D-10 — job seeker

What D-10 is for

Korea's work visas require a sponsor, and you generally cannot job-hunt effectively from abroad. D-10 solves that: it grants lawful residence for the purpose of looking for a job or preparing to found a company, with no employer attached. Two sub-types exist — D-10-1 for job seeking and D-10-2 for start-up preparation.

It is granted in six-month blocks, extendable, up to a total of two years. That ceiling is absolute and does not reset by leaving and re-entering.

What you may and may not do

• May: live in Korea, attend interviews, take short internships with prior permission, attend language classes, and prepare a business.
• May not: take regular employment of any kind. Working before your status changes to E-7 is unauthorised employment, and it is penalised with a fine, a potential entry ban, and points lost against any future F-2-7.

The internship exception is genuinely useful and genuinely narrow: you need permission from your immigration office before you start, and it is time-limited.

The point system

D-10 has its own scoring, separate from and much lighter than the F-2-7 table. Points come from education, age, Korean ability, work experience, and whether your degree was earned in Korea. Graduates of Korean universities score well and generally clear the mark without difficulty.

The scale runs to 190 points and there are two thresholds to clear at once: at least 20 points from the basic items, and 60 points overall. Nationals of 21 designated countries need 80 overall rather than 60. The two thresholds catch people out — a strong bonus score does not rescue a thin basic score.

The pass mark is still low relative to F-2-7, so for most graduates D-10 is a formality. Where it gets tight is applicants in their forties with foreign qualifications and no Korean.

This scoring applies to D-10-1, general job seeking. D-10-2 (technology start-up preparation) and D-10-3 (advanced-technology internship) sit outside the points system and are assessed on their own criteria.

Getting it

1. From a D-2 after graduation. The most common route. Apply for a change of status at your regional immigration office before your D-2 expires — not after. Bring your diploma, transcript, evidence for each point item, and proof of funds.
2. From abroad. Apply at a Korean consulate with the same evidence set plus a job-search plan.
3. From another status. Possible from most work visas, subject to the two-year cap counting from your first D-10 day.

Extensions

Each extension is assessed on whether you have genuinely been looking for work. Immigration offices ask for evidence, and "I applied to some places" is not evidence. Keep, from day one:

• A log of applications with dates, companies and roles.
• Interview invitations and rejection emails.
• Records from job fairs, recruitment events or university career services.
• Certificates from any language or skills courses taken in the period.

Applicants who arrive at the extension appointment with a printed folder get extensions. Applicants who arrive with a story do not, reliably.

Documents

• Application form, passport, passport photo, fee.
• Diploma and academic transcript, apostilled if issued abroad.
• Evidence for every point item claimed — career certificates, TOPIK or KIIP certificate, awards.
• Bank balance certificate showing you can support yourself for the period.
• Proof of accommodation.
• A job-search activity plan, and for extensions, an activity record.

The two-year ceiling

This is the single most important thing to plan around. Two years of D-10 is the maximum, and there is no discretion to extend it further. If you are eighteen months in without an offer, you need a plan B now, not in six months. Realistic options:

• D-2, if you enrol in a further degree. It restarts the clock on your stay, though language study on D-4 does not count towards long-term residence.
• D-8, if the start-up preparation has produced something fundable and you can meet the investment threshold.
• Leaving and re-entering later on a different status. The D-10 cap does not bar you from Korea; it bars further D-10 time.

Where D-10 leads

Almost everyone converts to E-7 once they have a signed contract — see the full conversion walkthrough. A minority go to D-8 with a company of their own.