Ministry of Justice Launches Council to Improve Visa System for…

According to the Ministry of Justice, the council was launched on Monday, April 20, to provide a forum for the government and universities to jointly discuss the direction of visa policies for international students in light of the country reaching the milestone of 300,000 international students. Vice Minister Lee Jin-soo of the Ministry of Justice serves as chair, and the council includes both internal and external experts, such as the presidents of the Korean Council for University Education, the National Association of Public University Presidents, the Korean Association of Private University Presidents, and the Korean Council for College Education; the presidents of the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation and the Institute for Immigration Policy; and the head of the Immigration and Foreigners Policy Headquarters.

The council operates under a two-tier system consisting of an 11-member council and an 8-member working group. The working group is responsible for identifying institutional reform tasks, preparing improvement proposals, and establishing implementation plans, while the council provides advice and approval regarding institutional reform proposals and the resulting outcomes. The Ministry of Justice plans to hold a kick-off meeting in April, followed by working group meetings from April to August, an interim report in June, and a final report in August, with the aim of submitting the proposal to the Foreigners Policy Committee in November.

The guiding principles of these discussions are strict pre-entry verification of international student visas (D-2, D-4) and flexible post-entry management. In the pre-entry phase, the focus will be on selecting verified students who demonstrate a commitment to their studies and possess Korean language proficiency, while also establishing management systems involving universities, overseas diplomatic missions, and private study abroad agencies, and strengthening the verification of degrees and academic credentials. However, the Ministry also plans to develop a talent attraction strategy to ensure that study visas are not denied solely on the grounds of insufficient financial capacity, provided that the applicant demonstrates a genuine commitment to their studies and possesses the necessary Korean language skills.

According to the Ministry of Justice’s statistics on the status of foreign students, the total number of international students was 163,699 in 2021, 197,234 in 2022, 226,507 in 2023, 263,775 in 2024, 308,838 in 2025, and 326,385 as of March 2026. As of March 2026, the number of international students by nationality was 122,734 from Vietnam, 76,284 from China, 22,477 from Uzbekistan, 20,324 from Nepal, 19,284 from Mongolia, and 65,282 from other countries. The Ministry of Justice explained that the majority of Vietnamese students first undergo language training (D-4, 2 years) before changing their status to a student visa (D-2).

Source: Policy Briefing (korea.kr), Ministry of Justice, “Ministry of Justice Launches Public-Private Consultative Body to Set Direction for Student Visa Policy,” [https://www.korea.kr/briefing/pressReleaseView.do?newsId=156756660&call_from=rsslink](https://www.korea.kr/briefing/pressReleaseView.do?newsId=156756660&call_from=rsslink)