The trade visa is a system that diversifies the requirements for obtaining a trade visa by evaluating professionalism and domestic sojourn experience in order to expand the convenience of staying in Korea for outstanding foreign traders and differentiates extension standards according to national employment and trade performance.

Foreigners who meet the point requirements according to the trade visa point system and have no grounds for disqualification are permitted to issue visas and change their status of residence after examination. In the case of long-term residents with abundant experience of staying in Korea, such as a study abroad (D-2) status, change of status of residence in Korea is actively permitted if they meet the requirements. However, in order to prevent abuse as a means of staying in Korea rather than actually operating a trade business, extension of the period of stay is permitted only if there is a trade record.

Subject and Permission Requirements

Korean Language Test TOPIK 3+ & 60 points+ out of 160 points,
an applicant who has a required item point of 10 or more and has obtained a business (individual) registration certificate

In the case of a co-representative with a foreigner with the same qualification, only the points obtained by dividing the sum of the relevant points by the number of foreigners are recognized

Business registration must be registered as a "trade business" and a lease contract for an independent business establishment under his/her name is required.

1. New issuance


Example of 60 Points
Basic Trading Course (OASIS4+) Certificate (3 days, 10 points) + Korean College Degree (5 points) + Korean Education Background (30 points) + Period of stay in Korea 3+ years (15 points)

A. Prerequisite Items and Points (65 points)

Trade performance (average annual performance over the past two years as of the date of application) up to 30 points
Items Export Recode Import+Export Recode
USD $300K+ USD $100K-$300K USD $500K+ USD $300K-$500K
Points 30 20 15 10

Trade expertise: up to 35 points
Items Working experience University Major Basic Trading Course (OASIS4+) Certificate
Points 20 15 10


B. Elective Items and Points (95 points)

Period of stay in Korea (based on application date): Up to 20 points, Only the highest score is counted.
Items Continuing to stay in Korea after registering as a foreigner Staying for more than 200 days for
the last 2 years
without alien registration
5 years+ 3 years - 5 years 1 year - 3 years
Points 20 15 10 5

Education background: up to 20 points
Items Doctoral Degree Master Degree Bachelor Degree College Degree
Points 20 15 10 5

Additional points: up to 55 points
Items Korean Education Background(1) KRW 100M+ won Capital(2) TOPIK 3+ or Completion of KIIP
Points 30 15 10
Duplicate calculations between items are possible
(1) Where he/she has studied at a Korean college for at least two years and obtained a college degree or higher; (2) Limited to own funds related to the operation of the relevant trade business (excluding loans, etc.)



2. VISA Extention


A. Extension item points

Prerequisite Items Trade performance
average annual performance over the past two years as of the date of application
Items Export Trade
(Import+Export)
USD $70K+
VISA Extension Recommendation Letter
USD $500K+ USD $300K-$500K USD $100K-$300K USD $50K-$100K
Points 30 20 15 8 5 5
The export score is calculated only by one of the highest scores. Up to 4 times extension recommendation letters are accepted.


Elective Items Employment of Koreans (only full-time employees who have been employed for more than 6 months as of the date of application)
Items 3 Employees 2 Employees 1 Employee
Points 10 5 2

Elective Items TAX performance (Annual personal income tax payment performance, Criteria for proving the facts of income tax issued by the National Tax Service)
Items KRW 5M won + KRW 4M won-5M won KRW 3M won-4M won KRW 2M won-3M won
Points 7 5 3 1


Elective Items Completion of the Advanced Trade Training Course: 3 points
A person who has completed an in-depth course established by a specialized trade education institution and approved by the Ministry of Justice, and has completed education within one year as of the date of application.




B. Criteria for permission to extend: A person who scores more than 5 points in the required items and scores the following points:



⇒ Those who do not have a required points are not allowed to extend.

Application criteria for the first extension (first extension permission after issuance of D-9-1)
Points 5-10 Points(1) 11-20 Points 21 Points+
Permission period 6 months 1 year 2 years
(1)The required item score must be at least 5 points, and those who have less than 5 points from the second extension permission cannot be allowed to extend.

Application criteria for second extension
Points 0-10 Points 11-30 Points 31 Points+
Permission period No extension allowed 1 year 2 years

Trading Program


Global Start-up Immigration Center


Ministry of Justice KPC



© 2016 All Rights Reserved. Global Start-up Immigration Center