What Documents Do You Need for D-10-2 After OASIS Training?
BySangjin Ji, Administrative Attorney3 years of embassy visa practiceLinkedIn
You have completed OASIS startup training and received your certificate. It may seem that the next step is simply to apply for D-10-2, Korea's immigration status for people preparing to launch a technology-based startup. But once you begin gathering documents, new questions arise. Why do you need evidence of your degree? How much of your software must be finished before you can describe it in your startup plan? And what if the business idea you presented during training no longer has the same name?
An OASIS completion certificate confirms that the training was completed; it does not, by itself, establish eligibility for D-10-2. Start by identifying your current immigration status and the application route that applies to you. Then check the academic qualifications or officially accepted recommendation, technical startup plan, and supporting evidence required under that route. Changing your status while already in Korea and applying for a visa from overseas may involve different documentation.
Consider James, who is developing AI-assisted inventory management software for retail stores in Korea. His working prototype tracks stock levels and analyzes sales. He hopes to add a feature that recommends when a store should reorder products, but that feature is still being developed. He has not yet incorporated a company; for now, he is showing the prototype to stores and gathering feedback.
When James enrolled in OASIS, he called his idea “store inventory management software.” His current technical startup plan uses the name “AI-powered replenishment solution.” The product has progressed, and so has the description. Which documents should explain that change, and how should he distinguish work already completed from plans for the future?
What does an OASIS certificate actually prove?
OASIS, the Overall Assistance for Startup Immigration System, supports foreign nationals preparing technology-based startups in Korea. Designated Global Startup Immigration Centers and related operators provide training and mentoring. Individual courses have different subjects: OASIS-1 covers intellectual property fundamentals, while OASIS-4 focuses on startup fundamentals.
A certificate is useful evidence that James attended or completed the relevant training. It does not establish his educational qualifications, his present immigration status, or the technical development work he describes in his business plan.
The Korean Ministry of Education's Study in Korea guidance for international students changing from D-2 student status to a technology-startup preparation route lists an OASIS completion certificate or participation confirmation among the documents for applicable applicants. Guidance for OASIS participants issued by Global Startup Immigration Centers also includes training records in D-10-2 application materials. This does not mean that every application route has identical eligibility rules or document requirements.
James can begin by checking the name, course, and completion date printed on his certificate. If he completed the course some time ago, he should verify whether that training record is still accepted under the requirements in effect for his particular application. The certificate itself and the immigration authorities' acceptance of the training history for a specific status-change application are separate questions.
Degree certificate or recommendation: which one applies?
Completing startup training and earning an academic degree are two different things. The D-10-2 documentation route James is considering may require him to establish his academic qualifications or eligibility under an accepted recommendation route.
The Ministry of Education's Study in Korea overview of technology-startup preparation describes bachelor's degrees or higher and also refers to associate degrees earned in Korea. Yet its supporting-document list for certain changes from D-2 status uses the wording “academic certificate (bachelor's degree or higher).” Because those descriptions are not identical, a graduate of a Korean junior college should check the precise eligibility rules for the relevant application route rather than treating one line from a general guide as a universal answer.
If James has graduated, his degree certificate can show the qualification awarded and the date of conferral. If he is approaching graduation, he should ask whether proof of expected graduation is acceptable under his application route. For a degree earned overseas, he can compare the English name on the degree document with his passport and check whether an apostille, consular confirmation, or translation is required by the applicable filing instructions.
What happens if the academic requirement is not satisfied? Could a recommendation be used instead?
The Korea Productivity Center's Global Startup Immigration Center lists a “degree certificate or recommendation” in its D-10-2 application guidance. However, this does not mean that any letter from a professor or acquaintance qualifies. The relevant questions are which issuing institutions are recognized and whether the applicant is eligible for that particular recommendation. The answer must be checked against the requirements of the route being used.
A better-written startup plan cannot make up for an unmet eligibility requirement. James should identify the applicable academic or recommendation route before concentrating on the wording of his business plan.
How much of the technology should the startup plan describe as complete?
The technical startup plan describes the technology James intends to develop in Korea and the stage that development has actually reached. Study in Korea's D-2 status-change guidance identifies a technical startup plan as a separate supporting document.
Imagine that James writes only: “I plan to develop AI inventory management software and establish a business in Korea.” That sentence identifies a broad idea, but it does not explain what the software currently does. Can it display inventory levels? Does it analyze sales patterns? Can it already recommend or place replenishment orders?
His actual project offers a clearer explanation. Retail stores need to compare what has sold with what remains in stock before deciding when to order more. James has built a prototype for monitoring stock and analyzing sales, while the recommendation feature remains under development.
His startup plan could therefore say:
I have developed a working prototype that monitors inventory levels and analyzes sales data for retail stores. I plan to add a feature that recommends reorder timing based on sales data and to improve the software using feedback from store users.
This description separates completed development from future work. Screenshots and development records should be consistent with the features James says are already functional. There is no reason to present a proposed feature as an achieved result, or to describe a company that has not been incorporated as though it were already operating the business.
A plan explaining startup preparation serves a different purpose from records of sales or operations generated by an established company. At this stage, James should present the actual development history and the work he proposes to carry out, not manufacture operating results that do not exist.
What if the product name has changed since OASIS training?
James's OASIS application described “store inventory management software,” while his current plan refers to an “AI-powered replenishment solution.” The names are different, but that fact alone does not prove that the underlying business has changed.
He originally envisaged a tool for checking stock quantities. He subsequently implemented sales-analysis features and now plans to develop reorder recommendations. If these are successive stages of one product, he can place the original application alongside the current prototype and explain what has changed: which functions were originally proposed, which have been implemented, and which remain on the development roadmap.
The answer changes if James has abandoned software development and now intends only to import goods from overseas and sell them. That is more than a rebranding exercise. He would need to reconsider whether the business he is now preparing fits the technology-startup route. The Chungbuk Global Startup Immigration Center, for example, distinguishes technology-based and trade-based programs in its guidance.
The goal is not to rewrite every document until the wording is identical. If the same technology has evolved, explain the progression using actual evidence. If the nature of the business has changed, review which application route fits the present activity before attempting to reconcile old and new descriptions.
Can you apply for D-10-2 without filing a patent?
James has developed a prototype but has not filed a patent application. That fact alone is not enough to conclude that every D-10-2 application is unavailable to him. He must first identify which intellectual-property documents his specific application route requires.
Study in Korea's guidance on certain D-2 changes for technology-startup purposes identifies documents relating to patents, utility models, and designs—including registration certificates or applications and filing receipts—as supporting materials for applicants to whom they apply. Document requirements for an initial D-10-2 application, an extension, and a D-8-4 technology-startup application must not be treated as interchangeable.
Where a patent application has already been filed, the application and receipt can help confirm the applicant, the invention's title, and the filing date. Registration records have a different function: they establish information about registered rights and their holders.
If James has not filed, he can still organize his technical startup plan, prototype screenshots, and development records to show what he has built. But evidence of development does not automatically replace a particular intellectual-property document when the applicable route specifically requires it. He needs to distinguish mandatory evidence under his route from supplementary material that helps explain technical progress.
Why check your permitted stay before your graduation date?
If James is in Korea under D-2 student status, one of the first dates to check is the expiration of his currently permitted period of stay. The OASIS course completion date, degree conferral date, and immigration stay expiration date each answer a different question.
Suppose James expects to graduate in December, but his D-2 permission expires in November. Simply waiting until his graduation certificate is issued could leave his immigration timeline unresolved. He should check whether he can apply using the documents currently available to him, including any accepted evidence of expected graduation, and what steps must be completed or initiated within his present period of stay under the applicable rules.
Article 24(1) of Korea's Immigration Control Act (「출입국관리법」) requires a foreign national who wishes to undertake activities covered by a different status of stay to obtain permission to change status in advance. Even if the remaining D-2 period appears sufficient, James must consider changes in his student enrollment and the activities he plans to pursue after graduation. Completing OASIS training does not automatically grant permission to change status.
The integrated application form used for such applications is Form No. 34 under the Enforcement Rule of the Immigration Control Act (「출입국관리법 시행규칙」). Study in Korea's D-2 status-change guidance also mentions the application form, passport, alien registration card, and applicable fee. James should verify that his name, passport number, current status, and proposed status are consistent with his identity and immigration records.
Why are housing and living-expense documents separate from the startup plan?
A technical startup plan explains what James intends to develop and how he plans to build a business. Proof of residence and evidence of living expenses address a different issue: where he will stay in Korea and how he will support himself while preparing the venture. The Korea Productivity Center's Global Startup Immigration Center includes photographs and documentation relating to residence and living expenses in its D-10-2 guidance.
If James rents a studio apartment, his lease may help establish his actual place of residence. The address on the application should be checked against the address on the supporting document. A future company's office lease serves a different purpose from evidence of where James currently lives.
If he stays with friends or family and does not hold a lease in his own name, he should check what form of residence evidence is accepted for that living arrangement under the applicable application route. It would be misleading to assume that the absence of a lease in his name has the same consequence in every case.
The same distinction applies to living expenses. Revenue James hopes to earn after launching the business is not the same as funds currently available for his living costs in Korea. The center's guidance gives materials relating to a personal bank account in Korea as an example of financial evidence. The required amount and the permitted issue date or age of a certificate must be checked against the actual filing requirements.
The startup plan answers “What business are you preparing?” The residence and financial documents answer “Where will you live, and how will you support yourself?” Neither question can simply be substituted for the other.
What should you compare across your passport, certificate, and startup plan?
Even after James has collected every document on his list, he still needs to compare what the documents actually say. Three kinds of differences are especially useful to separate: names, dates, and the identity and current stage of the business.
First, check the English name. The passport may separate family and given names, while a university or OASIS certificate may display them in a different order. A difference in capitalization or order is not necessarily the same as a spelling error. If the spelling is incorrect, James should ask the issuing institution about reissuance or correction and check what explanatory evidence is accepted. He should not alter an issued certificate himself.
Second, check the dates. The OASIS completion date shows when training was completed; the degree conferral date shows when a qualification was awarded; the expiry date on the immigration record shows the end of the currently permitted stay. Keeping those meanings separate helps James work out his application timeline and decide which documents require further confirmation.
Third, check who is actually preparing the business and how far it has progressed. Suppose James's plan says, “SmartRetail Co., Ltd. currently operates an AI inventory management service,” even though he has not yet incorporated the company. That statement would not reflect his present circumstances. He should describe himself as the person currently developing the technology and identify incorporation as a future step.
These are not all the same kind of documentation problem. A spelling mistake may call for a correction by the issuing institution. A product that has evolved may need an explanation supported by development records. A change in the actual nature of the business may require reassessing the immigration application route itself.
What should James organize before applying?
James can start with his passport and immigration registration materials to identify his current status and expiry date. He can then record his degree type and conferral or expected graduation date, together with the OASIS course he attended and the evidence of participation or completion.
Next, he can separate the functions already implemented in his software from those still planned. If he has intellectual-property filing records, screenshots, or development logs, he can identify what each document proves and whether it plays a required or supporting role in his specific application route.
The response to a problem depends on its nature. An incorrect name may need an issuing institution's correction. An unclear development history may call for a better explanation in the technical startup plan. But if the applicant does not satisfy a basic academic or immigration-status condition, the application route itself needs reconsideration before the documents are polished.
This is also where the scope of professional assistance becomes concrete. Ethos Administrative Attorney Office can compare immigration, academic, OASIS, and technical startup documents, identify information that needs clarification, and prepare relevant administrative application documents or handle submissions within the scope permitted by Korean law. The preparation and permitted filing of these documents are separately agreed paid services. Patent application representation and corporate registration are distinct professional matters. The competent immigration authority makes the final decision on permission to change status.
If you have completed OASIS training and are preparing for D-10-2, you may submit the immigration record showing your current status and permitted stay, your OASIS certificate or participation confirmation, and any available startup plan or brief development summary for a free preliminary review at Ethos Administrative Attorney Office to identify the application route, basic conditions, and additional documents that should be checked first.
Three-point summary
- An OASIS certificate documents training history; D-10-2 preparation begins with the applicant's current immigration status and the relevant application route.
- Academic qualifications or an accepted recommendation, the technical startup plan, and intellectual-property or development records establish different facts.
- Comparing names, dates, the original business description, and the current product helps distinguish errors to correct from changes that need explanation.