"What visa covers start-up preparation in Korea after graduation?" A person holding a bachelor's degree or higher (including Korean associate degrees) who is preparing a business can stay under start-up preparation (D-10-2) status. Any one of the following qualifies: holding or having applied for Korean intellectual property rights, completing training under the start-up immigration support system (OASIS), or a recommendation as a K-Startup Grand Challenge participant. After preparation, meeting the requirements leads on to a change to technology start-up (D-8-4) status.
Who qualifies for D-10-2
Start-up preparation (D-10-2) is available to holders of a bachelor's degree or higher (Korean associate degrees included) who fall under any of the following (as of 2026): 1) a person holding, or with a pending application for, a Korean patent, utility model or design right — a pending application must have had examination requested; 2) a person participating in, or who completed within the last three years, the OASIS training courses run by the Global Start-up Immigration Centers jointly designated by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups — applications more than three years after completion are restricted unless the person is retaking the course; 3) a K-Startup Grand Challenge participant recommended by the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development; or 4) a holder of intellectual property rights in an OECD country.
The common disqualification grounds also apply: a sentence of imprisonment or heavier within five years of the application, a criminal fine of KRW 3M or more within three years, or penalty-notice records meeting the stay-restriction criteria bar the application.
Scope of activity, restrictions and stay periods
The scope of D-10-2 activity is preparatory work connected with founding a business: participation in start-up immigration training, preparing and filing patent and other IP applications, and preparing the incorporation of a company. Unlike general job seeker (D-10-1) status, internship activity is restricted and the part-time work concession does not apply. Since the preparation period cannot rely on employment income, the whole period needs to be planned in advance.
The stay ceiling differs by the qualifying ground. Persons scoring 35 points or more under the start-up immigration points system, K-Startup Grand Challenge participants recommended by the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development, holders of registered patent, utility-model or design rights, and holders of OECD IP rights are granted one year at a time up to three years; persons with pending IP applications, OASIS trainees or graduates (including current participants), and persons meeting one or more mandatory items of the points system are granted six months at a time up to one year (as of 2026). The same D-10-2 status thus secures a different preparation period and grant unit depending on which ground the application rests on.
The structure leading to technology start-up (D-8-4)
D-10-2 is not itself a status for operating a business; it is the preparation stage before technology start-up (D-8-4). D-8-4 is reviewed under the start-up immigration points system, which requires meeting at least one mandatory item and scoring 60 points or more out of 300 (as of 2026).
The mandatory items comprise 1) holding IP rights (patent 60 points, utility model or design 30 points) or being the inventor of registered IP (patent 30 points and the like), 2) receiving a government start-up support grant or completing the advanced OASIS courses (30 points), 3) three or more years of stay under professor (E-1) or research (E-3) status (30 points), and 4) attracting investment of KRW 100M or more (60 points). Optional items add points for completing individual OASIS courses, Korean-language ability and a master's degree or higher. What is done during the D-10-2 stage — registering the patent, completing OASIS courses, attracting investment — feeds directly into the D-8-4 score, so it is appropriate to arrange the preparation period's activity around that later review.
Meanwhile, for graduates of Korean universities with a master's degree, or a bachelor's degree and an OASIS score, the sole-proprietor business-immigration path D-9-5 also exists separately, so which form fits — corporate technology start-up or individual business — should be examined together in light of the business itself.
When the requirements overlap
Suppose, for example, a person with a pending patent application who is also attending an OASIS course, with study (D-2) status about to expire. Which ground to apply under cannot be judged on general criteria alone: applying on the pending-application ground limits stay to six months per grant and one year in total, while waiting for patent registration or the 35-point score opens the range of one year per grant up to three years but may leave a gap in stay in the meantime.
In such matters, 1) the stage of the patent examination, 2) the completion date and validity window of the OASIS course (three years from completion), 3) the expiry of the current status, and 4) the plan for reaching the D-8-4 points threshold are examined together, and the conclusion can differ with the combination of ground and timing, so case-by-case review is required.
The order of preparation
Taking the above together, it is advisable first to confirm which ground qualifies you for D-10-2 and the stay ceiling that follows from it; to apply for the change before your current status expires; and during the preparation period, to arrange your activity — patent registration, OASIS completion, investment — around the components of the D-8-4 points system.
Frequently asked questions
The Visa & Immigration Center of Law Firm Lawyeon provides legal services specialized in the integrated handling of Korean immigration and visa matters together with criminal cases and immigration-violation reviews, built on extensive case experience, professional networks, and practical knowledge.
The Center was founded through the organic collaboration of attorneys Junwoo Min, Dohyun Nam, and Seungchul Kim — criminal-law specialists who have advised across a wide range of immigration matters — with Senior Advisor Taemin Ahn, who has served at the Seoul Global Center, as a center head at the Ministry of Justice's Global Start-up Immigration Center, and as a member of the Foreign Workers' Rights Protection Council of the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Administration. It is Law Firm Lawyeon's dedicated center for immigration practice.
In particular, for departure orders and entry-ban dispositions that follow a final criminal conviction, the Center presents effective solutions through an integrated strategy spanning criminal defense, objections to the disposition, and applications to lift the entry ban, and it supports stable business activity in Korea by managing many clients' immigration risk.
This article is intended as general information about the relevant legal framework and is not legal advice on any individual matter. Determinations concerning immigration status may differ depending on specific facts such as residence history, income and contractual relationships. If your situation requires individual review, you may request a consultation with the Immigration Support Center of Law Firm Lawyeon (lawyeonvisa.app).