D-2 Student Visa After Admission: Standard Certificate of Admission, Then Embassy Visa, CCVI or E-Visa by University Tier and Nationality; Documents, Apostille, Vietnam Blocked Account

Being admitted to a Korean university does not mean you can apply for a student visa right away. The visa application starts only after the university issues a Standard Certificate of Admission and registers it in the Ministry of Justice's Foreign Student Information Management System (FIMS). From there, the path splits three ways depending on the university's certification tier, the student's nationality and the program: getting a visa from a Korean embassy or consulate in the country of residence or where the last school attended is located; first obtaining a Certificate for Confirmation of Visa Issuance (CCVI) from an immigration office in Korea; or applying online for an e-visa.

This article is part of a series on stay procedures. After arrival, continue with the alien registration card application guide.

Overall steps

1. Admission: Apply to a university and get accepted.
2. Standard Certificate of Admission: The university issues it, registers it in FIMS, stamps it with the president's or dean's official seal and sends it to the student. A number appears at the top left of the certificate.
3. CCVI (if applicable): The student or the inviter applies at the immigration office with jurisdiction over the university the student will attend (for branch-campus entrants, the branch campus's actual location). Online applications through the Korea Visa Portal (visa.go.kr) can be filed only by the university's international student officer.
4. Visa application and issuance: As a rule, apply at the Korean embassy or consulate (overseas mission) with jurisdiction over the country of residence or the location of the last school attended. Students who received a CCVI submit the confirmation number. E-visa applicants apply through the Korea Visa Portal.
5. Entry: Enter Korea on the visa.
6. Alien registration: Register at the immigration office with jurisdiction over your place of residence within 90 days of the date of entry (Article 31 of the Immigration Act).

How the three routes are decided

This table summarizes the core of the "Visa Issuance Types by Applicant Category" chart the Ministry of Justice has applied since October 2019. Nationals of China, Vietnam, Mongolia and Uzbekistan entering a university under enhanced visa screening (formerly "lower-tier") obtain a visa only through a CCVI if they are in language training, exchange student or visiting student programs. Doctoral, research and exchange programs (D-2-4~D-2-6) at a university under intensive visa screening (formerly "visa-restricted") go only through a CCVI, regardless of nationality. The chart does not set out the visa route for other programs at these universities, so students admitted to them should check with the university and the competent immigration office before applying. Nationals of countries designated by the Minister of Justice / priority-management countries who enter or advance to a university under enhanced visa screening are subject to Korean proficiency requirements (TOPIK level 2 or higher for associate degrees, level 4 or higher for bachelor's degrees and above, etc.) or English proficiency requirements for English-track programs when their change of status is reviewed, so they should check with the university whether these also apply at the visa application stage. Nationals of Cuba, Syria, Macedonia and Kosovo obtain visas only through a CCVI, regardless of the university. Even nationals of China, Vietnam, Mongolia and Uzbekistan can be issued a visa if they are Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) scholars. E-visas can be applied for through the Korea Visa Portal by students entering any study program (D-2-1~D-2-8) at an excellent certified university and by master's and doctoral entrants at a certified university; nationals of Cuba, Syria, Macedonia and Kosovo are excluded.

Common documents

• Visa issuance (confirmation) application form, copy of passport, 1 half-size ID photo taken within the last 6 months
• Copy of the educational institution's business registration certificate (or unique identification number certificate)
• Standard Certificate of Admission (issued by the president or dean). Scholars invited by the National Institute for International Education or the Ministry of National Defense submit an invitation letter instead.
• Tuberculosis (TB) certificate (if applicable)
• Proof of family relationship (if a parent's bank balance certificate is submitted)
• Proof of final academic credentials
• Proof of financial ability

Heads of overseas missions may add or drop supporting documents when needed to verify the purpose of entry, the genuineness of the invitation and the eligibility of the inviter and the invitee. As a result, required documents can vary by embassy or consulate.

Academic documents: apostille or consular legalization

As a rule, final academic credential documents are reviewed in the original, and academic verification documents the student obtains directly are accepted only within their validity period. Students who obtained their qualifications outside China (including Vietnam, Mongolia and Uzbekistan) submit academic certificates bearing either ① an apostille or ② consular legalization (by a Korean consul stationed in the country where the school is located, or by a consul at that country's mission in Korea). The documents required differ by program.

Students who obtained their qualifications in China submit, instead of an apostille, a verification report (CHSI or CDGDC) issued by the Chinese Ministry of Education's academic credentials and degree verification center. Graduates of secondary vocational schools and similar institutions (recognized-education institutions) that cannot obtain a verification report need different combinations of documents depending on the school type. For example, a graduation certificate issued by the school itself must carry both confirmation by the provincial education department (municipal education bureau) and legalization by the Korean consulate in China, and a certificate issued offline must be submitted together with a school information confirmation. These students should check the exact combination with the university officer.

Financial documents: 1 year of tuition and living expenses

• Amount: equal to tuition and living expenses for 1 year. For language training, 6 months' worth is the rule.
• Issuer: a bank balance certificate issued by a bank in Korea or abroad
• Account holder: the applicant, a parent, or a sibling (only if the parents are deceased)
• Validity: issued within 30 days before the visa or CCVI application date
• Maintenance: the balance must be maintained throughout the permitted period of stay. Certificates produced by depositing money briefly and then withdrawing it can be rechecked at a later point during screening.
• Vietnam: submit a separate blocked-account (payment-withheld) study-expense balance certificate issued by a bank.

Applicants who submit a balance certificate in a parent's name also submit proof of family relationship. Separate financial document standards may apply to students recommended by universities and departments in the metropolitan (regional) visa pilot program (until December 31, 2026), so those students should check with their university. Reference amounts by region and program are summarized in our article on bank balance requirements for international students.

Additional requirements for language training (D-4), exchange students and research programs

A Korean language training (D-4-1) visa requires a high school diploma or higher education. Foreign language training (D-4-7) is also open to students enrolled in high school or lower-level schools. The language institute must meet requirements as well: it must run in-person classes 4 or more days a week and 15 or more daytime hours a week (300 hours or more per half-year), have 1 or more instructors per 30 students, and employ instructors holding the National Institute of Korean Language's Korean language teacher qualification (level 3 or higher). Language training visa applicants also submit a training plan covering the class timetable, instructor roster and training facilities. Language training with a stay of 90 days or less falls under the short-term general (C-3-1) visa, not D-4.

Exchange students (D-2-6) additionally submit a recommendation letter issued by the head of their home university, documents proving exchange student status (an official letter from the host university, a student exchange agreement between the universities, etc.), and proof of having studied for 1 semester or more at a regular foreign university. As a rule, the research program (D-2-5) is for holders of a master's degree or higher (current undergraduates at a home university are also eligible if invited to a science and engineering research program by a university designated as a specified research institution or by a Korean university ranked within the top 200 by THE or the top 500 by QS), and applicants submit a letter of guarantee or proof of financial ability (bank balance certificate, confirmation of research allowance payments, etc.) along with documents proving the research program, such as the president's confirmation of research student status.

Tuberculosis (TB) certificate

A TB certificate must be submitted when applying for a visa to stay more than 90 days (long-term status), and the system is based on 35 high-risk TB countries. The high-risk TB countries are 35 countries including Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Kazakhstan. Students entering on an e-visa submit it at alien registration after arrival. Nationals of high-risk countries holding a multiple-entry visa, such as Indian students, who enter Korea after 6 months have passed since the visa issuance date must submit a TB certificate again at alien registration. Children under 6 and pregnant women are excluded from the requirement. Nationals of other countries should check with the embassy or consulate.

Visa issuance details

Issuance of accompanying-family (F-3) visas for spouses and children is restricted for associate-degree students, language trainees and short-term students. The only exception is when there are humanitarian grounds.

Schools ineligible for visas

Distance universities (broadcasting, correspondence and cyber universities), lifelong education institutions, vocational training programs at polytechnic colleges, and night colleges and graduate schools, except for some permitted programs, are not eligible for study (D-2) or Korean language training (D-4-1) visas. For language training, only university-affiliated language institutes qualify; private academies and university-affiliated lifelong education facilities do not. Vocational schools are not eligible for study visas either.

What may change

The Ministry of Justice announced a plan to overhaul the international student visa system in October 2026. It has not yet taken effect, so students applying now follow the existing standards above. Details of the announcement are available in our Q&A on the student visa reform.

Checklist

• Check with your university when the Standard Certificate of Admission will be issued and registered.
• Ask the international office whether your case calls for an embassy/consulate visa, a CCVI or an e-visa.
• Get an apostille or consular legalization on your academic certificates (for Chinese credentials, a CHSI or CDGDC verification report).
• Prepare a bank balance certificate issued within 30 days before the application date, and maintain the balance throughout your stay.
• Nationals of high-risk TB countries prepare a TB certificate.
• Language trainees prepare a training plan; exchange students prepare a recommendation letter from their home university, documents proving exchange student status (an official letter from the host university or an exchange agreement) and proof of enrollment for 1 semester or more.
• Complete alien registration within 90 days of entry.