Korea to lower barrier on issuing student visas

Korea will create a new visa type that links studying and working and relax requirements for issuing student visas in an effort to attract talented foreigners, the government said Wednesday.



The Ministry of Justice said the new work-study visa will allow government-invited students to get a job here right after their graduation, starting next month.



Currently, for a company to hire a foreigner, it has to have at least five South Korean employees. The number of foreigners should also be kept below 20 percent of that of local staff.



Those holding the new work-study visa will be able to get a job even if the above-mentioned conditions are not met, according to the ministry.



The revision follows an outflow of foreign students who cited difficulties in getting work or residency visas, the ministry said.



The government also created a new visa type for students who study here for a short period of time.



With the boom of Korean pop culture, the number of foreign students who want to experience the local culture has been constantly increasing.



"With these improvements, we hope the quality of foreign students studying here will improve," a ministry official said.



"The number of foreign students will also increase to 200,000 by 2023 from the current 100,000." (Yonhap)