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Part-time work: permit first, everything else second
Two bodies of law apply at once: whether you may work (Immigration Act) and what you must be paid (Labor Standards & Minimum Wage Acts). Following only one costs you on the other. Pick your visa below.
Choose your visa
D-10 (job seeker)
D-10 is NOT a work visaThe Enforcement Decree Art. 23(1) list of work-eligible statuses does not include D-10. Earning money requires a separate activity-outside-status permit (Act Art. 20).
The 4 requirements for the part-time exception (all required)
- An associate degree or higher from a Korean university, within 3 years of graduation
- KIIP level 4+ completed, or TOPIK level 4+
- No prior stay under professional statuses E-1~E-7
- No immigration-violation history that restricts applications
Allowed hours: 25/week on weekdays, no cap on weekends/holidays (Aug 2026 edition). The condition for 30/week differs by edition: Aug 2026 lists only KIIP level 5+, Jan 2026 also listed TOPIK 5+. We could not confirm which is current, so confirm with ☎1345 or your immigration office before planning on 30 hours.
The fee changes: from free–20,000 to 120,000 wonAs a D-2 student the part-time permit costs nothing to KRW 20,000: but on D-10 the same permission is an activity-outside-status permit at KRW 120,000 (Enforcement Rule Art. 72(2)). This is exactly where "I did this before" leads people to start working without the permit.
Internships follow a different track: a report, not a permit (registration-change report, Act Art. 35: within 15 days; note the annex form says report in advance, so confirm with your immigration office before starting). Reports can also be rejected because of the company’s own intern-abuse history.
Based on the Ministry of Justice Stay-Permit Manual, August 2026 edition
Looking for openings? Browse our jobs info board. We only display postings: no matching, no brokering. Contact employers directly through the posting, and start work only after your permit is issued.