Korea expands ‘top-tier’ visa to woo global scientists

Korea is expanding its elite "top-tier" visa program to encompass foreign professors and researchers as part of an aggressive push to secure global scientific talent amid intensifying international competition. The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced a joint initiative, Monday, to streamline immigration for world-class scientists. Originally launched to recruit corporate talent in advanced fields like semiconductors and artificial intelligence, the revamped visa track will open to academic and institutional researchers starting this month. Under the new policy, candidates can secure an MSIT recommendation by meeting at least one of four strict technical criteria. These high-level requirements include winning a prestigious international award like a Nobel Prize or Fields Medal or being listed on the Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) index with primary publications in elite journals such as Science or Nature. Alternatively, applicants can qualify by holding triadic patents registered across the United States, Japan and Europe, generating over 1 billion wWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times