How to Apply for KIIP, Korea's Social Integration Program — From the Pre-Assessment to Visa Benefits

Some people first hear the words "Aren't you taking part in the Social Integration Program?" when they walk into an immigration office to extend their stay. Search it and the program turns up everywhere — permanent residency (F-5), naturalization, the points-based visa (F-2-7). Then you go to sign up and find that pre-assessment registration has already closed. There are only eight pre-assessment rounds in 2026 and registration is first-come, first-served, so if you don't know the timing you slip a month or two to the next chance.

KIIP (Korea Immigration and Integration Program, 사회통합프로그램) is a Korean-language and Korean-society curriculum for immigrants run by the Ministry of Justice. It's a ladder you climb from Level 0 up to Level 5, and completing it translates into real advantages in permanent residency, naturalization, and residence screening. The confusing part at first is that there are two counters — you apply for classes on the Social Integration Network (socinet.go.kr), and you register for tests on the assessment site (kiiptest.org).

In this article we'll cover signing up on the Social Integration Network, the level-placement and course-application flow, how to register for the pre-assessment and the schedule for the rest of 2026, and exactly how far the visa benefits go. If extending your stay is the urgent thing right now, read the Visa Extension Guide first.

Start by understanding the level structure

KIIP is built in Levels 0 through 5. Levels 0–4 are the "Korean Language and Culture" courses, and only the last one, Level 5, is the "Understanding Korean Society" course.

Level 5 splits by purpose. For permanent residency you go through the core 70 hours; for naturalization you continue through the advanced part for 100 hours in total. And you don't necessarily start at Level 0 — under "level placement" below, you can enter partway up depending on your Korean.

What the visa benefits actually cover

The benefits fall into four groups. This is an area where the rules change often, so read the following as of Aug 2026 and check again when you apply.

• Permanent residency (F-5): The basic civic-competency requirement for a general permanent-residency application is met either by completing Level 5 (the core 70 hours) or by passing the comprehensive assessment for permanent residency. Those who complete the course are also told they get extras such as an exemption from proving Korean proficiency and preference points.
• Naturalization: Since March 1, 2018, the separate written naturalization exam has been replaced by a pass (60 points or higher) on the comprehensive assessment for naturalization. On top of that, someone who finishes all of Level 5 (70 core + 30 advanced hours) and passes the assessment is also exempt from the naturalization interview. If you only passed the assessment without finishing the course, the interview exemption isn't granted.
• F-2-7 points system: In the basic civic-competency category (up to 20 points), completing Level 5 counts for 20 points (the same as TOPIK level 5 or 6), Level 4 for 15 and Level 3 for 10, and completing Level 5 is also listed as carrying a separate +10 bonus. The pass line is 80 points or more out of a total of 170. That said, the points table is revised often, so be sure to check the current criteria before you apply. (check official sources)
• Residence permits and visas: Completers are said to be recognized for benefits when changing residence status or applying for a visa, but the specifics differ by status. Check what applies to your own status on HiKorea (hikorea.go.kr) or at ☎1345. (check official sources)

Who can take part

Any lawfully staying foreign national with an Alien Registration Card or a domestic residence report card can take part. People who acquired Korean nationality through naturalization, nationality determination, or reinstatement of nationality within the past 3 years are eligible too. Holders of the Overseas Korean visit status (C-3-8) can sit the pre-assessment only; taking classes is possible after completing alien registration.

If you're an Overseas Korean (F-4) who hasn't filed a domestic residence report yet, sorting that out first is the right order — see the Domestic Residence Report Guide.

How to apply — it starts on the Social Integration Network

Applications are accepted online only, through the Social Integration Network (socinet.go.kr). There's no separate walk-in or phone counter. The big picture is three steps.

Step 1 — Create an account

Go to socinet.go.kr and sign up. The exact fields and verification methods on the sign-up screen can differ depending on your account situation, so if you get stuck, asking the Immigration Contact Center at ☎1345 is the faster route. (check official sources)

Step 2 — Level placement

After logging in, set your starting level from the level-placement menu. There are three ways to do it, listed below.

Step 3 — Course application

Once your level is set, apply for classes from the course-application menu. The catch is that you can apply only during the application window. For 2026 the year is announced as three terms — term 1 Jan 2–May 10, term 2 May 11–Aug 16, term 3 Aug 17–Dec 13 — but the actual openings and recruitment periods can differ by operating institution. (check official sources)

Three ways to get your level assigned

• ① Start at Level 0: You can choose Level 0 (the 15-hour basics) directly, with no pre-assessment. This suits people learning Korean for the first time.
• ② Take the pre-assessment: The route most people choose. Your starting level is set by your test score. The test fee is ₩38,000 (as of Aug 2026).
• ③ Linked placement: A way to be placed without a test, based on your TOPIK level or a marriage-migrant visa. Per the 2023 edition of the official leaflet, TOPIK level 1 → Level 2, level 2 → Level 3, level 3 → Level 4, levels 4–6 → Level 5, and a marriage-migrant visa link → Level 2. Check the Social Integration Network notices for whether the same criteria still apply. (check official sources)

Registering for the pre-assessment — first-come, first-served on kiiptest.org

Pre-assessment registration is handled not on the Social Integration Network but separately on the assessment site (kiiptest.org). You can sign up there with your Social Integration Network ID.

1. Create an account on kiiptest.org. You need to have finished signing up on the Social Integration Network first.
2. Registration opens online, first-come first-served, from 9:00 AM on the opening day. Traffic surges put you in a queue, and once you're in there's a 10-minute time limit per person. We recommend logging in before 9 and going in the moment it opens.
3. Pay the ₩38,000 test fee, then print your registration receipt and keep it.

The competition is no exaggeration. This is a test that runs a queue system because of the traffic surge, and even the additional registration for the 3rd mid-term assessment in 2026 opened its 3,518 nationwide places first-come, first-served at 9 AM on the opening day. Plan on registering on the first morning.

The test is split into a multiple-choice written part and an oral part. It's reported to be 75 points written + 25 points oral (5 questions) for 100 total, with the oral running about 10 minutes. Check details like question counts and test times against the notice for your round. (check official sources)

Here's how scores map to levels.

85 points or higher comes with a special provision. Without taking Level 5 classes, you can sit the comprehensive assessment for permanent residency directly, within 2 years of the score date. Note, though, that passing by this route is said to count only as meeting the basic civic-competency requirement — the "course completer" benefits (the exemption from proving Korean proficiency, and so on) don't come with it. (check official sources)

Pre-assessment schedule for the rest of 2026

Assessments in 2026 were announced as 20 rounds in total (8 pre, 4 mid-term, 8 comprehensive). Here are the pre-assessment rounds that remain.

As of today (Aug 17, 2026), the nearest chance is round 6. Registration opens at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, September 1 and runs to September 5, with the test on Saturday, September 19. Miss it and you wait for round 7 registration (from October 13). The first-half rounds (Jan 10, Mar 14, Apr 11, May 9) have all passed.

The regular tests are held as Saturday paper-based tests (PBT), and separately from those, computer-based on-demand assessments (CBT) are said to run alongside them — check the kiiptest.org notices for details such as center locations and operating days. (check official sources)

Results appear on your kiiptest.org My Page on the announcement date. Pre-assessment results come out about 2 weeks after the test (October 7 for round 6).

How classes run, and what they cost

• Tuition is listed as free (as of Aug 2026; check official sources). The only money involved is the ₩38,000 test fee (the same per sitting for the pre, mid-term, and comprehensive assessments).
• Classes are in-person at operating institutions nationwide by default, and since 2020 some institutions have also run live video classes alongside them (depending on the institution and the course, some offer in-person only). If you have a reason such as pregnancy or childbirth, limited mobility, living far away, no course offered nearby, or employment, you can apply for the live online video classes run by the Korea Immigration Foundation (☎02-2643-8791, ext. 2). Places go first-come, first-served, then you're assigned after a review of supporting documents such as a pregnancy confirmation or a certificate of employment — and these are real-time two-way classes, not one-way recorded lectures.

Moving up — all the way to passing the comprehensive assessment

• You start from your assigned level and move up by repeating completion and passing the assessment. Levels 1–3 have stage assessments; when you finish Level 4 you sit the mid-term assessment.
• For Level 5, the core course (70 hours) is followed by the comprehensive assessment for permanent residency, and if you finish the advanced course (30 hours) as well, the comprehensive assessment for naturalization. The comprehensive assessment is passed with 60 points or more out of 100.
• With 41–59 points on the comprehensive assessment, you can still be credited through "minimum-score re-completion". However, completing the naturalization version this way means you don't get the naturalization interview exemption.
• Even if you fail the assessment, there's a re-completion system that credits you once you complete the same level again, and there's no limit on the number of times or the timing for retaking the mid-term and comprehensive assessments.
• Retaking costs the ₩38,000 fee again each sitting (as of Aug 2026).

Course inquiries are directed to ☎1345, and assessment inquiries to the Korea Immigration Foundation at ☎02-2643-8791 (ext. 1). (check official sources)

Getting to the test center: transport & payment tips

One KIIP level runs 100 hours, so it becomes a schedule of traveling to and from your operating institution every week for months. Pre-assessment and mid-term assessment test centers can also be assigned somewhere far from where you live. And when class falls on a weekend morning, the first thing you end up checking is the first bus or subway and your transfer route.

The trouble is that payments keep coming attached to all this repeated travel. Many Korean transport apps require Korean phone identity verification, so right after alien registration, or before you've activated a phone, you're likely to hit a wall at taxi hailing and train booking. Installing one transport and payment app designed to work without identity verification makes it far simpler — from calling a taxi to an unfamiliar test center on the morning of the exam to the travel that repeats all term.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. I don't speak any Korean — do I still have to start with the pre-assessment? No. There's an option to start at Level 0 (the 15-hour basics) with no pre-assessment. If Korean is brand new to you, starting at Level 0 is easier on the nerves than forcing your way through a test; if you have even a little Korean, aiming for a mid-level placement through the pre-assessment saves time.

Q2. I missed the pre-assessment registration. What do I do? The rounds left in 2026 are round 6 (registration Sep 1–5), round 7 (Oct 13–17), and round 8 (Nov 3–7). Beyond the regular rounds, computer-based on-demand assessments (CBT) are said to run alongside them, so check the kiiptest.org notices for the on-demand schedule. (check official sources)

Q3. Are the classes really free? Tuition is listed as free (as of Aug 2026; check official sources). What costs money is the test fee, and that's ₩38,000 per sitting whether it's the pre, mid-term, or comprehensive assessment.

Q4. If I have a TOPIK level, can I skip the pre-assessment? There's linked placement. Per the 2023 edition of the official leaflet, placement is listed as TOPIK level 1 → Level 2, level 2 → Level 3, level 3 → Level 4, and levels 4–6 → Level 5. Check the Social Integration Network notices for whether the same criteria still apply before you proceed. (check official sources)

Q5. If I complete all the way through Level 5, does permanent residency come right away? No. Completing KIIP satisfies one requirement of a permanent-residency application — the basic civic competency. Permanent residency (F-5) is screened together with other requirements such as your residence status and length of stay, and the conditions differ by category. Check the full set of requirements for your case on HiKorea (hikorea.go.kr) or at ☎1345.

If you've decided to start KIIP, there are two things to do today

Finish signing up on the Social Integration Network (socinet.go.kr) first, and if you plan to take the pre-assessment, set an alarm for registration at 9:00 AM on September 1. It's first-come, first-served, so that one alarm decides two months.

KIIP is a long game. Plenty of people change residence status while they're in the middle of it, so keep the Guide to Changing Your Visa Status alongside it, and when an immigration office visit comes up, cut the wait with a HiKorea appointment booking.