D-2 — degree student

Who it is for

D-2 covers enrolment in a degree programme — associate (D-2-1), bachelor's (D-2-2), master's (D-2-3), doctoral (D-2-4), research (D-2-5) and exchange (D-2-6). Non-degree Korean language study is D-4, which is a different status with meaningfully worse rights; see D-4.

Requirements

• Admission to an accredited Korean institution. The institution's status matters: universities are graded, and applicants to lower-graded institutions face heavier documentary scrutiny.
• Academic history — your previous diploma and transcript, apostilled or consular-legalised.
• Financial capacity — a bank balance certificate. The figure depends on the institution and your programme, commonly in the USD 10,000–20,000 range for a full year.
• Health — a tuberculosis screening certificate is required for nationals of designated countries.

Universities do most of the work here. Your admissions office issues the certificate of admission and often handles the visa issuance confirmation on your behalf. Use them; they process hundreds of these a year.

Part-time work

You may work part-time, but only with a permit. Applying for one before you start is not optional — working without it is unauthorised employment, and it is the single most common way students damage their immigration record.

Permitted hours depend on your year of study and, importantly, your Korean level. Higher TOPIK scores unlock more hours, and undergraduates in their first year are capped more tightly than final-year or postgraduate students. Certain sectors are excluded outright.

The practical version: get the permit, keep within the hours, and treat the TOPIK requirement as the real gate. Many students discover the hour cap is tied to their language level only after they have taken a job.

Attendance and grades

Universities report attendance to immigration. Falling below the institution's threshold triggers a report, and repeated reports can end your status — this is enforced, not theoretical. Grade requirements exist too, and a sustained low GPA can affect extensions.

If you have a genuine reason for absence, tell your international office at the time and get it documented. Explaining it retrospectively at an immigration counter is much harder.

Renewal

D-2 is granted for the length of the programme but renewed annually. You need an enrolment certificate, a transcript, and evidence you can still fund yourself. Book the appointment before the expiry date; late applications carry a fine.

What comes after graduation

Your D-2 does not survive graduation for long, so plan the transition during your final semester.

• D-10 (job seeker) — the standard move. Apply for the change of status before your D-2 expires. Korean-university graduates score well on the D-10 points table.
• E-7 directly — if you have a signed job offer in hand, you can change status straight to a work visa and skip D-10 entirely.
• Further study — a master's on a new D-2. It scores under the education common item of the F-2-7 points table and adds a small bonus (5 for a Korean bachelor's, 7 for a master's, 10 for a doctorate). Note the bonus for a world top-500 degree is much larger — 15 to 30 — so a Korean degree is not automatically the better points play. Study here because you want the degree and the language, not for the points arithmetic.
• D-8 — if you are founding a company and can meet the investment threshold.

Common pitfalls

• Working before the part-time permit is issued.
• Letting the D-2 lapse in the gap between graduation and a job offer — change status before expiry.
• Not registering an address change within 14 days of moving. Students move often and this is missed constantly; it is a reportable violation that costs F-2-7 points later.
• Assuming D-4 language-study time counts towards residence. It generally does not.