Korea Introduces the Special Startup Visa

To attract more startups to Korea, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will introduce a new visa named "the Special Startup Korea Visa in attempts to improve startup visas and meet the Startup Korea vision.

The Ministry of SME said that this visa will be issued for 1) Profitable or 2) Innovative startups regardless of education background or intellectual property rights.

For Startup assessments, the private sector through a committee assigned by the government will have the role of assessing and evaluating the startup profitability, innovation, and business feasibility.

The visa is expected to be available by the end of 2024.

This visa is an addition to the channels from which the Korean government seeks successful non-Korean startups and ideas. Currently, the way to recruit non-Korean startups is through the K- Startup Challange program.

Also, a K-Scout personnel selected by KISED will be searching, identifying, and recommending promising non-Korean startups that are a good fit to enter the Korean market. Those individuals are investors and from institutions. 

The current, Overall Assistance for Start-up Immigration System (OASIS) will remain to support non-Korean entrepreneurs in acquiring visas and extending their periods of stay.