Starting in June, professors and researchers in science and technology will also be able to obtain Top-Tier visas. The government decided to expand visa eligibility to increase the inflow of world-class science and technology talent into Korea.
According to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 31st, starting in June, professors and researchers in science and technology will be able to receive Top-Tier visas. The Top-Tier visa has been issued to personnel employed by corporations in advanced industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, displays, secondary batteries, bio, advanced mobility, robots, and the defense industry.
To obtain the visa, at least one of the following must be met: awards, papers, commercialization, or career. It can be issued if the applicant has received an internationally prestigious award such as the Nobel Prize or Fields Medal, or has been recommended as a laureate. Those listed as Highly Cited Researchers (HCR), the top 1% of most-cited researchers in the world, or corresponding authors of landmark papers selected by major international journals such as Science and Nature are also eligible.
Those who hold a triadic patent (a patent registered with the U.S., Japan, and European patent offices) or an international standard patent, or whose technology licensing income has reached 1 billion won or more over the past three years, are also included. Eligibility is also granted to research directors or assistant professors at research institutes of the world's top 100 universities, as well as those at the rank of director or higher at corporate-affiliated research institutes of the global top 500 corporations and at national and public research institutes.
If these quantitative requirements are met, a letter of recommendation will be issued immediately. In addition, researchers with strong growth potential may be separately recommended based on evaluations by a review committee jointly convened by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Science and ICT.
The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Science and ICT plan to operate the system so that recommendations for outstanding talent are linked with visa and residency qualification reviews. If a candidate recommended by the Ministry of Science and ICT applies for a Top-Tier visa, the Ministry of Justice will immediately grant an F-2 visa to the applicant and their family, allowing free employment and stable residence. A priority immigration card will also be issued.
The roughly five-year residency period required to obtain F-5 permanent residency will be reduced to three years. For the top-tier talent who receive visas through the Ministry of Justice review, the Ministry of Science and ICT will provide settlement support services across all stages, including entry and resettlement.
The government set a goal of attracting a total of 350 top-tier scholars by 2030 through this institutional improvement.
Minister Jung Sung-ho of the Ministry of Justice said, "Through this institutional improvement, a foundation will be laid for outstanding overseas science and technology talent to flow into domestic research sites," adding, "We also expect the global research capabilities of domestic research institutions to improve."