Justice Ministry eases requirements for university research visas

The Ministry of Justice building in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi [YONHAP]

The Ministry of Justice eased qualifications for the D-2-5 research study visa and E-3 research visa.

The Justice Ministry announced Monday it eased visa qualifications for the D-2-5 and E-3 to help universities struggling to invite researchers from abroad.

The D-2-5 is for individuals aiming to engage in research at a university, and the E-3 is for those who will conduct research in natural sciences and technology at a public or private institution.

To be eligible for the D-2-5 research study visa, applicants needed to either have a master's degree or doctoral degree, or be enrolled in a bachelor's program at an overseas university while getting an invitation from one of Korea's five science and research institutes.

The five designated universities are KAIST, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (Dgist), Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology (Unist), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) and University of Science & Technology.

But now, the five universities won't be the only ones that can invite bachelor's students from abroad.

Korean universities that place high in world university rankings will also be able to invite bachelor's students enrolled in science and engineering programs at overseas universities with the D-2-5 visa.

To be considered a high-ranking university, schools must place either within the top 200 of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings or within the top 500 of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.

Seoul National University, Yonsei University, KAIST, Sungkyunkwan University and Pohang University of Science and Technology (Postech) made it into the top 200 of the THE World University Rankings 2024.

Universities that made it into the top 500 of the 2025 QS World University Rankings are Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Korea University, Postech, Sungkyunkwan University, Hanyang University, Unist, Dgist, Kyung Hee University, GIST, Sejong University and Chung-Ang University.

Requirements for the E-3 researcher visa were also eased.

To apply for the visa, applicants need to have graduated with a master's or doctoral degree from local or overseas universities.

On top of that, overseas graduates originally needed work experience of three years or more. However, applicants will now be exempt from the work experience requirement if they graduated from a high-ranking university or had papers published in renowned journals.

The same THE and QS World University Rankings requirement applies to E-3 applicants. Renowned journals refers to those included in the Science Citation Index Expanded and Arts & Humanities Citation Index.

"We will continue to ease research visa requirements to attract foreign talent in science and technology," said a spokesperson for the Justice Ministry.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]