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Pathway

South Korea Working Holiday Visa

South Korea Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

Eligible young adults can spend a working holiday in South Korea and take permitted short-term work to help fund it. Your passport’s agreement sets the age, stay, work, study, and application rules.

Passport and age
An eligible passport and its specific age limit
Starting funds
General guide: at least KRW 3 million, plus return travel
Insurance
General guide: at least KRW 40 million in coverage

Summary

South Korea's H-1 Working Holiday visa is a temporary, travel-first route that allows short-term work to help cover travel expenses. The exact rules vary by applicant country, and U.S. applicants generally need to be current post-secondary students or recent graduates.

The passport you use determines your age limit, application location, quota, permitted work and study, and maximum stay. Check its agreement before making plans.

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Eligibility

Passport and age

The current official guidance groups the age limits as follows, with 18 as the minimum:

Check the exact birthday cutoff and current agreement. Finland’s agreement, signed in May 2026, covers ages 18–35 and stays up to 12 months, but applicants should confirm that the responsible mission is accepting applications under final instructions.

You usually must be in your passport country when applying and when the visa is issued, unless that agreement permits an exception. Participation is normally limited to once, with a published Canadian exception.

Money, insurance, and documents

The general guide asks for at least KRW 3 million for the start of the stay, plus a return ticket or enough money to buy one. It also states at least KRW 40 million in insurance coverage; the mission sets the final document requirements.

Prepare the holiday plan and required health, criminal, and identity records. Dependents cannot join under your H-1 permission.

Extra rule for US applicants

US applicants generally must be current post-secondary students or have graduated within the previous year. A dual citizen applying with another eligible passport follows that passport’s agreement and application rules instead.

Planning a working holiday in South Korea
  1. Check your passport’s agreement Confirm the age, application location, quota, and previous-participation rules.
  2. Prepare a funded holiday plan Gather travel, insurance, money, and personal documents.
  3. Follow the granted work and stay limits If approved Use the specific weekly, employer, study, and extension rules.

Agreements differ. US applicants have an additional student or recent-graduate rule, and Canadian work and repeat-stay rules are exceptions.

What This Route Allows

The usual stay is one year, with short-term work and limited study. The general work limit is 25 hours a week; Canadian participants currently have an exemption.

Some agreements also limit how long you can work. Examples include six months with one employer for Australian and Hong Kong participants, a nine-month employment period for Danish participants, and three months with one employer for Israeli participants. Other agreements may have no separate employment-period limit beyond the visa and weekly-hours rules.

Longer stays and repeat participation

US participants may currently receive an extension of up to six months, for about 18 months in total. UK participants may receive up to one extra year, for a total of two years.

Canadians can currently stay up to 24 months per participation and participate twice. Other participants should not assume they can extend or return for a second working holiday.

Private language study is generally possible within the agreement’s study limit. Degree study or long-term academic enrollment usually needs student status.

What This Route Is Not

H-1 is not an open professional-work visa or a way to relocate permanently. Restricted jobs can include foreign-language teaching, licensed medical or legal work, journalism, religion, research, technical instruction, performance, and adult entertainment. English teaching normally needs E-2.

A spouse or child needs to qualify independently for an appropriate status. A later employer-sponsored work status, permanent residence, or citizenship is also a separate process, not a promised outcome of H-1.

Next Steps

  1. Check your passport’s current age, quota, application-location, work, study, and stay rules in the official table and mission instructions.
  2. For a US application, get current enrollment evidence or proof of graduation within the previous year.
  3. Prepare the form, photo, passport, travel plan, funds, return-ticket evidence, and insurance.
  4. Obtain any health or criminal records with the required certification and within their validity periods.
  5. Confirm the quota is open before paying nonrefundable travel costs.
  6. Plan only permitted work and follow the weekly and employer-specific limits, including any confirmed Canadian exception.

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Discussed in these reports

Similar youth mobility pathways in other destinations.

Sources