🇰🇷 Work & skilled workers

From 1 June 2026, South Korea expanded the Top-Tier visa to include outstanding professors and researchers in science and technology. For this new science-and-technology route, applicants must satisfy at least one recognised excellence criterion and receive a recommendation from the Minister of Science and ICT. Examples of qualifying achievements include: internationally recognised scientific awards, including awards such as the Nobel Prize or Fields Medal; being listed among highly cited researchers or having recognised papers in major international journals; holding qualifying international patents or demonstrating significant technology-licensing income; or having substantial research experience in leading universities, global companies or major research institutions. A significant difference is that the science-and-technology route does not impose the same Korean-language requirement that applied to the original corporate Top-Tier route.