pre-October-2025 rules. Check what date the article you are reading is based on before anything else.

D-10 Is Not a "Visa That Lets You Work"

Everything else goes wrong if you don't start here. Article 23(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act lists the statuses that permit employment activity as Short-Term Employment (C-4), Professor (E-1) through Crew Employment (E-10), and Working Visit (H-2) (effective 1 June 2025, Presidential Decree No. 35540). Job Seeking (D-10) is not on that list.

So the conclusion is a single one. D-10 is not a status that lets you work; it is a status that makes the time you spend looking for work legal. To do anything paid, you must separately obtain permission to engage in activities outside your status of stay under Article 20 of the Immigration Act.

There are four sub-codes, and this article deals with D-10-1, which is what most readers hold.

D-10-2, D-10-3 and D-10-T are separate tracks tied to the start-up immigration points system or to their own guidelines. This article tells you only that they exist and where the boundary lies; it does not cover their detailed requirements.

Am I Someone Who Has to Worry About Points?

The rule for General Job Seeking (D-10-1) is the points system. Out of 190 points total, you need at least 20 points in the basic items and a total score of at least 60 (Ministry of Justice, "Stay-Related Civil Affairs Manual by Status", August 2026 edition). However, nationals of countries designated by the Minister of Justice who change to D-10-1 from within Korea while holding B-1, B-2, C-1, C-3, C-4, D-3, E-9, E-10 or G-1 status are required to score at least 80. This is why you and a friend with the same score can get different outcomes.

There is a special provision for those who graduated from a Korean university, and you must read the two rows below together.

If you have held D-10 status before, this is not a "first change" and the points system applies; if you left Korea and obtain a D-10 visa within one year of your graduation date, you are included in the waiver. What is waived here is "submission of proof of living expenses" — it does not mean your bank balance is never examined.

There are other branches to the points-system waiver as well (August 2026 edition). The following is a summary, so confirm whether it applies to you with ☎1345 or your competent immigration office.

• Those who obtained an associate degree or higher at a regular Korean university and for whom fewer than three years have passed, and who have passed the Stage 4 mid-term evaluation of the Korea Immigration and Integration Program or hold TOPIK Level 4 or above
• "Foreign youths raised in Korea" aged 18 or over and 24 or under as of the application date who completed elementary, middle and high school entirely in Korea
• "Promising talent" aged 29 or under who, within the past three years, obtained a bachelor's degree or higher at a university ranked in the top 200 of THE or QS, or who majored in Korean Studies and hold TOPIK Level 6
• Those who completed the specialised care worker training course at the Korea Human Resource Development Institute for Health and Welfare
• Those whose employment activity ended for a legitimate reason, such as expiry of an employment contract under E-1 to E-7 status (living-expense proof waived only at the first change to D-10)

Not being on this list does not automatically mean no, and being on it does not automatically mean yes. The determination is made by your competent immigration office.

Why You Should Read the 190-Point Table Before You Graduate

The scoring structure has three blocks. Basic items up to 50 points (age 20 + highest education 30), optional items up to 70 points (work experience 15 + study in Korea 30 + training/education in Korea 5 + Korean language ability 20), and bonus points up to 70. Add the three and you get exactly 190.

Looking at the table, the time-bound items stand out. The 30 points for study in Korea carry the condition within three years of graduation, and TOPIK and the Korea Immigration and Integration Program are tied to exam and course schedules. In other words, some items are too late to start once you have already graduated.

How Long Can I Stay — One Year Per Grant, Three Years Maximum

The Ministry of Justice announced improvements to the Job Seeking (D-10) scheme in a press release on 27 October 2025, and the effective date was 29 October 2025.

The press release gave "internship activity being part of job-seeking" as the reason for removing the total internship cap, and "concerns about low-wage labour" as the reason for holding a single company to one year.

Note that this does not mean three years are granted at once. The cap per grant is one year, and the total cap is "up to three years, differentiated according to the applicant's expertise and other factors". Each time there are documents, fees and screening, and the points system may apply on extension. On top of that, there are four cases where only six months are granted at a time — ① those who completed the specialised care worker training course, ② those scoring 60 or more but less than 80 under the points system, ③ those with work experience in a professional status (E-1 to E-7), and ④ interns at foreign missions in Korea.

There is one more rule that applies only to foreign nationals. In principle, the period of stay granted with a stay permit is only granted within the validity of your passport (in effect since 1 July 2021). Even if you qualify for one year, if your passport has five months left you get five months. Passport renewal is handled by your own country's embassy, so appointments and delivery add several weeks, and that time comes straight out of your job-seeking period. Where reissuing the passport within the remaining period of stay is practically impossible, there is an exception allowing a one-time grant treated as six months (since 1 July 2022).

If You Have a Criminal Fine or Summary Fine on Record — Point Deductions and Disqualification Are Different Things

This is where people who received a notice disposition while studying are most often mistaken. Point deductions and disqualification are separate judgements.

The important point is that administrative fines are not included in the deduction aggregate. The scoring table states explicitly "administrative fines not included". For example, being late to report a change to your alien registration details attracts an administrative fine of up to 1,000,000 KRW (Immigration Act Article 100(2)1, as of 2026), and that is not a criminal punishment. By contrast, a summary fine notified after an immigration violation investigation establishes proof of an offence (Article 102(1) of the same Act) counts for both deductions and disqualification.

Earning Money While Job-Seeking — "Permission" and "Reporting" Are Different Procedures

Many people have the order backwards. The rule is that employment is not allowed, and it becomes possible within a set scope only when someone who meets every requirement has obtained permission in advance.

Part-time work is a matter of "permission". For General Job Seeking (D-10-1) to obtain permission to engage in activities outside the status of stay, all four requirements must be met (August 2026 edition) — ① holding an associate degree or higher from a Korean university and fewer than three years since the graduation date, ② completion of Stage 4 or above of the Korea Immigration and Integration Program or TOPIK Level 4 or above, ③ never having stayed under E-1 to E-7 status, and ④ not being a person barred from applying due to a violation. D-10-2 and D-10-3 are excluded from this provision. The permitted hours are 25 hours on weekdays, or 30 hours on weekdays for those who have completed Stage 5 or above of the Korea Immigration and Integration Program, with no hour limit on weekends and public holidays.

Where your wallet gets a surprise is the fee. The fee for permission to engage in activities outside your status of stay is 120,000 KRW, and the provision lowering it to 20,000 KRW applies only to Study Abroad (D-2) and General Training (D-4) (Immigration Act Enforcement Rule Article 72(2), effective 23 January 2026). If you once paid 20,000 KRW for a part-time work permit as a D-2 student, the same procedure costs 120,000 KRW on D-10.

Internships (training) are a matter of "reporting". If you begin an internship in an E-1 to E-7 field during your job-seeking period or change the organisation you belong to, you must report the change to your alien registration details (Immigration Act Article 35, and Article 49-2(3) of its Enforcement Rule). The deadline set by Article 35 of the Act is within 15 days. However, the attached form in the manual says "report 14 days in advance", so the values differ within government documents — check with your competent office before you start an internship.

A report can also be rejected. If, within the past year, the number of interns the company did not convert to employment reaches 10% of its regular workforce (20% for companies with fewer than 10 employees) or more, it is restricted; and a record of interning at the same company for a year or more in total also blocks it. That means your own eligibility can be fine and it can still fail because of that company, so there is something to check with the employer before signing.

Where and How to Apply — Booking, Documents, Fees

Permission to change your status of stay is a permission you must obtain in advance, yourself (Immigration Act Article 24(1)). Permission to extend your period of stay must likewise be obtained before your period of stay ends (Article 25(1) of the same Act). Applications go to the head of the immigration office, branch office or sub-office (Enforcement Decree Articles 30 and 31).

Visits are by appointment. You book a visit date and time slot on Hi Korea (hikorea.go.kr) and must bring the confirmation; if you go without a booking you may not be processed, or may wait a long time. Electronic applications can be filed on weekdays from 07:00 to 22:00, and system enquiries go to ☎1345. How to book is covered separately in How to Book a Hi Korea Appointment, and online filing in How to Use Hi Korea e-Application.

Applying online for a change or extension of status reduces the fee by two tenths (Article 74(2)2 of the same Rule). However, whether online filing is available is decided status by status, and we could not confirm an explicit entry for D-10, so check on the e-application screen itself.

The document names are all Korean administrative terms and do not translate well even with a translation app. If this is your first change after graduating from a Korean university, you submit the common documents (application form, photo, passport copy, fee, ID copy) plus a job-seeking activity plan (form posted on Hi Korea), your degree certificate or graduation certificate, and proof of your place of residence (lease agreement, dormitory confirmation, etc.), with proof of living expenses waived. If you fall under the points system, documents relevant to you — work experience, Korean language ability, employment recommendation letters — plus proof of living expenses (bank balance certificate, etc.) are added. The manual gives only a formula for the living-expense standard, "annual single-household housing benefit standard × number of months of stay", with no amount, so ask your competent office how much is required.

Extension is not automatic. A job-seeking activity plan is required for extension applications too, and those under the points system are additionally asked for proof of living expenses and "other documents deemed necessary for points-system evaluation". So collect the companies you applied to, interview dates and rejection emails as you go. Almost none of it survives if you try to reconstruct it a year later.

After the Job Is Settled

The most dangerous misunderstanding is "once I'm hired, the company will take care of it". Permission to change your status of stay is a permission you must obtain in advance yourself, so you can do that work from the day the change is permitted, not the day you sign the employment contract. For which E-7 occupation applies, see E-7 Visa Occupation Codes Explained, and for what work each status allows, see Work Permission by Status of Stay.

The plan "I'll just go home and come back with a job-seeking visa" is narrower than it sounds. D-10 visas for the purpose of E-7 semi-professional and skilled workers cannot be applied for from overseas, and discretionary issuance by the head of a Korean overseas mission is a single-entry visa with a six-month period of stay (August 2026 edition). That said, if you have completed alien registration, re-entry within one year of your departure date is exempt from re-entry permission (or within your remaining period of stay, if that is shorter than a year) — so a short trip out and "leaving to get a new one" are different things.

You will end up going back and forth between offices, your school and interview venues more often than you expect. Immigration offices open only on weekday daytimes, so a whole day goes; and if the interview is in another city, the travel itself becomes the schedule. Deciding the route for that day in advance takes some of the weight off. LACHA is a transport and payment super-app for foreign residents and visitors that works without Korean identity verification, letting you pay for taxis, KTX, express buses, the Airport Railroad and transit cards in one place. Note that LACHA is a private transport and payment service and does not provide job placement or visa and stay agency services.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. I graduated from a Korean university — can I skip the points system? For that one time when you take a degree on D-2 at a Korean university and change to D-10-1 "for the first time", the points system is not applied, proof of living expenses is waived, and a one-year period of stay is granted (Ministry of Justice, "Stay-Related Civil Affairs Manual by Status", August 2026 edition). But the points system applies when you extend. It does not mean a waiver for all three years, and if you have held D-10 before, this is not a "first" and the points system applies from the outset. Confirm whether the provision covers you with ☎1345 or your competent immigration office.

Q2. Can I work part-time on D-10? As a rule, no. D-10 is not on the list of employment-eligible statuses in Article 23(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act, so to work you must obtain permission for activities outside your status of stay under Article 20 of the Act in advance. General Job Seeking (D-10-1) requires all four conditions — a Korean university degree with fewer than three years since graduation, Stage 4 or above of the Korea Immigration and Integration Program or TOPIK Level 4 or above, and so on — and the fee is 120,000 KRW (Enforcement Rule Article 72(2)). Working without permission is subject to imprisonment of up to three years or a criminal fine of up to 30,000,000 KRW (Act Article 94(12), as of 2026) and can also be a ground for deportation. Permitted industries differ between editions of the manual, so this article does not fix them — check with ☎1345.

Q3. I hear you can get three years on a job-seeking visa. Is that three years at once? No. What changed with effect from 29 October 2025 is that "6 months per grant, up to 2 years" became "1 year per grant, up to 3 years" (Ministry of Justice press release, 27 October 2025), and the cap per grant is one year. The total cap is also "up to three years, differentiated according to the applicant's expertise", so it varies from person to person. Those who completed the specialised care worker training course, those scoring 60 or more but less than 80 under the points system, those with E-1 to E-7 work experience, and interns at foreign missions in Korea receive only six months per grant. On top of that, the period of stay is granted only within the validity of your passport, so if your passport has little time left, that is all you get.

Q4. I paid a summary fine while I was a student. Does that block my application? You have to separate deductions from disqualification. Deductions are assessed from −5 to −30 by band, based on the aggregate amount of dispositions within five years of the application date across summary fines and criminal fines. Disqualification means imprisonment or heavier within 5 years, deportation or a departure order within 5 years, a criminal fine of 3,000,000 KRW or more within 3 years, or summary fines of 5,000,000 KRW or more for a first offence (for repeat offences, an aggregate of 7,000,000 KRW or more within the last 3 years). Administrative fines are not included in the deduction aggregate (the scoring table states "administrative fines not included"). The conclusion turns on the combination of amount and timing, so bring your disposition notice and confirm with ☎1345 and your competent office.

Q5. My job is confirmed. When can I start work? From the day permission to change your status of stay is granted. Article 24(1) of the Immigration Act requires you to obtain change permission "in advance" in order to engage in activities corresponding to another status of stay, so signing an employment contract alone does not let you work. The change permission fee is 100,000 KRW and issue or reissue of an alien registration card is 35,000 KRW (Enforcement Rule Article 72(5) and (10)). Starting work first on the strength of the company saying it will handle things can amount to a violation of Article 94(16) of the Act, so confirm the permission date before you move.