The working holiday visa is a joint program run by many countries around the world including South Korea. The aim and purpose of the visa is for young citizens to study, travel or explore the visiting country while working part time to supplement your travelling.
South Korea has a working holiday visa scheme set up with 12 countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the United States of America. In 2010 South Korea and Ireland started a working holiday visa agreement with 400 visas to be issued yearly for Irish and Korean citizens.
The working holiday visa is valid for 12 months however in the case of the United States it is valid for 18 months. The working holiday visa in Korea is called the H-1 Visa.
Working Holiday Visa Requirements for Korea:
- When applying for the Visa you must be aged between 18 – 30.
- Must have original bank statement issued in the last 3 months with sufficient funds. Usually anything above 2,000 usd or 1,500 euro.
- Schedule and plan of your trip. e.g I will live in Seoul for 3 months and sight see while working part time then move to Busan.
- Criminal Background check. The criminal background check must be affixed with an Apostille. The apostille is a stamp or document issued by your government to verify that the documents are real.
- Round trip ticket. However it is not always checked.
- Medical insurance to cover you for your stay in Korea.
- The working holiday visa must be applied for in the Korean embassy in your home country. You cannot apply for the visa abroad and you must visit the embassy in person.
Restrictions:
- You are not allowed to teach English while on the working holiday visa. If you wish to teach you must change your visa to the E2 visa while in Korea.
- You are not allowed to engage in any Adult Entertainment related to businesses also becoming a dancer, singer or acrobat is prohibited.
- Not allowed to engage in jobs that require a specific licence or skill, such as in the field of medical practices, lawyer, professor, pilot, etc.
- Not allowed to engage in journalism, religion, academic research or instruction of engineering-related technical skills. You must get a different visa for these.
- You must have no dependent children.
After arriving in Korea and within 90 days you must register for the Alien Registration Card.