Korea EPS-TOPIK From Pakistan: OEC Registration, Age Limit, Fees and Steps

The only legal route to a factory or farm job in South Korea from Pakistan is the Employment Permit System (EPS), and in Pakistan it runs only through the Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC). You register with OEC, pass the EPS-TOPIK Korean test, pass a medical, and wait for a Korean employer to pick you. For the 2026 round, OEC's portal accepted applicants born between 31 March 1986 and 30 March 2008.

OEC is the government's own recruiter, under the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development. Its EPS page calls the programme a government-to-government route between Pakistan and Korea. No private agent can sell you a seat in it.

The numbers are small and falling. The Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE) recorded 2,025 Pakistanis going to South Korea in 2022, then 1,638 in 2023, 953 in 2024, 603 in 2025 and 307 from January to August 2026. Most went through OEC.

We read the EPS guide for foreign workers published by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD Korea), OEC's EPS, fee and registration pages, and BEOE's fee table and statistics on 30 September 2026.

What Korea's Employment Permit System covers

EPS lets Korean companies that cannot find local staff hire foreign workers legally. Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor has run it since August 2004, mainly for manufacturing firms with fewer than 300 workers. The workers come in on Korea's E-9 visa, and the first contract runs for three years.

HRD Korea's guide for foreign workers sets out the main rules:

• Three years first. The job period is three years. If the employer wants to keep you, it can extend by up to just under two more years.
• Same labour laws as Koreans. Korea's labour standards, minimum wage and safety laws apply to you.
• A standard contract. Every worker signs Korea's standard labour contract.
• Insurance on both sides. The employer buys departure guarantee and wage arrears insurance. You buy return cost insurance and accident insurance.
• Limited job changes. You can move to another workplace only for set reasons, such as the business closing.

OEC lists manufacturing, construction, agriculture and fisheries as EPS sectors. Expect physical work in small plants and farms, not office jobs.

EPS-TOPIK and the steps from test to flight

EPS-TOPIK is the Korean language test for EPS. The test date is announced through the sending agency, which in Pakistan is OEC. Pass the test and the medical, and your name goes on a jobseeker roster that HRD Korea shows to Korean employers. The employer then chooses you.

1. Study Korean on your own or at a language centre.
2. Watch for OEC's EPS-TOPIK announcement and check the age and eligibility rules.
3. Register with OEC and sit the test at the place it assigns.
4. If you pass, take the medical at the centre the sending agency names.
5. OEC sends the roster to HRD Korea, and a Korean employer selects workers from it.
6. The employer's contract reaches you through HRD Korea, and you prepare to travel.

Passing the test does not guarantee a job. HRD Korea says employers review the roster by height, weight, gender and test score, and pick who they want. A pass only puts you on the roster. HRD Korea also warns that a worker who passes the medical in Pakistan but fails the one in Korea is sent home.

Eligibility, fees and the 2026 timeline

For the 2026 round, OEC's registration portal allowed dates of birth from 31 March 1986 to 30 March 2008, which is roughly 18 to 39 years old. OEC's EPS page asks for a passport valid for at least six months, CNIC, education certificates, a police clearance and a medical certificate.

The figures do not agree. OEC's own fee table, labelled 2025, puts the test fee at about Rs 4,000. Reports on the 2026 round say shortlisted applicants paid $28 at OEC offices between 30 March and 8 April 2026, after a ballot, with tests in Karachi and Islamabad from May to September. We could not find that notice on OEC's site, whose announcements page was empty on 30 September 2026. Treat the 2026 details as reported.

OEC's EPS page still shows March 2025 test dates. Do not plan around it. Call OEC or visit an OEC office for the current round.

Fees go by challan only, never to an agent

OEC says it does not work with agents or sub-agents and takes no cash. Every EPS fee is paid through an official challan at Bank of Punjab or National Bank of Pakistan. Keep the challan copy, because OEC calls it your legal proof of payment.

So the fraud warning here is simple. If anyone sells you an EPS seat, a "guaranteed" pass or a Korean employer, it is a scam. The test result is yours alone, and the employer's choice comes through HRD Korea's system, not through a middleman.

• "Korea visa in 3 months, no test." There is no EPS job without EPS-TOPIK.
• Cash to a person. OEC takes fees only by challan.
• A private "Korea agent". EPS runs through OEC alone. Licensed private agents handle other countries, and you can check an overseas job agency for those.
• A visit visa "to find work". Korea's E-9 work comes only through EPS.

OEC takes complaints about unofficial payments at complaints@oec.gov.pk and on 051-9253254.

Protector registration before you fly

EPS workers must still register with the Bureau of Emigration before they fly, like every Pakistani going abroad on a work visa. BEOE's statistics count Korea departures "through OEC" as a separate column. OEC's fee page says the protector fee follows BEOE's guidelines.

Here the two official pages differ. BEOE's own fee table lists Rs 9,200 for direct employment and Rs 22,200 through a private licensed agent, with no separate line for OEC. OEC's page lists a protector fee of Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,500 and insurance of about Rs 2,500. Ask OEC for the exact challan amount for your batch.

The protection steps themselves are the same for everyone: documents, a briefing and a sticker signed by the Protector of Emigrants. They are set out in how to get emigrant protection. BEOE also lists a Community Welfare Attaché in Seoul for Pakistani workers in Korea.

Europe has its own legal routes, such as the Portugal work visa for Pakistanis, each with its own rules.

Common questions

Who conducts EPS-TOPIK in Pakistan?

OEC, the Overseas Employment Corporation, as the sending agency for Korea's HRD Korea. The test date is announced through OEC.

What is the age limit for Korea EPS from Pakistan?

For 2026, OEC's portal accepted dates of birth from 31 March 1986 to 30 March 2008.

Does passing EPS-TOPIK guarantee a job in Korea?

No. You join a roster, and Korean employers choose workers from it by their own criteria.

How long is a Korea EPS work contract?

Three years at first. The employer can extend it by up to just under two more years.

Can an agent get me a Korea EPS job?

No. EPS runs through OEC only, and OEC says it does not work with agents or sub-agents.

How do I pay OEC's EPS fees?

By official challan at Bank of Punjab or National Bank of Pakistan. OEC does not accept cash.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 30 September 2026. EPS rules, the three-year term, insurance, job change limits and the test-to-contract steps are read in HRD Korea's EPS guide for foreign workers and its employment process page, both in Korean. The 2026 age window is read on OEC's registration portal. Sectors, documents, fees, the challan rule and the complaint contacts are read on OEC's EPS page and fee page; its fee table is headed 2025. BEOE's fee table, protection steps, the Seoul welfare attaché and the Korea figures are read on the Bureau of Emigration's website. The 2026 $28 fee, ballot and test months are reported, because no official notice was online when we checked.