Seoul relaxes job visa criteria for young Thais who speak Korean

PUBLISHED : 12 Nov 2025 at 14:31

Students at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok attend the 15th Korea Festival, held by the Korean Section of the Department of Eastern Languages, Faculty of Arts. They were joined by delegates from the Embassy of South Korea on Feb 13, 2025. (Photo: Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Thailand)

The South Korean embassy has announced a relaxation of criteria for young Thais who can speak Korean seeking employment visas.

The relaxation, effective from this month, supports Thai nationals under 29 years of age studying under Korean Language or Korean Studies programmes.

It was approved by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea, the embassy in Bangkok said on Wednesday.

Applicants who have graduated from one of the programmes and passed Level 6 of the Test of Proficiency in Korean, or Topik, can apply for the D-10-1 Job-Seeking Visa without submitting financial proof for residency and meeting the minimum score of 60 points.

The stay period has also been extended from one year to three years.

For the E-7 Employment Visa, applicants with strong Korean language skills are exempt from checks on related qualifications in work experience, education or study fields.

Additionally, those who have a bachelor’s degree in science or engineering from a Thai university ranked in the top 1,000 in the QS rankings over the past three years and have passed Topik Level 2 will receive extra points in application evaluation.

They would also be allowed to stay in South Korea for up to three years, according to the announcement.

Currently, about 28 Thai universities offer these programmes at undergraduate and graduate levels and as elective courses.