How do you study in South Korea from Pakistan? (2026)

How does the South Korea student route actually work?

In two halves. First the university admits you and issues its documents. Then you take those documents, with your own, to the Korean embassy and apply for the visa yourself, in person. There is no separate certificate filed in Korea on your behalf before you apply, as there is for Japan. The embassy does the checking, and the embassy decides.

Who publishes the rules

The embassy in Islamabad publishes the checklist, fee and processing time for Pakistani nationals. The Korea Immigration Service, under the Ministry of Justice, runs alien registration and work permission through HiKorea. Study in Korea, run by NIIED, explains the visa types and runs the Global Korea Scholarship.

Why the timetable is the hard part

The embassy states a processing time of a minimum of eight weeks. Korean semesters start in March and September. Work back eight weeks, add the time for an admission letter, a TB report and a bank balance held for a month, and a late start costs you the intake. If you are still comparing countries, the destination comparison sets the main options side by side on cost, language and what happens after graduation.

Do you need a D-2 or a D-4 visa?

It depends on what you are going to study, not on how long you want to stay. Study in Korea defines both.

D-2, for degrees

D-2 is required for regular courses at institutions offering associate degrees or higher, or for specific research. The subtypes are D-2-1 for associate degrees, D-2-2 for bachelor’s, D-2-3 for master’s, D-2-4 for doctorates, D-2-5 for research programmes, D-2-6 for exchange students and D-2-7 for work and study linked programmes.

D-4, for language and other training

D-4 covers training at institutions that do not qualify under D-2. D-4-1 is Korean language training and D-4-2 is foreign language training.

Which one makes sense for you

If the degree is taught in English and needs no Korean for admission, you go straight to D-2. If it is taught in Korean, Study in Korea notes that TOPIK level 3 or higher is the common admission requirement, and a year on D-4-1 is one way to reach it. That language year is a separate visa application, with its own funds check and tighter work rules.

What is the Standard Admission Letter, and what else comes from the university?

It is the university’s formal letter of admission, and both the D-2 and D-4 checklists on Study in Korea start with it. Study in Korea describes it as issued by the university president or dean.

What the embassy wants from Korea

• the certificate of admission, which the embassy also calls the standard admission permit;
• a scholarship certificate from the university, if you have one;
• the institution’s business registration certificate, or its registration number, which Study in Korea lists for both D-2 and D-4.

The figure on the certificate that matters later

The admission certificate states the cost of your stay, and that is the number the embassy measures your bank statements against. Read it the day the letter arrives. If it is higher than your family expected, the extra money still has to sit in the account for a month before you apply.

What you prepare in Pakistan

• original educational certificates, degrees, results or transcripts, with copies, attested by HEC or the relevant educational board;
• an English language certificate, where the embassy prefers IELTS or TOEFL iBT and does not accept TOEIC;
• the verified bank statements and the financial affidavit described below.

How do you apply for the visa in Pakistan?

In person, at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Islamabad or its Karachi office. I found no visa application centre arrangement on the embassy’s pages.

Which office

The Karachi office handles residents of Sindh. Everyone else applies at the embassy in Islamabad. The Karachi office’s own pages would not load for me on the day of writing, so confirm the current jurisdiction by phone before you travel to either city.

What the embassy says about submission

The embassy’s visa notice for Pakistani nationals, posted on 23 December 2025, says it is mandatory for applicants to appear in person to submit their own application. It lists acceptance hours of 9:30 to 11:30, Monday to Friday, with passports returned on the same schedule, and warns that hours may change. Every applicant needs a passport valid for at least six months, the application form filled in by the applicant, and one recent coloured passport size photograph.

The notice sets out the D-2 checklist in detail but does not list a separate one for D-4 language trainees. If you are applying for a Korean language course, ask the embassy which checklist applies before you book the TB test, and use Study in Korea’s D-4 list, which adds a training plan, as your starting point.

Fee, time and refusals

The fee for a stay of more than 91 days is Rs 18,000, and for less than 90 days Rs 12,000. It is paid when you apply and is not refunded if the visa is refused. Processing takes a minimum of eight weeks after the embassy receives the application. If you are refused, the notice says you can reapply three months after the date of refusal.

Is there an interview?

The embassy’s notice does not describe a standard interview for students. I could not verify on an official page on the day of writing whether Pakistan is on any Ministry of Justice list of countries given extra scrutiny for student visas. Be ready to explain your course and your funding anyway.

What does the TB test involve?

For any stay of more than 91 days, the embassy requires a medical certificate and TB test report. It is not optional for students, and it has to come from the right place on the right form.

The approved centres

The embassy’s list of medical centres for long term visa applicants, effective from 1 January 2025 in a notice dated 3 March 2026, names Islamabad Diagnostic Centre, Nayab Lab and Diagnostic Centre, Excel Labs, Aziz Medical Complex and the IOM Migration Health Assessment Centre in Islamabad; Aziz Medical Complex and Alnoor Diagnostic Centre in Lahore; and Rehman Medical Institute in Peshawar. It notes that Islamabad Diagnostic Centre and Excel Labs list branches across Pakistan.

Two details people miss

The certificate must be on the embassy’s designated form, which it publishes for download. A report from any other laboratory, or on a laboratory’s own letterhead, is the wrong document. And residents of Karachi or Sindh are told to check the designated hospital with the Karachi office instead of using the Islamabad list. The list does not say how long a certificate stays valid, so test close to submission.

How much money does Korea want to see?

The embassy in Islamabad does not publish one fixed rupee figure. It uses the cost of stay on your admission certificate, and it is precise about how the money must look.

The embassy’s rules

• six months of bank statements showing enough to cover the full cost of stay on the certificate of admission;
• the funds held in the account for at least one month;
• statements issued no more than two weeks before the date of the application;
• a verified bank statement for the financial guarantee, from you or a family member, with a financial affidavit.

When parents pay

If you cannot support yourself, the embassy accepts, alongside your own statements, a parents’ financial affidavit: copies of the parents’ passports, a signed agreement to support you fully, six months of the parents’ bank statements showing the required balance held for one month, and a birth or family relationship certificate. The other route is a scholarship certificate from the sponsor, naming you and stating the total amount.

The Ministry of Justice reference amounts

In June 2023 the Ministry of Justice changed the funds standard for student visas from dollars to won and lowered it. The government’s Korea.net portal reported the new amounts as below, effective from 3 July 2023. I could not verify on an official page on the day of writing that these figures are unchanged in 2026, so use them only as a guide, and work to the cost of stay on your own admission certificate.

Where the money came from matters as much as the balance. A large deposit with no history invites questions you cannot answer at a counter. The guide to a refused student visa explains how funds problems show up in a refusal and what has to change before you apply again.

What do you have to do after you land?

Register as a foreigner, and keep your address up to date. Both are legal duties, not university admin.

Alien registration within 90 days

Study in Korea says foreign nationals planning to stay more than 90 days must complete alien registration within 90 days of entry. You do it at the immigration office for your area. Ask your university’s international office whether it books appointments for new students, because slots at busy offices fill weeks ahead.

The residence card fee

The Korea Immigration Service announced that the issuance fee for foreign residence cards rose from 30,000 won to 35,000 won on 1 January 2025. Bring the fee with you to the appointment along with your passport, admission documents and proof of address.

Changing address

Report a new address within 15 days of moving. Study in Korea warns that failing to do so can result in a fine of up to 1 million won.

Do students have to join National Health Insurance?

Yes. The National Health Insurance Service enrols D-2 and D-4 students as regional subscribers, and the deferral that once applied to them ended on 28 February 2021.

When cover starts

The National Health Insurance Service says a D-2 student joins on the date of entry, or on the date of alien registration if that is later. A D-4 trainee, other than school pupils on D-4-3, joins on the day six months after entry. That six-month gap matters for language students: ask the institute what insurance it expects you to hold before then.

What it costs

The service’s English page lists D-2 and D-4 holders among those who receive a reduced premium, with the reduction set at 50 per cent from March 2023 onwards. It gives only the formula for the premium, not a monthly figure, and I could not verify the current monthly amount in won on an official page on the day of writing. Your university’s international office will know the figure students are actually being billed this year.

How much can a student work in South Korea?

It depends on your course, your year and your Korean level, and all of it needs permission first. Study in Korea says working without part-time employment permission is penalised under the law.

The permission

To work part time on D-2 or D-4, you need to meet the Korean language standard set for your course, get confirmation from your university’s international student adviser, and obtain permission from the local immigration office. D-4-1 language students qualify only after six months.

The official table merges some rows, and on my reading the TOPIK 3 standard covers the first two years of a bachelor’s and the TOPIK 4 standard covers master’s and doctoral students. Confirm the level for your own course with the international office before you take a job. Study in Korea also accepts equivalents such as completing the matching level of a university language programme.

Jobs that are restricted

Korea Immigration Service guidance restricts private language tutoring, and generally restricts work at businesses registered for manufacturing or construction, with an exception for manufacturing for those holding TOPIK level 4 or above. Work at facilities offering foreign language education to children, such as kids’ cafés and English camps, is also restricted.

What is the Global Korea Scholarship, and can Pakistanis get it?

The Global Korea Scholarship, GKS, is the Korean government’s scholarship for international students, run by NIIED. Pakistan has places on both the undergraduate and graduate programmes.

Embassy Track and University Track

On the Embassy Track you apply through the Korean embassy in Pakistan, now online through Study in Korea. On the University Track you apply directly to a designated Korean university. The 2027 undergraduate guidelines let applicants who fail the Embassy Track first round try the University Track.

The numbers for Pakistan

The undergraduate allowance is described as all-inclusive, covering living costs, accommodation, health insurance, Korean proficiency grants, the TOPIK fee, the settlement allowance and the degree completion grant. Tuition is paid separately, with NIIED covering up to 5 million won a semester, and the Korean language programme fee of 5.2 million won a year is paid too. Both programmes pay an economy flight.

Deadlines

The 2027 undergraduate Embassy Track closed on 30 September 2026; the University Track runs to November. The graduate programme is announced in February, and its 2027 guidelines were not yet posted on the day of writing. Both ask for 80 per cent or an equivalent in previous study.

What happens after you graduate?

Study in Korea says international students who have obtained, or are expected to obtain, a bachelor’s degree or higher from a Korean university, or an associate degree from a Korean junior college, are among those eligible for the job-seeking status, D-10. Students change from their student status to this one to look for work. I could not verify the length of each grant on an official page on the day of writing, so read the current HiKorea guidance before you plan around it.

Study in Korea notes that TOPIK results are valid for two years, so the certificate that got you admitted will usually have expired by graduation.

How do you apply, step by step?

The order below starts with the choice of visa, because a degree and a language course lead to different documents, different funds and different work rules.

1. 1

   Decide between a degree (D-2) and a Korean language course (D-4)

   A degree leads to the D-2 status and a Korean language course to D-4-1. The documents, the funds expected and the work rules differ, so choose before you apply anywhere.

2. 2

   Get the Standard Admission Letter and the school’s documents

   Study in Korea lists the Standard Admission Letter, issued by the university president or dean, and the institution’s business registration certificate or number among the visa documents. The embassy in Islamabad asks for the certificate of admission in original and a scholarship certificate if you have one.

3. 3

   Prepare a bank file that matches the cost of stay on the admission certificate

   The embassy asks for six months of bank statements showing enough to cover the full cost of stay stated on the certificate of admission, held in the account for at least one month, with statements issued no more than two weeks before you apply. Parents can sponsor with an affidavit, their passports, their own statements and proof of relationship.

4. 4

   Attest your education documents and take the TB test

   Educational certificates must be attested by HEC or the relevant board. For any stay over 91 days the embassy wants a medical certificate and TB test report on its designated form from one of its listed medical centres in Islamabad, Lahore or Peshawar. Residents of Sindh check the list with the Karachi office.

5. 5

   Submit in person at the embassy or the Karachi office

   The embassy says applicants must appear in person to submit their own application, between 9:30 and 11:30 on weekdays. The fee for a stay of more than 91 days is Rs 18,000, paid at submission and not refunded if the visa is refused. Processing takes a minimum of eight weeks.

6. 6

   Register as a foreigner within 90 days of entry

   Anyone staying more than 90 days must complete alien registration within 90 days of entry. The Korea Immigration Service raised the residence card issuance fee to 35,000 won from 1 January 2025. Report any change of address within 15 days.

7. 7

   Get part-time work permission before taking any job

   Part-time work needs immigration office permission, your international student adviser’s confirmation and the Korean level set for your course. D-4-1 students can only apply after six months.

What goes wrong most often?

Starting too late for eight weeks

The embassy’s processing time is a minimum of eight weeks. A March start with documents ready in late January is already too late.

Money that has not sat for a month

The embassy wants the balance held for at least one month, against the cost of stay on the admission certificate. A deposit made last week does not meet that.

Old bank statements

Statements issued more than two weeks before the application are not accepted. Get them printed and verified in the days before you submit.

A TB report from the wrong place

Only the approved centres, on the embassy’s designated form. Residents of Sindh check with the Karachi office.

Taking a job before permission

Study in Korea says unauthorised work is penalised under the law, and D-4 students cannot apply for permission in their first six months.

Missing alien registration or an address change

Registration is due within 90 days of entry, and a move must be reported within 15 days. The fine for an unreported move can reach 1 million won.

A realistic example

This is a hypothetical illustration, not a real client. Areeba is 19, has an FSc in pre-engineering from Faisalabad, and wants a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering taught in English at a regional university, for the September 2027 intake.

• November 2026. She shortlists three universities and asks each in writing whether the course is taught in English for all four years, what TOPIK level it expects by graduation, and what cost of stay it will print on the admission certificate.
• December. She gets her matric and FSc documents attested by the board and HEC, and books IELTS for January.
• February 2027. Her father, the sponsor, keeps his savings in one account and stops moving money around, so the balance has a clean six-month history by the time she applies.
• April. The Standard Admission Letter arrives. The cost of stay on it is within the balance her father already holds, so nothing needs to be deposited.
• Early May. She takes the TB test at an approved centre in Lahore on the embassy’s form, prints fresh verified statements, and submits in person in Islamabad with the parents’ affidavit, paying Rs 18,000.
• July. The visa is issued after a little over eight weeks. She flies in late August.
• September. She completes alien registration in her first month, well inside 90 days, pays the 35,000 won card fee, and is covered by National Health Insurance from her date of entry.

Nothing in her file was unusual. It was early, and every document came from the place the embassy names.

The version that goes wrong

Her cousin Hamza is offered a Korean language course with a promise that he can work from the first month to pay his rent. His uncle deposits the money two weeks before the appointment, and the TB report comes from a local laboratory. The balance has not been held for a month, the report is not from an approved centre, and a D-4-1 student cannot even apply for work permission for six months. The guide to checking a visa consultant in Pakistan sets out the questions that would have exposed all three before he paid. If Asia appeals for cost reasons, the guides to Japan and China set out how those systems differ, and you can ask me directly which fits your marks and budget.

Key takeaways

Frequently asked questions