Most applicants face no medical at all — the two real gates are the TB certificate for designated nationalities and the post-arrival designated-hospital medical for E-2 teachers.
Overview
Korea imposes far fewer medical requirements than applicants assume, but enforces the two it has rigidly. First, tuberculosis screening: nationals of the high-TB-burden countries designated by Ministry of Justice notice (a list of around 35 countries publicised through Korean embassies — including, in recent notices, China, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Russia and others) must submit a TB test certificate (chest X-ray) when applying for long-term visas of 91 days or more, and again when changing or extending status or registering in Korea if not previously tested; the certificate must come from a hospital designated by the Korean mission or health authorities, with student (D-2) and language (D-4) visas brought into scope when the regime was tightened. Second, the E-2 conversation-instructor medical: a self-declared health statement at application, then a post-arrival examination at a designated hospital covering TB and a TBPE drug panel, submitted with residence registration. Beyond these, most categories — E-7, D-8, F-1-D, visit visas — require no examination; health system access runs through mandatory NHIS enrolment instead. Verified against overseas.mofa.go.kr embassy notices, immigration.go.kr and nhis.or.kr as of June 2026.
Who Actually Needs What
| Applicant | Requirement | Where and when |
|---|---|---|
| Nationals of designated high-TB-burden countries, 91+ day visas | TB test certificate (chest X-ray; further tests if abnormal) | Designated hospital named by the Korean embassy in that country, at visa application; certificate validity per the mission's notice |
| Same nationals already in Korea (change/extension/registration without prior test) | TB certificate from a Korean public health centre (보건소) or designated hospital | At the immigration office filing |
| E-2 conversation instructors | Self-assessed health statement at application + post-arrival medical incl. TB and TBPE drug panel (meth, cocaine, opiates, cannabis) | Designated hospital in Korea, results filed with foreign resident registration |
| E-9 Employment Permit System workers | Health examination within the EPS process | Sending-country screening plus employer-arranged checks in Korea |
| E-7, D-8, D-10, F-1-D, F-2-7, short-stay visitors | No medical examination as a standard visa requirement | Employer or insurer checks may exist privately; F-1-D requires private insurance cover of KRW 100 million+ |
| F-5 / naturalisation applicants | No standard medical; criminal and integration evidence instead | — |
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See Paid Plans →Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a medical exam for a Korean work visa?
For most work visas, no. E-7 professionals, D-8 investors, D-10 job seekers and F-1-D digital nomads face no standard medical examination. The targeted exceptions: if you are a national of one of the Ministry of Justice's designated high-TB-burden countries, any 91+ day visa requires a TB certificate from a designated hospital; if you are an E-2 conversation instructor, you complete a post-arrival designated-hospital medical including a drug panel; and E-9 Employment Permit System workers are screened within that program. Everyone else encounters the health system through mandatory NHIS enrolment, not through visa medicals.
How do I know if my country is on the TB list, and where do I get tested?
Check the visa notice of the Korean embassy or consulate serving your country — the Ministry of Justice designates the high-burden list (around 35 countries in recent notices, including China, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Russia) and each mission publishes both the requirement and its list of designated hospitals. Only those hospitals' certificates are accepted; a chest X-ray from your family doctor will be rejected. If you are already in Korea and were never tested, the requirement catches you at registration, extension or change of status, satisfiable through a Korean public health centre (보건소) or designated hospital.
What does the E-2 health check involve and can I fail it?
After arrival you attend a designated hospital for a chest X-ray (TB) and the TBPE urine drug screen covering methamphetamine, cocaine, opiates and cannabis, often padded with standard employment-physical items. Results go to immigration with your residence registration. You can absolutely fail it: active TB defers or ends the process until treatment is documented, and any positive drug result — including cannabis legally consumed at home — terminates the placement, since Korean drug law follows its residents extraterritorially. The earlier self-assessment statement must match the hospital findings; concealment is treated as misrepresentation, which outlasts any single refusal.
Is HIV status a problem for Korean visas?
Not for ordinary categories. Korea removed the HIV test from standard E-2 teacher requirements in 2017, and HIV status is not a general exclusion ground for work, study, investment or family visas; the immigration medical apparatus is aimed at tuberculosis and illegal drug use instead. Health information you do submit is confined to the targeted certificates described in your category's checklist. Residents living with HIV access treatment through NHIS like any chronic condition. As always, the binding text is your category checklist and your mission's notice — but absence of HIV testing from those lists is the current rule, not an oversight.
When does health insurance start, and what does it cost me?
Employees are enrolled in NHIS by their employer from the start of employment, with the 2026 premium of 7.19% of salary split evenly — about 3.6% from your pay. Everyone else (students on some tracks, dependents, freelancers, F-1-D nomads) is enrolled automatically as a local subscriber after six months in Korea, with premiums assessed on income and assets; some statuses connect earlier. NHIS typically covers 60–80% of treatment costs. The compliance point migrants miss: premiums are enforceable debts, and NHIS arrears block extensions and status changes at the immigration counter. F-1-D applicants must additionally hold private cover of KRW 100 million+.
My TB certificate / medical will expire before my application is decided — what now?
Time the tests against filing dates, not travel dates. Missions publish validity windows for TB certificates (commonly up to one year, but the notice for your country governs), and E-2 medical results are expected to be recent when filed with registration. If processing delays push a certificate past its window, immigration requests a re-issued one — meaning another designated-hospital visit and fee, and for applicants abroad, possibly another trip to a distant designated facility. The practical sequence: confirm the designated-hospital list, book the X-ray within a few weeks of your intended filing, and keep certified copies, since extensions sometimes re-request earlier results.