Study in Korea from China

Since January 2016, ordinary visa applications — including the D-2 study visa — go through a Korea Visa Application Center (KVAC) rather than a direct consulate visit. KVACs operate in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Xi'an; if you're in another consular district, confirm the current application process with your local Korean consulate first.

China is on Korea's tuberculosis high-risk country list, and the Korean Embassy in China designates specific clinics for the required tuberculosis medical certificate (with designated clinics in cities including Beijing, Tianjin, and Dalian). Requirements and the designated-clinic list change over time, so confirm the current list directly at HiKorea before you apply.

China joined the Hague Apostille Convention in November 2023. This can simplify authenticating certain official documents for use between China and Korea compared to the older consular-legalization process — but confirm with HiKorea or your target university whether an apostille alone is accepted for your specific academic documents, since practice can still vary by document type.

Hong Kong's apostille arrangement dates back to 1965 and Macau's to 1969 — both independent of mainland China's 2023 accession. A Hong Kong-issued diploma needs a Hong Kong apostille, not a mainland Chinese one, and vice versa for Macau.

Korean universities typically ask for a bank balance of roughly 10,000,000–20,000,000 KRW, held for at least three months before you apply — approximately 48,600–97,100 RMB at recent exchange rates. Chinese banks commonly issue this as a 存款证明 (deposit certificate) frozen for a set period past your application date — a specific product, not just a regular bank statement, so ask your bank for it by name.

There's no single, Korea-wide Chinese Students and Scholars Association — CSSA chapters are organized per university, not nationally. Search for your specific school's own chapter (for example, Korea University's) rather than looking for one national organization.