Guide

Understanding Korea's OASIS Program: A Simple Guide for Foreign Entrepreneurs

Aug 11, 2026 · 1:47 PM 13 0

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Heard people mention "OASIS" and had no idea what they meant? You are not alone, and no, it is not the band. In Korea, OASIS is a government startup support programme for foreigners, and it is one of the least understood things in our community.

This guide explains it in plain English.

📖 About a 10 minute read. In a hurry? The summary box below covers the essentials in 30 seconds.

Want to check where you stand first? These two screening tools cover the two stages this guide explains.

Check D-10-2, preparing a start-up Check D-8-4, running the start-up

Information checked: August 2026. Visa rules change. Always confirm before you spend money or make a decision.

🚀 What is OASIS?

OASIS stands for Overall Assistance for Start-up Immigration System. In Korean it is 창업이민종합지원시스템.

It is run through Global Startup Immigration Centers, which are designated by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

The simplest way to think about it:

Think of OASIS as a bridge. On one side you have a startup idea. On the other side you have a real Korean company you are allowed to run. OASIS is some of the road in between.

Or picture a toolbox. Different tools help you learn about business, learn about patents, get mentoring, get office space, set up your company and collect points. You do not have to use every tool.

🎯 Who is OASIS for?

This is the part people get wrong most often.

The main OASIS route is built for technology startups. The official programme page says applicants "must have a business idea that qualifies as a technology startup".

OASIS may suit you if:

You have a technology based startup idea
You are building software, an app, an AI service or a new product
You have an invention, or you are working on one
You want mentoring before setting up a company
You want to understand how the startup visa points work

It is probably not the right route if you want to open an ordinary restaurant, shop or resale business. Those are real businesses and not "worse" ones. They usually just take a different immigration route.

Owning a business as a foreigner does not make it a technology startup.

🛂 OASIS is not a visa

This is the single biggest misunderstanding. Three separate things get mixed up:

Joining OASIS. Taking the courses and support programmes.
Earning points. Some OASIS activities are recognised and give points.
Getting a visa. A separate decision made by Korean Immigration.

You can finish OASIS courses and still not qualify. You can reach the points total and still have other requirements left. Immigration makes the final decision, not OASIS.

📋 D-10-2 and D-8-4, in simple words

Two visa names come up constantly.

D-10-2, "I am preparing my startup"

The preparation stage. According to the official OASIS documents page, D-10-2 is for preparing a technology based startup and does not permit profit generating business activities. You can prepare, but you are not there to trade and earn yet.

The same page says it is available to OASIS participants, and is issued for 6 months at a time, extendable up to about 2 years in total.

D-8-4, "my startup is ready to operate"

This is the technology startup visa itself. The current requirements published by the Global Startup Immigration Center are:

A bachelor's degree, or an associate degree obtained in Korea, or a Global Startup Immigration Center letter
60 points or more, and at least one of them must come from the required category
A corporation that you establish

The Chungbuk centre adds that the corporation must be in a field related to your required item, and must be newly established. Buying an existing company does not count.

🧮 How the points work

The points split into two groups, and this is the part worth understanding properly.

Required items (at least one needed)

The "serious" achievements. You need at least one. The published values:

Registered patent, in your name: 60 points
Registered utility model or design, in your name: 30 points
Registered patent, as a co-inventor: 30 points
Registered utility model or design, as a co-inventor: 10 points
Patent application (not yet registered): 10 points
Utility model or design application: 5 points
Government startup support, or OASIS-6, or OASIS-9: 30 points
Three or more years in Korea on a Professor (E-1) or Researcher (E-3) visa: 30 points
Secured investment of ₩100 million or more: 60 points

Two conditions that are easy to miss:

Applications are capped at 10 points in total, no matter how many you file.
If something is jointly owned, the points are split equally between the joint owners.

Optional items

These add up, but they cannot do the job alone:

OASIS-1, OASIS-2, OASIS-4: 10 points each
OASIS-5, OASIS-7, OASIS-8: 15 points each
TOPIK level 5 or above, or KIIP level 5 or above: 20 points
TOPIK level 3 or above, or KIIP level 3 or above: 10 points
Master's degree or higher: 10 points

⚠️ "So I just need 60 points, right?"

No. Not quite. This catches people out constantly.

Imagine a basket that must hold 60 points. It also must contain at least one red ball. You cannot fill it with 60 points of blue balls only, even though the number is correct.

The red ball is a required category item. The blue balls are the optional ones.

So a person who takes lots of OASIS classes and reaches 60 points purely from courses has not met the requirement, because every course point is optional. You need at least one required item in there too.

That is why so many OASIS participants end up filing a patent application. It is often the most reachable required item.

💡 A simple points example

The official OASIS page shows a sample route that reaches exactly 60:

OASIS-4, Basic Start-up Class: 10
OASIS-5, Coaching and Mentoring: 15
OASIS-8, Corporation establishment: 15
OASIS-1, Basic IP Course: 10
Patent application: 10

Total: 60 points, and the patent application is a required item, so the "at least one red ball" condition is satisfied.

Example only. This is not a promise of visa approval. The degree or centre letter, the corporation and all other immigration requirements still apply.

📚 What are OASIS-1 to OASIS-9?

Nine numbered programmes. Here is the plain version.

OASIS-1, Basic IP Course. 10 points.
The beginner class on patents and intellectual property. Around 12+ hours over 2 weeks, 80% attendance required.

OASIS-2, Advanced IP Course. 10 points.
The deeper version: patent searches, invention documents, copyright, case studies. Around 20+ hours. If you already hold intellectual property registered in an OECD country, the official page says you may be exempt from the course and still get recognition.

OASIS-3, IP application and prototype support. Support, not points.
Help paying to apply for a patent, utility model or design, and help building a prototype. Trademarks are excluded, usually once per person. This one is support, not a course you complete for points.

OASIS-4, Basic Start-up Class. 10 points.
Practical basics: immigration rules, Korean business and tax, marketing, business plans, pitching. About 20 hours over 3 weeks, 80% attendance.

OASIS-5, Coaching and Mentoring. 15 points.
One to one sessions with experts on your market, customers and plan. A minimum of 6 hours across 3 sessions is recognised. To join, you need a clear business idea and an MVP.
MVP means a basic working version of your product that people can actually try.

OASIS-6, Invention and Startup Exhibition. 30 points, required category.
An event to show your idea and meet investors and technology partners. It sits in the required category, so it matters. Check the exact conditions with the centre rather than assuming attendance alone earns the points.

OASIS-7, Startup Incubation. 15 points.
Workspace and support while you build. Graduation is only recognised after six months have passed since you moved in.

OASIS-8, Corporation Establishment Support. 15 points.
Help with the paperwork of creating your Korean company. See the warning below, because this one carries real legal conditions.

OASIS-9, Startup Commercialization Support.
Funding and support to turn an idea into a real trading business, including early commercialisation costs and R&D. The points value needs checking, see below.

⚠️ A note on OASIS-9 points

Two official sources currently disagree.

The Global Startup Immigration Center's own points table lists government startup support, OASIS-6 or OASIS-9 as 30 points in the required category. Seoul Metropolitan Government's July 2026 article on OASIS 2.0 describes OASIS-9 recognition points as 25 points after evaluation.

We could not reconcile these two numbers from official sources, and we are not going to guess. This may reflect a different programme, a Seoul specific version, or a change that only one page reflects.

Confirm the number on your own OASIS certificate, or directly with the Global Startup Immigration Center, before relying on it.

🏢 The company rules you should know early

The OASIS route needs a corporation. The official schedule page states that a liaison office, branch office, sole proprietorship or non-profit organisation are not eligible.

It also states two things with real consequences:

Setting up the corporation is only permitted under the D-10-2 startup preparation visa
Setting up a corporation is not allowed on a tourist visa or a student visa

If you are a student thinking of quietly registering a company, talk to the centre or Immigration first. Getting this wrong is expensive.

📑 Why does OASIS talk about patents so much?

Because this is a technology route, and Korea needs a way to judge whether there is real technology behind your idea.

In simple terms:

A patent is an official right over a new invention
A patent application is when you have filed but it is not approved yet
A registered patent has been examined and granted
A co-inventor invented it together with someone else

Registered is worth far more than applied for: 60 points against 10.

You do not automatically need a patent. It is one route into the required category, not the only one. Government startup support, OASIS-6, OASIS-9, qualifying E-1 or E-3 history and qualifying investment are also in that category.

💰 "Do I need ₩100 million?"

Probably the second most common myth.

You may have heard that foreigners always need ₩100 million to start a business in Korea. That is too simple, because different visas have different rules.

For the D-8-4 points route, investment of ₩100 million or more is one way to earn 60 required points. It is not the only way to qualify.

It is also not just money sitting in your account. The official footnote describes investment, loans or guarantees of ₩100 million or more from accelerators, venture capital firms or policy financing institutions, for people verified and recommended by the Global Startup Immigration Center. That is a specific, checked arrangement, not a bank balance.

Check which visa route applies to your own plan before you move any money or set up a company.

🗺 A possible OASIS journey

The official documents page shows the technology route roughly like this:

Enter or stay on a short term visa
Take the OASIS-4 class
Change to D-10-2 (startup preparation)
Establish your corporation
File your intellectual property application
Reach 60 points, including a required item
Change to D-8-4 and operate your startup

This is an example pathway, not a rule everyone follows in this order. Your situation, current visa and background can change it.

📦 What about OASIS-4+?

On the OASIS site you will also see OASIS-4+, which is easy to confuse with OASIS-4. They are different.

OASIS-4+ is the trade track: a Basic Trading Course worth 10 points, for people who graduated from a Korean university or college and are preparing a trade related business. It leads toward the D-9-1 trade visa, not D-8-4.

If your plan is import and export rather than technology, research that track instead. It deserves its own guide.

📍 Where can I join OASIS? (It is not only Seoul)

Many people assume everything happens in Seoul. It does not.

Seoul Metropolitan Government's July 2026 update lists the participating organisations as the Korea Productivity Center, the Seoul Global Center, the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development, Korea Management Association Consultants, the Jeonbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, the Chungbuk Bio Industry-Academy Convergence Institute and the Busan Startup Investment Agency.

Two things worth knowing:

Programmes differ by centre. Not every centre runs every OASIS number. Seoul says its Global Center went from six programmes to eight.
Regional centres are real. The Chungbuk Global Startup Immigration Center publishes its own courses and D-8-4 information, and classes have also run with partners in Incheon and Gwangju.

Operating organisations change from year to year, so check the current list rather than trusting any article, including this one.

📅 How do I find the next course?

Course dates change constantly, so we are deliberately not printing a deadline that would be wrong in three weeks. Check these directly:

The official OASIS programme schedule, which lists application windows, announcement dates and class dates
The Seoul Foreign Resident Portal, which posts Seoul Global Center recruitment notices
The Chungbuk Global Startup Immigration Center programme page for the Chungbuk region

One detail worth knowing: places are not automatic. The schedule page says applicants for the basic startup class are selected by a review committee based on the business idea you submit, and results are sent individually by email.

❓ Frequently asked questions

Is OASIS a visa?
No. It is a startup support system. Some parts of it produce points used in a visa application.

Does finishing OASIS guarantee D-8-4?
No. Immigration decides, and there are requirements beyond points.

Do I just need 60 points?
No. You need 60 points including at least one required category item. Course points are all optional points.

Do I need ₩100 million?
Not necessarily. It is one way to earn required points, with specific conditions attached.

Can I use OASIS to open a restaurant?
The main route is for technology startups, so an ordinary restaurant would not normally qualify. Other business and visa routes exist.

Do I need a patent?
Not automatically. It is one way into the required category among several. Many participants use a patent application because it is often the most reachable.

Can students join?
The schedule page says participants may join on a short term or student visa and receive the OASIS certificate. But joining a course is not the same as being allowed to run a business. The same page says a corporation cannot be established on a student visa. Check your own status first.

Can I do OASIS outside Seoul?
Yes. Regional organisations take part, including in Chungbuk, Jeonbuk and Busan. Programmes differ by centre.

Where can I confirm my own situation?
The Global Startup Immigration Center, the Hi Korea immigration portal, or the Immigration Contact Center on 1345.

🔗 Official resources

Global Startup Immigration Center, OASIS main site
OASIS programme and points information
OASIS course schedule
Visa documents and process
Chungbuk Global Startup Immigration Center
Seoul Foreign Resident Portal
Seoul Metropolitan Government on OASIS 2.0
Hi Korea and the Immigration Contact Center, 1345

Our eligibility checks cover both stages of this journey, and both are built from the Ministry of Justice guidance manuals. Treat them as a starting point rather than an immigration decision.

For the preparation stage, the D-10 check asks whether you are looking for a job or preparing a technology start-up, and the start-up answer leads to D-10-2. For the business stage, the D-8 check offers "I am a technology founder with intellectual property or equivalent technical strength", which is the D-8-4 route.