Two separate calendars govern Korea's Social Integration Program (사회통합프로그램, KIIP). Evaluation dates run on a fixed, nationwide schedule set by the Ministry of Justice. Class enrollment runs on a separate, rolling schedule that each institution sets on its own. Miss that distinction, and you can spend months waiting for a national "enrollment opens" date for classes that never comes, because it does not exist.
You register at socinet.go.kr (사회통합정보망), the only place that accepts KIIP applications. From there, you take the Pre-Evaluation (사전평가) or use a valid TOPIK certificate to set your stage, then apply to a class run by an operating institution (운영기관) that covers your officially registered address. That last part, the address rule, trips up more applicants than any other step in this process.
This guide covers account setup, how placement fits into enrollment, choosing an institution without getting your application rejected, what enrollment costs in 2026, and what to expect from waitlists. For the program overview, start with KIIP: The 2026 Guide to Korea's Social Integration Program.
Two calendars, not one
KIIP runs two calendars at the same time, and they do not overlap.
Evaluation cycles run on fixed, nationwide rounds. For 2026, the Ministry of Justice publishes eight Pre-Evaluation rounds, four Mid-term Evaluation rounds, and eight Comprehensive Evaluation rounds (the permanent residency and naturalization tracks share the same round dates), for 20 evaluation sessions total across the year. Each round has its own application window, test date, and result date. A few examples from the published 2026 schedule:
| Round | Application window | Test date | Result date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Evaluation, round 6 | September 1 to September 5 | September 19 | October 7 |
| Mid-term Evaluation, round 3 | August 18 to August 22 | September 5 | September 11 |
| Comprehensive Evaluation (both tracks), round 6 | August 4 to August 8 | August 22 | August 28 |
These are illustrative 2026 dates, not a fixed annual pattern. The evaluation schedule can change or add sessions depending on demand, so check kiiptest.org for the current year's exact dates before you plan around any date on this page.
Class cycles are per institution and run continuously. Separately, KIIP nominally operates on three nine-month terms a year. For 2026, those are January 2 to May 10, May 11 to August 16, and August 17 to December 13. In practice, each operating institution opens its own class sections inside those terms, on its own schedule, and posts them continuously. Do not wait for one national class enrollment date. Search socinet.go.kr for classes at your jurisdiction's institutions on a rolling basis, since new sections open throughout each term rather than all at once.
If you do not want to wait for the next evaluation round, computer-based testing (컴퓨터기반평가, CBT) has been available on demand since 2022 for the Pre-Evaluation and Comprehensive Evaluation, and since July 2025 for the Mid-term Evaluation too. CBT runs at three fixed centers, independent of the nationwide PBT round dates:
- Gwangmyeong Center: Gyeonggi-do, Gwangmyeong-si, Haan-ro 108, 3rd floor (경기도 광명시 하안로 108, 3층)
- Daejeon Center: Daejeon, Jung-gu, Jungang-ro 154, 2nd floor (대전시 중구 중앙로 154, 2층)
- Seoul Center: Seoul, Jongno-gu, Insadong 7-gil 12, 12th floor (서울시 종로구 인사동7길 12, 12층)
Create your account at socinet.go.kr
Applications for KIIP happen only through socinet.go.kr. There is no offline or paper application path.
To register, you provide your name, birth date, phone number, address, and email, plus one unique-ID field: your resident registration number, alien registration number, or passport number. Eligibility on the application procedure page is described broadly, open to any immigrant or Korean national who wants to apply, rather than restricted to specific visa types. In practice, you need an Alien Registration Card (외국인등록증) or Overseas Korean Residence Report Card (국내거소신고증) already issued before you register. That existing document requirement is covered in full in KIIP: The 2026 Guide.
To keep your account, you cannot fall under any of the grounds for entry denial listed in Immigration Control Act Article 11, Paragraph 1. Your account data is retained for three years after you withdraw your membership, under Immigration Control Act Enforcement Decree Article 101.
Get your stage: Pre-Evaluation or TOPIK
Before you can apply to a class, your stage has to be confirmed. Most applicants sit the Pre-Evaluation (사전평가), a placement test that assigns you to Stage 0 through Stage 5 based on your score. If you already hold a valid TOPIK certificate, you can apply for TOPIK linkage placement instead and skip the Pre-Evaluation entirely.
This guide does not repeat the Pre-Evaluation's test format, score bands, or the 85-and-above shortcut. For all of that, see KIIP Pre-Evaluation: Score-to-Level Placement Guide. The only thing to know here: your stage placement has to exist before you apply to any class, so treat it as the step between creating your account and searching for an institution.
Choose an operating institution: the jurisdiction rule
Here is the rule that catches the most applicants off guard. You apply to a class through your socinet.go.kr My Page (마이페이지), and you can only apply to an operating institution with jurisdiction over your officially registered address. The immigration office can grant an exception for unavoidable circumstances, but that is a permission you have to request, not something you can assume.
If you moved and did not update your registered address first, your course application is rejected. The rule is specific: if your situation involves an address change report (체류지 변경 신고), your application to a class gets rejected until you file that report, and only then can you apply to the operating institution covering your new address. The fix is simple once you know it: file the address change report with immigration first, then apply to your new area's institution. Applying in the wrong order is what gets applications rejected.
Finding an institution. Search socinet.go.kr's nationwide operating institution list (전국운영기관현황). You can filter by the immigration office that has jurisdiction over your area (Seoul, Seoul South, Busan, Incheon, Suwon, Jeju, Daegu, Daejeon, Yeosu, Yangju, Gwangju, Jeonju, Changwon, Chuncheon, Cheongju, Ulsan, and Ansan, plus a separate category for Immigration Support Centers), or by institution name. As of August 2026, this list showed 475 operating institutions nationwide. Treat that count as a snapshot, since the Ministry re-designates institutions periodically and the roster changes.
Institution types. Operating institutions include university language centers, multicultural family support centers (다문화가족지원센터), and social welfare organizations. Each sets its own schedule, days of the week, and format, whether in-person, online, or hybrid. Check the class format filter on the institution search page for what fits your schedule.
What KIIP enrollment costs in 2026
Two separate fees apply, and mixing them up is an easy mistake. One is the course fee, set nationally by Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2024-434, in force since January 1, 2025. The other is the evaluation sitting fee, set separately by Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2024-109, in force since March 13, 2024.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Stage 0 (15 hours) | Free |
| Stage 1 through Stage 4, per stage (100 hours each) | ₩100,000 |
| Stage 5 Basic (70 hours, permanent residency track) | ₩70,000 |
| Stage 5 Advanced (30 hours, naturalization track) | ₩30,000 |
| Full naturalization track (Stage 0 through Stage 5 Advanced) | ₩500,000 |
| Evaluation sitting fee, per attempt (Pre-Evaluation, Mid-term, Comprehensive; stage evaluations 1-3 are free) | ₩38,000 |
Two rules worth knowing before you register:
The 50% fee reduction is earned, not means-tested. The reduced-fee category covers participants who attended 100% of a stage's classes, or whose instructor recommends them for strong learning attitude and steady participation. Perfect attendance or an instructor recommendation cuts your next stage's fee in half.
Unpaid course fees block your next evaluation, not your class. Payment runs online through socinet.go.kr, from the end of each stage until the evaluation application window for that stage closes. If you have not paid your course fee by the time the evaluation application period ends, you cannot sit that evaluation. Certain groups, including basic livelihood security recipients, national merit recipients, people with severe disabilities, and several humanitarian visa categories, qualify for a full fee exemption. Confirm the current exemption list and amounts at socinet.go.kr before you register.
If your class is full: waitlists
Popular classes, especially in Seoul, can fill before you apply. When that happens, you can usually request to join a waitlist (대기신청) for that class instead of enrolling directly. How many applicants a class will queue, and how quickly seats open up, is worth asking about directly. Confirm the current waitlist policy with the operating institution when you apply.
Seoul-area classes tend to fill first. Foreign resident demand is more concentrated there, and evening or weekend sections, the schedule most working residents need, exist at only some institutions. If your first-choice institution is full, checking a nearby institution in the same jurisdiction is often faster than waiting on a waitlist.
What you're signing up for: attendance
Registering for a class is a commitment, not just a booking. Getting credit for a stage requires meeting an attendance standard set by the program, and falling behind can affect whether that stage counts toward your KIIP progress. The specific attendance rules, what counts as an excused absence, and what happens if you miss too many classes are detailed elsewhere. Ask your operating institution directly about its current attendance policy before your first class, and confirm any absence procedure with them as soon as you know you will miss a session.
FAQ
Where do I apply for KIIP?
Only at socinet.go.kr (Social Integration Information Network, 사회통합정보망). There is no offline or paper application path. Create an account there, apply for placement, and apply to classes from the same portal.
Can anyone apply for KIIP, or only certain visa holders?
Eligibility is described broadly rather than restricted by visa type. In practice, you need an Alien Registration Card (외국인등록증) or Overseas Korean Residence Report Card (국내거소신고증) already issued before you can register. See the KIIP overview guide for the full eligibility picture.
What happens if I apply to an institution outside my registered address?
Your application gets rejected unless the immigration office grants an exception for unavoidable circumstances. If you moved and did not file an address change report (체류지 변경 신고) first, the same rejection applies. File the address change report before you apply to a new institution.
Do evaluation dates and class dates follow the same schedule?
No. Nationwide evaluation rounds run on a fixed calendar set by the Ministry of Justice. Institution classes open on a rolling basis, inside three nominal annual terms, on a schedule each institution sets independently. Do not wait for a single national class enrollment date the way you would for an evaluation round.
How much does KIIP enrollment cost?
Course fees are ₩100,000 per stage for Stages 1 through 4, ₩70,000 for Stage 5 Basic, and ₩30,000 for Stage 5 Advanced. Stage 0 is free. The full naturalization track totals ₩500,000. Sitting the Pre-Evaluation, the Mid-term Evaluation, or a Comprehensive Evaluation costs a separate ₩38,000 per attempt. The stage evaluations after Stages 1 through 3 are free.
Can I skip waiting for the next nationwide evaluation round?
Yes, for the Pre-Evaluation, Mid-term Evaluation, and Comprehensive Evaluation. Computer-based testing (컴퓨터기반평가, CBT) runs on demand at three fixed centers in Gwangmyeong, Daejeon, and Seoul, so you can book on your own schedule instead of waiting for the next fixed round.
What happens if the class I want is full?
You can usually request to join a waitlist (대기신청) instead of enrolling directly. How many people a class will queue, and how seats become available, is worth asking about directly. Confirm the current policy with the operating institution when you apply.
Do I need to take the Pre-Evaluation before I can apply to a class?
Yes, unless you already hold a valid TOPIK certificate and use it for placement instead. Either way, your stage has to be confirmed before you apply to a class at an operating institution. See the Pre-Evaluation guide for the full placement process.