Only 41 Applicants: Korea's Caregiver Visa Path for Students Stalls

Only 41 international students had applied for Korea's caregiver visa as of September this year, two years after the country opened the pathway to foreign students grappling with a caregiver shortage tied to a rapidly aging population. The Ministry of Justice approved all 41 applications from holders of D-2 student visas or D-10 job-seeking visas, which shows the low uptake reflects a lack of applicants rather than a high rejection rate. Universities now say the scheme must offer more than a route to visa issuance and employment if it is to work.

Who can apply and what does the pathway require?

The rules set clear thresholds. Applicants must pass the national caregiver certification examination, which requires 320 hours of lessons and fieldwork before they can sit the test.

International students on D-2 or D-10 visas must meet two additional conditions:

• graduation from an associate or bachelor's degree program in Korea;
• Korean proficiency at Level 3 or higher, proven through the Test of Proficiency in Korean or the Korea Immigration and Integration Program.

Holders of F-5 permanent resident visas and F-6 marriage migrant visas face no additional requirements under the scheme. The takeaway: the academic and language bar is real, but it is not what is blocking demand.

How many foreign caregivers actually work in Korea?

As of late last year, 26,596 foreigners were eligible to work as caregivers in Korea, according to government data. Only 7,623 of them, about 29 percent, were tracked as working at long-term care facilities. The figures include foreign residents holding F-series visas.

The nationality breakdown of workers at such facilities shows where the current workforce comes from:

• Chinese nationals: 6,268
• Japanese nationals: 486
• Americans: 416
• Canadians: 119
• Taiwanese: 50
• Vietnamese: 32
• Workers from other countries: 252

In short, the existing foreign caregiver workforce largely predates the student pathway.

What do universities want changed?

Twenty-one government-designated institutions officially launched foreign caregiver training programs this year, and their faculty say practical support, not just visa access, will decide whether the pathway fills the gap.

"It is essential that we help international students see caregiving as a sustainable profession with a stable income and working environment, rather than simply as a means of finding employment or obtaining a visa," said Prof. Woo Soo-hee of the nursing department at Kyung-in Women's University, one of the designated institutions.

Woo called for education subsidies, job placement assistance and help for graduates entering the workforce. "In particular, international students would feel less uncertain about their future if universities and long-term care facilities worked together to connect education with employment," she said.

Prof. Kim Hak-jae, head of Seojeong University's Department of Global Elderly Care Welfare, pointed to a simpler explanation for the low numbers: most international students did not come to Korea intending to become caregivers. "Unless there are special circumstances, students tend to pursue the careers they originally planned for themselves," Kim said, stressing the need for programs designed specifically to train foreign caregivers.

Where can foreign caregivers actually work?

Under the current E-7 visa scheme, foreign caregivers may work only at designated care facilities for older adults. They cannot provide home-based care through visiting care services.

Prof. Jeong In-suk, head of Seojeong University's caregiving training center, argued the range should widen. "Allowing students who have passed the national caregiver certification examination to work as care assistants at geriatric hospitals in areas facing population decline could create more employment opportunities," she said, citing Dongducheon in northern Gyeonggi as an area that could benefit.

Home-based care draws more caution. "Unlike care provided in facilities, home-based care requires caregivers to work independently in clients' homes, making Korean communication skills, cultural understanding and the ability to respond appropriately to different situations especially important," said Prof. Kim Young-mi, director of the Global Human Resource Office at Kyung-in Women's University. "Expanding foreign caregivers' roles to include home-based care is worth considering in the long term, but I believe we need to proceed cautiously for now," she said.

Could the process get simpler?

The mechanics of the E-7 application add friction. Students apply only after receiving job offers from care facilities, and they must submit multiple documents, including proof of a facility's financial status. Visas typically arrive about a month after submission.

"Simplifying the visa application process for both students and care facilities would be helpful," Prof. Jeong said.

Looking further ahead, Woo said Korea needs a structured system that recognizes the experience and practical skills of workers who complete job training over a set period. She also urged the government to regularly assess foreign caregivers' job satisfaction, turnover rates, quality of care and service users' satisfaction, and to feed the findings into policy.

"Korea needs to approach the foreign caregiver policy as part of its response to an aging society, rather than merely as a policy to recruit foreign workers," Woo said.

The core message from the universities: visas open the door, but careers keep people in it.