Where can South Korean citizens move to?
Ranked by what the move actually takes on a South Korean passport specifically, not in general. Every rating below comes from the same verified data as the full guide it links to.
Naturalising in any of these 12 means giving up your South Korean passport.
Open to you in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. Usually age-capped, so it closes quietly.
Easiest to keep driving on in Canada, Costa Rica, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain and Thailand. Each guide has the exact terms. Elsewhere expect more steps, often a full local test.
An apostille is accepted in 11 of these 12. Thailand still needs the full consular legalisation chain, so start earlier.
Straightforward 9 of 12
- CanadaKorea holds the single largest working-holiday quota of any IEC country — over 10,000 places — and that route dominates Korean arrivals, followed by study permits.Straightforward
- Costa RicaKorean relocators are a small but growing group, arriving mainly as Rentista residents or on the Digital Nomad visa; a handful of retirees use Pensionado status.Straightforward
- IrelandSouth Koreans arrive largely through the Working Holiday Authorisation and study routes; permanent migration numbers stay small relative to other destinations like Canada or Australia.Straightforward
- ItalySouth Koreans move to Italy chiefly on the Italy-Korea Working Holiday visa (ages 18–30) or as students and fashion/design-industry professionals on national work visas; ordinary Decreto Flussi labour migration from Korea is rare given Korea's own high income level.Straightforward
- JapanKoreans move via the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities visa in tech and entertainment, family ties within Japan's long-established Zainichi Korean community, or student-to-work transitions.Straightforward
- NetherlandsCorporate intra-company transfers dominate — Samsung and other Korean multinationals have long clustered around Amstelveen — alongside the Working Holiday Scheme for younger arrivals.Straightforward
- New ZealandKoreans typically arrive via the working holiday scheme (often converting to Accredited Employer Work Visas in hospitality and trades) or through the Skilled Migrant Category and international study.Straightforward
- PortugalSouth Koreans arrive mostly on the bilateral working-holiday visa or as students, with a smaller skilled-worker stream; the working-holiday route is the most-used first step.Straightforward
- SpainThe Working Holiday visa, the Digital Nomad Visa, and student visas are the most common entry points, with a smaller sponsored skilled-worker route.Straightforward
Moderate 3 of 12
- AustraliaSouth Koreans arrive largely on the 417 working-holiday visa (now extended to 18–35) and student visas, with a smaller skilled-visa and business-migration stream.Moderate
- ThailandSouth Koreans move via the LTR visa, retirement visa, or a Thai-employer work permit in education and business services; the generous 90-day visa-exempt entry makes long tourist stints common before formalizing status.Moderate
- United StatesH-1B (heavy use by Korean tech/manufacturing multinationals), L-1 intracompany transfer, and a substantial F-1 student pipeline into OPT/H-1B are the main routes; family-based sponsorship remains steady but secondary.Moderate
Ratings weigh entry class, working-holiday access, licence exchange, dual citizenship and document legalisation. Each is checked against the issuing government. Open any destination for the full guide written for South Korean citizens.