Part-time work on a student visa in Korea

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Poster for Find Strength, a career workshop in Korea for foreign residents

Studying in Korea does not automatically give you the right to work. A student visa is issued for study, and part-time work is an addition to it that you have to be granted.

Working without that permission is the single most common way international students damage their own visa status — and the consequences fall on the student, not the employer.

You need a permit first

The permission is called a part-time employment permit (시간제취업허가). You apply through Hi Korea or at an immigration office, and your university has to sign off.

What is generally required:

  • A recommendation from your school's international office — they confirm your attendance and grades
  • Details of the specific job: employer, workplace, role, hours
  • A minimum period in Korea before you are eligible, commonly six months
  • Attendance and academic standing in good order

The permit is tied to the job. Change employers and you need to apply again — it does not travel with you.

How many hours

The cap depends on your Korean ability, measured by TOPIK level, and on what you are studying. Broadly:

  • Undergraduates with the required TOPIK level get a substantially higher weekly allowance than those without, and the requirement rises in later years of study
  • Graduate students are generally allowed more hours than undergraduates
  • During official university holidays, the weekly cap is typically lifted

The specific numbers have been revised several times in recent years, and they differ by degree level and language ability. Rather than trusting a figure in a blog post — including this one — get the current cap for your exact situation from your international office or Hi Korea before you agree to a schedule.

Certain job categories are excluded regardless of hours, including work in adult entertainment venues and most manual labour in manufacturing and construction.

What happens if you skip it

Immigration finds out more often than students expect, usually because the employer reported the wage for tax purposes and the record does not match a permit.

Consequences escalate from a fine to a restriction on extending your visa, and in serious or repeated cases to departure orders. A semester of undeclared café shifts is a poor trade against the degree you came for.

There is a second problem with informal work: you have no recourse. Unpaid wages are recoverable through the labour authorities, but pursuing a claim over work you were not permitted to do puts your own status in question. Employers who hire students without permits know this.

Doing it properly

The order for a student part-time permit: wait six months, check your TOPIK level, find the job, get your school's recommendation, apply, then start work 1. Six months inUsually the minimum 2. TOPIK levelSets your hours 3. Find the jobThe permit names it 4. School signs offInternational office 5. ApplyHi Korea or in person 6. GrantedOnly now do you start Allow a coupleof weeks.
Change employer and the whole sequence runs again — the permit does not travel with you.
Starting before it is granted is the mistake Immigration usually finds out because the employer reported your wage for tax and no permit matches it. Consequences run from a fine to a refused extension — a poor trade against the degree you came for.

Shorter, project-based work

Not all paid opportunities are ongoing jobs. Students often take part in one-off paid activities — campaigns, events, research participation, content work — which are structured as fees rather than employment.

These are not automatically exempt from permission requirements. The safest approach is the same one: ask your international office what your visa allows before you accept, and keep a record of what you did and what you were paid.

Where to check

  • Hi Korea (hikorea.go.kr) — current rules and online application
  • 1345 — immigration contact centre, interpretation available
  • Your university's international office — the people who actually process your recommendation, and who know how your school's cases have gone

Checked in August 2026. Permitted hours and eligibility rules for student work change frequently and depend on your visa, degree level and language ability. Confirm current requirements with Hi Korea or your international office before accepting work.

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