What blocks you in a Korean university application isn't the form — it's the paperwork from home: apostille, degree verification and proof of funds (as of September 2026)

Some universities accept your application documents as scanned uploads (Seoul National University), and at others submitting the originals is the rule (Jeonbuk National University). Either way, what actually holds people up is not the submission method — it's a single sheet of paper you can only obtain in your home country. For a Korean student, a graduation certificate is one trip to one issuing office; for a foreign applicant it becomes three stages: issued by your school back home → apostille from your country's competent authority (or consular legalization at the Korean diplomatic mission) → notarized translation. Different agencies, sometimes different cities, and that lead time can run longer than the application deadline itself. Seoul National University's admissions guide goes as far as to strongly recommend obtaining the apostille or consular legalization well in advance, since it can be delayed depending on the country.

The map, thankfully, is simple. Under the Ministry of Education's Standard Operating Guidelines for Foreign Students and Language Trainees (「외국인 유학생 및 어학연수생 표준업무처리요령」, based on the revision of March 27, 2026; the MOE Guidelines from here on), the matters screened for admission are only two: academic capability and financial capability. However long the document list looks, every item on it exists to prove one or the other.

Universities Look at Only Two Things — Academic Capability and Financial Capability

Academic capability means whether you completed schooling equivalent to a high school graduate, whether you can use Korean, and whether you meet the university's own academic capability standards. Financial capability means whether you can cover at least the average cost of one year, including tuition and living expenses. The period standard is one year for degree programs and six months for language training programs; for people permitted to stay less than a year it is prorated to the period of stay, except that language training is six months' worth regardless of duration. The required visa documents listed by the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City (with jurisdiction over southern Vietnam) follow the same structure. Most of the mission-level standards in this article are examples drawn from that one office's guidance dated September 26, 2024. Visa requirements differ from mission to mission, so take the required visa documents on your own jurisdictional mission's website as your standard.

The Korean-language standard splits by program type. As selection criteria the MOE Guidelines recommend to universities, four-year universities and graduate schools admit at TOPIK Level 3 or above and require Level 4 or above before graduation, while junior colleges and associate degree programs admit at Level 2 or above and require Level 3 or above before graduation. This is a standard for international students receiving a study visa, so it does not apply to language trainees entering a university language institute. The distinction has been in place since the revision of March 14, 2025; in the 2019 revision, junior colleges also admitted at Level 3 and had no graduation standard, so don't trust an old summary as-is. Universities may set higher or different requirements, so the final standard is the admissions guide of the university you apply to.

The English standard is TOEFL iBT 3.5 or higher, IELTS 5.5 or higher, CEFR B2 or higher, NEW TEPS 202 or higher, or an equivalent score on a private English proficiency test accredited by the Korean government, and there is no graduation standard (the 3.5 for TOEFL iBT is not a score out of 120: it is a value on the 1-to-6 scale, in 0.5-point steps, that applies to tests taken from January 21, 2026. For tests taken through January 20, 2026 only, the former point-based score of 59 or higher applies and is recognized until January 20, 2028 at the latest). Nationals of countries that use English as a native or legal official language are not subject to the English test standard if they submit proof of completing either secondary or higher education (a graduation certificate, etc.). Standards under the Korea Immigration and Integration Program (KIIP) and the King Sejong Institute are recognized too: TOPIK Level 2 corresponds to a KIIP pre-assessment score of 41 or higher, or completion of Stage 2, or completion of King Sejong Institute Beginner 2; Level 3 corresponds to 61 or higher, or completion of Stage 3, or Intermediate 1; Level 4 corresponds to 81 or higher, or completion of Stage 4, or Intermediate 2. For the King Sejong Institute, only a certificate of completion of the basic curriculum issued by a local King Sejong Institute counts — online certificates are excluded.

Language ability is both a university requirement and a factor in visa screening. The MOE Guidelines provide that separate language ability may be required when nationals of countries designated by notice of the Minister of Justice or of intensively managed countries (중점관리 국가) enter a university subject to enhanced visa screening (the consulting universities and intensive visa screening universities that appear in the table in a later section), and the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City states that this standard applies only to students who will enter or advance to such a university (D-2-1 to D-2-8), that it is not mandatory for certified universities and general universities, but that it earns extra points or preferential treatment in screening. We could not confirm from primary sources which countries fall into these categories, so we are not listing country names. Ask your jurisdictional mission about your own nationality.

Being Recognized as a High School Graduate Means the Full Course in One Country, or 12 Years Across Several

The root of eligibility is Article 98(1)9 of the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. People deemed to have academic ability equivalent to a high school graduate include "a person who has completed 12 years or more of a school education course abroad, or a person who has completed the entirety of a foreign education course that the Minister of Education recognizes as corresponding to the high school education course." The MOE Guidelines recognize schooling if you completed the entire elementary and secondary course in a single country, and the 12-year figure becomes the dividing line only when you completed your schooling across two or more countries. In that case a foreign school system is converted onto a 12-year scale: the elementary course is foreign grades 1–6, middle school is grades 7–9, and high school is grades 10–12, calculated from enrollment certificates, transcripts and the like.

What matters is that a university can narrow things further even after you clear the Ministry of Education's standard. The University of Seoul's basic plan for its 2026 special admissions for foreigners states that "domestic and overseas equivalency exams (GED, adult education, etc.), homeschooling, cyber learning, language academies and the like are not recognized as regular education courses." On top of that, the Ministry of Education's guidance on recognizing prior education was written alongside guidance on transferring into Korean schools, so how it applies to university admission screening is for each university's admissions office to judge. Please confirm with the admissions guide and admissions office of the university you apply to.

If you are in your graduation year, you can apply with a certificate of expected graduation. Note, though, that the MOE Guidelines attach the proviso that "visa issuance and entry are possible in the final semester before graduation." Getting a visa and entering Korea earlier than that final semester is not a route this proviso opens, and it does not say whether the window starts during the final semester or only after it ends, so check with the mission that has jurisdiction over you. For transfer admission, you submit a graduation certificate or a certificate of completion (enrollment or registration) from your previous university, plus a transcript.

Three Documents Need Authentication, and When to Submit Them Varies by University

In the university context, the documents you are asked to authenticate are three academic records: the enrollment certificate, the high school graduation (or expected graduation) certificate, and the transcript. Seoul National University has applicants from Convention member countries obtain an apostille from that country's designated authority, and applicants from non-member countries obtain consular legalization from the Korean diplomatic mission in that country, while allowing member-country applicants to substitute consular legalization. Jeonbuk National University lists the issuing body for graduates of non-member countries as "the Korean consulate in that country or that country's mission in Korea," and notes that if there is no Korean consulate in the country of residence, a nearby Korean consulate also works. How to tell whether your own country is a member is laid out in Apostille vs. consular legalization.

There is a principle to the order. Authentication is attached to the original. Korea University requires the apostille or consular legalization on the original academic records, and only where submitting the original is impossible does it open a route in which you copy the original, have the copy notarized, and then obtain authentication on that notarized document as the original. You don't attach authentication directly to a photocopy; you pass through notarization once so that the notarized document becomes the new original. Jeonbuk National University likewise has you submit either the issuing body's certification that the copy matches the original (원본대조필) or the original of a notarized copy for documents that cannot be reissued in original form.

There are exceptions. Seoul National University's admissions guide waives the apostille and consular legalization for foreign applicants who graduated from a Korean high school. What is waived is the authentication, not the submission, so you still hand in all three originals. Jeonbuk National University writes "not required for graduates of Korean schools" in its degree verification line (학력인증서 is the guide's word for the authentication attached to your academic documents - an apostille for convention countries, consular legalization for non-convention countries, and, for China, a verification report from the credentials center or an apostille), and Korea University separately requires graduates of Korean high schools to submit a "School Life Record II" (학교생활기록부 II) bearing the school's official seal. This isn't a rule that holds at every university, so check the admissions guide where you are applying. Some university-affiliated language institutes require authentication as well — Hannam University's Korean Language Institute (한남대학교 한국어교육원) requires an apostille or consular legalization on the final school's graduation certificate and transcript.

The most confusing part is when to submit.

"At the application stage a scan is enough" does not hold at every university. Seoul National University lists a first-round successful applicant's failure to submit the authenticated graduation certificate and transcript as grounds for revoking admission, and Jeonbuk National University treats failure to submit all documents by the deadline as no interview and rejection. Authentication can take weeks, so starting after you receive your acceptance is already too late.

As a rule, you don't get submitted originals back. Seoul National University states that submitted materials are not returned. If you come from a country that issues a diploma only once, check whether reissuance is possible before you mail it, and if it isn't, look into the notarization or certified-copy routes above. We could not survey every university's return policy, so we'll state the principle and stop there.

If You Studied in Mainland China, One More Step Attaches — Degree Verification

Let's clear up the most expensive misunderstanding first. An apostille and a degree verification do not substitute for each other. An apostille or consular legalization proves that the signature and seal on the document are genuine; a degree verification report proves that the schooling actually exists in the education authority's records. Admissions guides list them on separate document lines too. Blur them together and you'll hit the deadline with one of them missing.

• Seoul National University — requires graduates of local high schools in China to submit the original graduation certificate together with a verification report on Chinese secondary education issued by CHSI (학신망). Expected graduates submit an authenticated certificate of expected graduation (stating the expected graduation date) at the application stage and submit the CHSI certificate after passing the first round.
• Korea University — requires both the degree verification report (中等教育学历验证报告) and the graduation exam transcript (会考) as mandatory submissions, and specifies that both must be English-language originals issued by CHSI. Expected graduates submit the degree verification report after graduating, and the 高考 transcript, for those who have one, is submitted as an English verification report issued by the degree verification center.
• Jeonbuk National University — for those who obtained their education in China, general high schools and universities submit one copy of the Chinese Ministry of Education degree verification (the guide gives the issuing body as the Chinese Ministry of Education's degree verification center, www.chsi.com.cn).
• Hannam University Korean Language Institute — requires one original degree verification report from China's Ministry of Education Center for Academic Degrees and Credentials, and lists www.chsi.com.cn or www.cdgdc.edu.cn as the issuing sites.
• Hankyong National University — requires the 中国高等教育学历认证报告 issued by CHSI or CDGDC, but also offers an alternative route for those who cannot obtain it: have the graduation certificate notarized and then obtain consular legalization (that is the guide's own wording). Note, though, that the Apostille Convention entered into force for mainland China on November 7, 2023, and as a rule Korean missions do not perform consular legalization in convention countries. Check with the university first whether this alternative route is still open, or whether you should instead have China's competent authority put an apostille on the notarized document.

Which route applies is decided not by you but by the type of school you attended. If you graduated from a vocational, specialized or technical high school for which CHSI certificates aren't issued, there is a separate route. Seoul National University has such applicants submit a confirmation from the provincial (省) education department along with the authenticated graduation (or expected graduation) certificate. Jeonbuk National University has vocational high school graduates submit one of two sets: ① a graduation certificate issued by the school (with provincial education department confirmation plus apostille) and a school information confirmation, or ② a graduation certificate issued by the provincial education department (with apostille) and a school information confirmation.

Be especially careful with the household register (戶口簿, hukou). Universities treat it in exactly opposite ways. Seoul National University does not accept the household register or an ID card as proof of nationality and takes only a passport copy or a notarized nationality certificate issued by a Chinese notary office on or after January 1, 2026. Korea University, conversely, requires the household register (issued 2022 or later) and a kinship certificate as proof of family relations, while Jeonbuk National University rules for that same family relations proof that "the household register is not acceptable for China; a notarized kinship certificate or a certificate issued by the police station is required." Prepare by reading down to which line of the admissions guide it appears on.

Let us note what we could not confirm. We were unable to access the official CHSI and CDGDC sites directly, so the types of reports and the application procedure are written only to the extent the university admissions guides cite them. Please confirm details with CHSI. In this round of research, mainland China was the only place where a separate degree verification was confirmed, so if you come from another country or region, read the country-specific guidance in the admissions guide one more time.

Translation Is a Procedure, Not a Document

If the original is not in Korean or English, you submit the original together with a notarized translation. Seoul National University defines the original as "a document issued directly by the relevant institution and bearing the signature or official seal of the responsible officer," and a notarized translation as "a document translated into Korean or English at a government-authorized notary office and bearing the notary's seal." A page you translated and printed at home, or a screenshot from a translation app, does not qualify.

Some universities accept an un-notarized translation, but with conditions attached. Jeonbuk National University has you additionally submit a translator's confirmation on its own form plus the translator's diploma in that case. At the visa stage, another layer can attach. The Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City specifies that when submitting notarized translations, notarization that the copy matches the original is the rule. That means also obtaining notarization that the copy is identical to the original (this is the standard of the mission with jurisdiction over southern Vietnam).

Academic records aren't the only documents that need translation. Korea University has applicants without a passport copy submit a copy of their national ID card including the original notarized translation, and requires a copy of the score report for official test scores regardless of whether scores were sent by score reporting. Translation and notarization fees are private-sector prices that vary widely by language, volume and country, so we are not listing them in this article.

Proof of Funds — How Much, In Whose Name, and How Recently the Balance Was Issued

There is no single representative amount. It splits by program and by where the university is located. The amounts below are the financial capability screening standards in the MOE Guidelines, the figures the Ministry of Justice converted from a dollar basis to Korean won effective July 3, 2023, with a separately lowered standard for regional universities. The deposit periods are examples from the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City.

Here, the Seoul metropolitan area generally refers to Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi under general legislation, but whether the visa standard uses exactly that scope is not written in the published text. If your university is in Incheon or Gyeonggi, check with the university's international office and your jurisdictional mission which of the two amounts applies. The documents required may also differ depending on the university's certification grade or on your nationality. And this amount is a visa screening threshold that looks at tuition and living expenses combined — it is not one year's tuition. What a year actually costs is calculated item by item in The total cost of one year studying in Korea.

The deposit period is a separate condition from the amount. The Ho Chi Minh Consulate General's guidance provides that students in D-2-4 through D-2-8 do not need to satisfy the minimum deposit period (3 months), while conversely students at consulting universities need a deposit held for at least 6 months. The list of consulting universities is not published, so check whether yours is one with the university's international office and your jurisdictional mission. Periods also differ by mission: the Korean Embassy in Iran's guidance (revised March 26, 2025) requires proof that the balance was maintained for 6 months for both D-2 and D-4. For exchange students (D-2-6), the standard is not a fixed amount but living expenses (1,069,654 KRW per month × number of months of stay) or more, and that monthly reference amount is the single-person household monthly figure in the Housing Benefit Selection Criteria and Minimum Guarantee Level (a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport notice) (the 2024 figure as given in the Ho Chi Minh Consulate General's guidance).

The amounts in university admissions guides are quoted exactly as each guide writes them. Korea University (private, metropolitan area) requires 20 million KRW or more, and Jeonbuk National University (national, regional) requires 16 million KRW or more (about USD 13,000), and the same guide separately sets 8 million KRW or more for those advancing to a higher-level program (D-4 to D-2), without stating why. Ask the university's international office and ☎1345 whether that figure stands in for the visa threshold for a degree program at a university outside the capital region (16 million KRW). On the language training side, Hannam University's Korean Language Institute requires USD 10,000 or more plus a certificate of income (issued within the past month), and Hankyong National University requires 10 million KRW (about USD 10,000) or more on a bank balance certificate issued within 30 days. Korea University's 20 million KRW and Jeonbuk National University's 16 million KRW are the same figures as the visa thresholds in the table above, but Hannam University's USD 10,000 is higher than the table's language-training figure for universities outside the capital region (8 million KRW). The dollar conversions also assume different exchange rates from guide to guide (16 million KRW ≈ USD 13,000 implies about 1,230 KRW/USD; 10 million KRW ≈ USD 10,000 implies 1,000 KRW/USD), so don't compare the two guides' dollar figures directly.

Whose account it is also counts as a condition. Jeonbuk National University distinguishes: people staying in Korea may use only a Korean account in their own name, issued within 30 days of the visa application date, while people abroad may submit their own or a parent's account (overseas accounts acceptable) issued within 30 days of the submission date. If you use a financial guarantor, the documents set by the MOE Guidelines are ① an employment certificate or business registration certificate, ② proof of assets, and ③ a pledge to cover study costs (included in the application form). Scholarship students substitute a scholarship certificate or tuition support confirmation, and exchange students substitute an invitation letter from the president or dean plus confirmation of tuition exemption. That said, the paperwork grows sharply if the guarantor is not a parent. For guarantees by a family member other than a parent, the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City requires proof of the family relationship, proof of employment and income, the original written commitment to bear the costs, and proof of assets; if the guarantor is a family member with Korean nationality, it additionally requires a letter of identity guarantee, a seal registration certificate, the original bank balance certificate and a copy of the ID.

Validity periods differ by the office receiving the documents, and missions sometimes set them shorter. The MOE Guidelines require the bank balance certificate to be issued within 30 days of the application date (the clause sits in the list of documents for an application for admission, so "application" here reads as the application you file with the university), with the proviso that "only for a bank balance certificate that states a validity period, it is recognized until that validity period, but for a maximum of 6 months from the issue date" (a proviso introduced in the revision of March 14, 2025 and still present in the revision of March 27, 2026). The Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City (jurisdiction over southern Vietnam), by contrast, treats all required documents as valid only if issued within 3 months of the receipt date, and the bank balance certificate only if issued within 10 days of the receipt date. This is exactly how a single bank balance certificate expires while you try to clear two stages with it. We could not find an admissions guide applying the 6-month proviso, so ask both your university and your own jurisdictional mission separately about the standard.

Which University You Apply To Changes How Much Paperwork You Need

Even with the same documents prepared, how much visa screening demands changes with the university's grade. The results of the review of universities certified for education internationalization capability, announced by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education on February 12, 2026 (2025 evaluation), draw the lines this way. The school counts are on a degree-program basis.

The certification runs for 4 years (March 2026 to February 2030), with annual checks and revocation if standards go unmet. The school counts in the table above are for degree programs; language training programs are counted separately, with 123 certified universities. And here a stretch appears that applicants cannot check in advance. The same press release states that the lists of general universities and consulting universities are not made public. The list of certified universities is posted on Study in Korea (www.studyinkorea.go.kr), operated by the National Institute for International Education, and on the National Research Foundation of Korea's website, and is also provided to Korean diplomatic missions. As of September 2026 the Study in Korea page shows school counts that differ from this announcement, with no reference date given, so check the latest list there directly.

Nationality changes the route too. The table of visa issuance types by category from the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City (jurisdiction over southern Vietnam) distinguishes that language training (D-4-1) at a general university for nationals of China, Vietnam, Mongolia and Uzbekistan is possible only through the Certificate for Confirmation of Visa Issuance route and not by direct visa issuance, and indicates that study (D-2) at an excellent certified university is even possible by electronic visa. That said, the table above shows differences in screening method only, so you cannot conclude that a visa will be issued because a university is certified, or refused because of which university it is. Screening is an individual judgment. It is structurally possible to be admitted and still be blocked at visa screening, so checking a university's certification status when you choose reduces your risk.

Sequence and Lead Time — Counting Backward from the Deadline

The order set by the MOE Guidelines runs like this. Apply for the admission certificate → the Certificate of Admission is issued → (apply for the Certificate for Confirmation of Visa Issuance → it is issued) → apply for visa issuance → the visa is issued → enter Korea. The visa stage opens only after the university documents are done.

The connecting link is the Certificate of Admission (표준입학허가서). It is a form the university issues, and the revision of March 27, 2026 provides that this form must comply with the format in the Ministry of Justice's Foreign Student Information Management System (FIMS). Missions place this document at the center too: the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City includes it in the required documents for study and language training, and the Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles specifies a copy as a D-2 application document. But the condition for this document being issued is tied to the degree verification. Jeonbuk National University specifies that expected graduates cannot receive the Certificate of Admission until they submit the graduation certificate and the degree verification.

Deadlines differ by document, so planning your schedule around only one of them lets another expire.

• Certificate for Confirmation of Visa Issuance — Article 18 of the Enforcement Regulations of the Immigration Act sets the validity period at 3 months and gives it effect for a single visa issuance (with a proviso allowing the Minister of Justice to set it otherwise where deemed particularly necessary). Once approved, the confirmation number arrives by email as a rule.
• Certificate of expected graduation — the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City (an example with jurisdiction over southern Vietnam) recognizes it only when the gap between the (expected) graduation date and the issue date of the Certificate of Admission is within 1 year (the notice's own wording is "within 1 year from the graduation date, measured against the issue date of the Certificate of Admission").
• Proof of final education — the same guidance provides that it must be consular-legalized within 1 year from the visa receipt date after certification by your home country's ministry of foreign affairs. The same guidance does not say which comes first, this or its rule that "all required documents are valid only if issued within 3 months of the receipt date," so check with the mission.
• Language test scores — Jeonbuk National University recognizes only scores valid as of the day the application is submitted (issued within the past 2 years).
• Bank balance certificate — as in the previous section, it splits between the MOE Guidelines' 30 days (up to 6 months where a validity period is stated) and the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City's (jurisdiction over southern Vietnam) 10 days, and differs by mission.

Obtain the document with the shortest standard last. Authentication of academic records takes a long time, so start there, and get the bank balance certificate right before you submit. And the university and the diplomatic mission may each require the same authentication. The university takes authenticated academic records for admission screening, and there are cases — like the Ho Chi Minh Consulate General — where the mission again requires authentication on the original proof of final education and its notarized translation at the visa stage. One set may not finish the job, so decide up front how many authenticated copies to obtain.

The mission where you apply for the visa has its own standards too. The guidance from the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City (jurisdiction over southern Vietnam) sets as a rule that you apply at the mission with jurisdiction over the location of your final school, provides that moving your address into its district for the purpose of applying for a visa results in refusal as a rule, and accepts applications on work or study grounds only from residents of 6 months or more.

If you were accepted while already in Korea, the procedure is different. People on short-term stays (including those who entered for tourism or transit and under visa waiver agreements) or staying in Korea after alien registration are not applying for a new visa — they are subject to permission to change their status of stay. However, restrictions attach to changes made in Korea by short-term stay holders. The Ministry of Justice's Guidelines on Visa Issuance and Stay Management for Foreign Students (the publicly available version fully amended on March 1, 2018) restrict changes to study (D-2) for short-term stay holders who are nationals of the countries designated by notice of the Minister of Justice (21 countries), opening an exception only for changes to a certified university, and restrict changes for nationals of other countries as well if they hold tourism or group tourism (C-3-2), medical tourism (C-3-3) or general tourism (C-3-9) status. Among registered foreigners, holders of D-3, E-9, E-10 and G-1 are also subject to the restriction (G-1-6 humanitarian stay permits excluded). Changes to language training (D-4) follow the same structure, except that holders of B-2, C-3-2, C-3-3 and C-3-9 are left out of the certified-university exception for nationals of designated countries. B-2 appears only in the D-4 provision of these guidelines and is not among the statuses the D-2 provision lists as restricted. The restriction provisions and the list of designated countries may have changed since. To change your status inside Korea, check with ☎1345 and your university's international office before applying, and see How to change your status of stay for the procedure, or Language institute vs. degree program for moving from a language institute (D-4) to a degree program (D-2).

This article is written for undergraduate freshman admission. We could not confirm from primary sources how documents differ for graduate school (master's and doctoral) and junior colleges, so you'll need to read those admissions guides separately. Documents issued abroad at the visa stage generally are covered in Checklist for overseas-issued documents for a Korean visa, and part-time work after you enroll is covered in Part-time work permits for international students.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. I got an apostille — do I still need the Chinese degree verification (CHSI) separately? Yes, the two do not substitute for each other. An apostille or consular legalization proves the authenticity of the signature and seal, while a degree verification report proves that the schooling exists in the education authority's records. Seoul National University requires graduates of local high schools in China to submit the original graduation certificate together with a CHSI (학신망) verification report. If you attended a vocational, specialized or technical high school for which CHSI does not issue certificates, there is a separate route through a confirmation from the provincial (省) education department.

Q2. I have only one original graduation certificate and I'm told I won't get it back. Is there any way around this? The bypass route for when submitting the original is impossible is written into the admissions guides. Korea University has you copy the original, get the copy notarized, and then obtain an apostille or consular legalization on that notarized document as the original, while Jeonbuk National University accepts a certified-copy stamp (원본대조필) or the original of a notarized copy. Check both whether reissuance is possible in your home country and whether the university allows this route.

Q3. When is the best time to get the bank balance certificate? Get it last. The Ministry of Education's Standard Operating Guidelines (revision of March 27, 2026) require issuance within 30 days of the application date as a rule, and recognize it up to a maximum of 6 months from the issue date where a validity period is stated — but the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City (jurisdiction over southern Vietnam) treats a bank balance certificate as valid only if issued within 10 days of the receipt date. We could not find an admissions guide that applies the 6-month proviso, though. Standards differ by mission, so please confirm with your university and your own jurisdictional mission separately.

Q4. My country has an 11-year school system. Does that mean I can't apply to a Korean university? The university makes the call, but the standards are public. Article 98(1)9 of the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act treats as a high school graduate not only someone who completed 12 years or more, but also someone who completed the entirety of a foreign education course that the Minister of Education recognizes as corresponding to the high school course, and the MOE Guidelines recognize schooling completed as the entire elementary and secondary course in a single country. The rule that refuses recognition at an 11-year system or less attaches to schooling split across two or more countries, and even then, if the final 3 years were completed in one country, there is a route that fills the shortfall with time completed at a university in that country. A university's admissions guide can narrow this further, so explain your school system to the admissions office and ask.

Q5. If I'm admitted to a university, does the visa come automatically? No. University admission and visa screening are separate procedures, and visa screening is the Ministry of Justice's domain. The grade of the university you applied to changes the screening method as well. Per the February 2026 announcement (2025 evaluation, on a degree-program basis), the 181 certified universities (including 39 excellent certified universities) are screened on the Certificate of Admission alone (at certified universities other than the excellent ones, nationals of countries designated by the Minister of Justice and of intensively managed countries must still submit proof of financial capability), while general universities are screened on management capacity, academic requirements, financial capability and so on, consulting universities get intensive screening through interviews or on-site investigations, and the intensive visa screening universities (16 schools) have visa issuance restricted for one year starting from the second semester of 2026. Check certification status on Study in Korea (www.studyinkorea.go.kr) and ask your jurisdictional Korean diplomatic mission about visa requirements.

Note: This article is intended as general information and is not legal or administrative advice. The standards, amounts and provisions in the text are as of September 2026 and were confirmed against the statutory texts on the National Law Information Center (the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Immigration Act and its Enforcement Regulations), the Ministry of Education's Standard Operating Guidelines (revision of March 27, 2026), the Ministry of Justice's improvements to the international student visa system (effective July 3, 2023), the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Education announcement of the review of certified universities (February 12, 2026), the Ministry of Justice guidelines (2018 published version), the visa guidance of the Korean Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City (September 26, 2024) and the Korean Embassy in Iran (revised March 26, 2025), and the published admissions guides of the six universities named in the text. Requirements differ from university to university and from mission to mission, they are revised often, and the full text of the current Ministry of Justice guidelines is not published. Before you apply, please re-confirm with the university's admissions office and international office, your jurisdictional Korean diplomatic mission, the Korea Immigration Contact Center ☎1345, and Study in Korea. LACHA does not prepare, translate, notarize or verify admission documents, and does not apply for visas on your behalf.