International student part-time checklist Korea is the first thing every D-2 / D-4 visa holder should run through before accepting a single shift. Korean immigration enforces three core rules — get the permit first, respect the weekly hour cap, avoid restricted industries — and missing any one of them flips a small income source into a deportation risk. This 2026-aligned checklist walks through the part-time work permit, term-time hour limits, required documents, prohibited job categories, and the most common violations international students actually get caught on.

International student part-time checklist Korea — three core rules

• Get the permit first — apply for the part-time work permit (시간제취업 허가) at the local Immigration Office before starting any paid work
• Respect the cap — D-2 BA: 20h/week (term), D-2 MA/PhD: 30h/week, D-4: 20h/week (term, after 6 months residency); unlimited during official school vacations but still report
• Avoid restricted industries — adult entertainment, simple manufacturing, and pyramid sales are off-limits regardless of permit status

Even one shift before the permit is issued counts as illegal work. Restaurants and cafés are familiar with the permit requirement and will usually ask for a copy before scheduling.

International student part-time checklist Korea — required documents

• Permit application form — downloadable from Hi Korea
• Passport + Alien Registration Card
• School recommendation letter — issued by the international student office; typically valid 3 months
• Employer business registration certificate (사업자등록증) — supplied by the future employer
• Labor contract — signed offer with hours and hourly wage
• Recent grade transcript — required for D-2; some immigration offices waive for first-semester students

The school recommendation letter is the bottleneck — international student offices process them in batches, often once per week. Submit your request as soon as you have an offer, not after.

International student part-time checklist Korea — weekly hour cap

The weekly cap counts combined hours across all employers, not per employer. Two cafés at 15 hours each is a violation, not a balance.

Visa	Term-time	Vacation	Reporting
D-2 (BA)	20h / week	Unlimited	Permit + employer
D-2 (MA / PhD)	30h / week	Unlimited	Permit + employer
D-4 (under 6 months)	Not allowed	Not allowed	—
D-4 (6+ months)	20h / week	25h / week	Permit + employer

International student part-time checklist Korea — restricted industries

Some industries are off-limits regardless of permit. Working in any of these voids the permit immediately and triggers visa-status review.

• Adult entertainment establishments (room salons, host bars, etc.)
• Casinos and gambling-related operations
• Simple manufacturing line work (factory assembly)
• Multi-level marketing / pyramid sales
• Daily-pay construction labor
• Hotel cleaning where labor is daily-pay rather than employer-contracted

Cafés, restaurants, retail, tutoring, and conversation-partner positions are the most common student-friendly choices and are explicitly allowed.

International student part-time checklist Korea — common violation patterns

Five recurring mistakes that lead to part-time-work warnings or visa cancellations:

• Starting before permit issuance — even a one-day “trial shift” counts as unauthorized work
• Forgetting to update permit when changing employers — the permit is employer-specific; switching jobs requires a new permit
• Combining two part-time jobs that exceed the weekly cap — counted in aggregate, not per employer
• Working past the contract end date without renewal — permit expires with the contract; renewal must precede
• Accepting cash-only daily-pay work — usually outside permit terms; treats the worker as an unauthorized casual laborer

International student part-time checklist Korea: the safe sequence

Put the steps in order before reaching out for a job: school recommendation request → labor contract draft from employer → submit Hi Korea permit application → wait 5–10 business days → start work. Skipping the order is what creates almost every documented violation. Once the rhythm is set up, renewals and employer changes follow the same template, just with the existing permit number attached.

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