H-1 Visa(including WEST Program)Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Atlanta

Consular/Visa Service

H-1 Visa(including WEST Program)

Consular/Visa Service
H-1 Visa(including WEST Program)

Introduction

The Working Holiday Program (WHP) was created under the mutual cooperation and establishment of Memorandum of Understandings (MOU) between the Republic of Korea and 6 participating countries (Australia, France, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand, United States) with the purpose of providing opportunities to individuals from each respective country to travel to Korea, while allowing them to earn and save money through short-term employment.

YouTube public relation website : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMOdAbPcgC4&feature=youtu.be

Visa Information

General Information

General Information
Age Requirement	18-30 years old at the time of visa application (Additional requirements for U.S. Participants: See below **)
Entry to Korea	within 12 months after visa issuance
Visa Application Fee	U.S. : $45 Australia, Canada, New Zealand : $80 France, Japan : Exempt (Please note: Visas should be issued at the Korean Embassy in your home country)
Duration of Stay	Up to 12 months from entry date Up to 18 months for U.S. participants
Work Conditions	No specific time limitations set to work at a particular place (Please refer to the "Ineligibility" section for information regarding job restrictions in particular fields)
Expenses Incurred	Airfare, Travel insurance, Basic amount needed to support yourself prior to employment
Language study	Language study is possible
Quota of WHP individuals per country(2009)	Australia : N/A Canada : 4020 New Zealand : 1800 Japan : 7200 France : 2000 U.S. : 5000
Dependents	cannot be accompanied by dependents

** U.S. participants should be bona fide college students or recent graduates (within 1 year after graduation), and provide evidence of status from his/her post-secondary institution.

Ineligibility

Individuals of the WHP cannot engage in the following job categories that are against the spirit of the WHP agreement or national laws:

Adult entertainment-related businesses
Dancer, singer, musician or acrobat
Requiring specific licenses or skills, such as in the field of medical practices, lawyer, professor, pilot, etc.
Foreign language instruction (if an individual desires to work as a foreign language instructor after their arrival in Korea under WHP, the individual will be required to change their visa status to E-2); and
Those who desire to take training or educational course in pursuit of an academic degree other than a Korean language training course will be required to apply for a student visa (D-2).
Related to journalism, religion, academic research, or instruction of engineering-related technical skills.
Those whose main objectives for coming to Korea are not travel, but solely to seek employment, will be ineligible to participate in WHP.

Required Documents

Valid Passport (must have at least 6 months of validity left and have at least 2 blank visa pages)
A recent passport picture (taken within the last 3 months)
A completed application form for visa
Proof of a roundtrip airline ticket
Proof of financial support or other documents that show you have sufficient funds to support yourself (for at least 6 months of the US citizens)
A sealed official transciprt or a notarized copy of diploma, as a proof of student status or proof of highest academic qualifications (Reciprocity)
- Japan, U.S.
Criminal Record(Reciprocity)
- Canada, New Zealand, France
Medical Exam (Reciprocity)
- Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and France
A detailed schedule and plan of the trip

※ The required documents may differ among respective embassies, so please contact the nearest embassy for detailed information.
※ Please refer to "Visa Issuance" tab for instructions before you submit your application.

Application Process

You can apply for a visa at the nearest Korean Embassy in your country.
Once you submit all the required documents to the Korean Embassy in your country and apply for a visa, your visa will be issued upon review.
Please ensure that you have correctly completed all the required information before submission. Any inconsistencies or false information within the submitted documents may result in visa denial. Also, please refer to "Visa Issuance" tab for instructions for submitting a visa application.
Upon your visa application, you may be asked to submit additional documents or be requested for an interview, so please ensure that you apply with plenty of time.
Please note that submitted documents will not be returned.
For more detailed information, please contact the Korean embassy nearest you.