What Is KIIP? Korea's Social Integration Program Explained

If you live in Korea, the phrase "Social Integration Program" turns up sooner or later — while looking into naturalization, applying for permanent residency, or extending a visa. It is usually shortened to KIIP, and the name alone does not say much about what it actually involves. This guide lays out the whole picture first: what KIIP is, who can take part, and how the classes and exams connect. The details of each step continue in the other guides in this series.

What is the Social Integration Program (KIIP)?

KIIP is an education program for immigrants run under Korea's Ministry of Justice. The acronym comes from its English name, the Korea Immigration and Integration Program; in Korean it is 사회통합프로그램.

You study Korean and Korean society in stages, taking an exam at the end of each stage to move up. What separates it from an ordinary language school is that completing it counts in immigration decisions. It can replace the written test when you apply for naturalization, and it can spare you from proving Korean proficiency separately in a permanent residency review.

So KIIP is two things at once: a way to learn Korean, and a way to meet the requirements you will need later to settle in Korea.

Who can take part?

There are two groups:

• Foreign residents with legal status who hold an alien registration card or a domestic residence report card
• Naturalized citizens — but only within three years of acquiring citizenship

That three-year window matters if you have already naturalized. There is no restriction on the type of visa you hold, so students, marriage migrants, and workers can all apply as long as their stay is legal.

Applications go through Socinet, the social integration information network, and are handled online. How to apply for KIIP walks through the sign-up and course registration screen by screen.

How the stages fit together

The curriculum splits into Korean language (stages 0–4) and Understanding Korean Society (stage 5). Completing everything from stage 0 through the advanced course comes to 515 hours.

Stage	Course	Hours
Stage 0	Basics of Korean language and culture	15
Stages 1–4	Beginner 1·2, Intermediate 1·2	100 each
Stage 5 basic	Understanding Korean Society (basic)	70
Stage 5 advanced	Understanding Korean Society (advanced)	30

Not everyone starts at stage 0. If you already speak some Korean, you can sit the pre-evaluation and be placed at a matching stage, skipping what comes before it. The KIIP level placement guide compares which starting point works out better.

How far you go depends on your goal: stage 5 basic is the endpoint for permanent residency, while naturalization requires the advanced course as well.

The exams change from stage to stage

KIIP has several exams with similar-sounding names, which is where most of the confusion starts. Here is what you sit and when:

When	Exam	Purpose
Before classes begin	Pre-evaluation (사전평가)	Assigns your starting stage
After stages 1, 2, 3	Stage evaluation (단계평가)	Advance to the next stage
After stage 4	Mid-evaluation (중간평가, KIIP-KLCT)	Enter stage 5
After stage 5 basic	Comprehensive evaluation, residency track	Permanent residency requirement
After stage 5 advanced	Comprehensive evaluation, naturalization track	Naturalization requirement

The pass mark is 60 out of 100, and each exam costs 38,000 KRW to sit.

The pre-evaluation is the one you meet first. Its format and registration are covered in the pre-evaluation guide, and how a score turns into a stage is in the score-to-level chart. Later exams are covered in the mid-evaluation guide and the comprehensive evaluation guide.

What completion changes

Completion is recognised in four areas:

• Naturalization: replaces the written naturalization test, and finishing all of stage 5 also exempts you from the interview.
• Permanent residency (F-5): counts as meeting the basic knowledge requirement, so you need not prove Korean proficiency separately.
• Changing or extending status: earns you additional points in the review.
• Visas: waives proof of Korean proficiency and similar requirements.

The conditions are more specific than they look. In particular, passing only the comprehensive evaluation without attending the regular classes does not exempt you from the interview. KIIP benefits and costs sorts out which case earns what.

What it costs in money and time

Classes became paid from 2025. Stage 0 is free, stages 1–4 are 100,000 KRW each, stage 5 basic is 70,000 KRW, and the advanced course is 30,000 KRW — about 500,000 KRW in tuition for the full path. Each exam adds its own 38,000 KRW fee.

The 515 hours shrink if the pre-evaluation places you at a higher stage. Where you start ends up setting both the cost and the time.

How KIIP differs from TOPIK

Both involve Korean, but they serve different purposes. TOPIK, the Test of Proficiency in Korean, measures your Korean and assigns a grade. KIIP is a course of study, and its exams exist to move you up a stage or to certify completion.

The two do connect. A TOPIK score can place you into a KIIP stage without sitting the pre-evaluation, and completing KIIP can, in turn, waive the TOPIK score that an immigration review would otherwise ask for.

Where to start

The sequence is straightforward:

1. Register on Socinet and apply to take part.
2. Sit the pre-evaluation, start from stage 0, or use a TOPIK score for placement.
3. Register for the course at your assigned stage and attend.
4. Take the exam at the end of each stage and move up.

For the first step see how to apply for KIIP, and for choosing a starting stage see the level placement guide. Upcoming exam dates are on the exam schedule page.

This article is a guide meant to aid understanding and is not official information. Eligibility, fees, and benefit rules may change, so check the latest details on the Social Integration Information Network (socinet.go.kr) and the evaluation website (kiiptest.org). (Written as of August 2026)