Who can sit it, where, what it costs, which documents
Citizens of Uzbekistan aged 18 to 39 (the exact birth-date range for the exam year is stated in each notice), with a valid international passport, no criminal record, never deported from or overstayed in Korea, and no entry ban. Health requirements (eyesight, colour vision, infectious diseases) are checked at the medical examination after the test. Women can sit it too — for the manufacturing and service sectors.
In Uzbekistan EPS-TOPIK is run only by the Migration Agency (formerly the Agency for External Labour Migration) together with HRD Korea — no firm, training centre or intermediary can register you. Registration is online through the agency's official website and app, within a short announced window (in 2026, 9–12 March — only 4 days). Documents: a colour copy of the passport (JPG, stated dimensions), a 3.5×4.5 colour photo on a white background, an active phone number. The exam fee is the equivalent of US$28 in som at the Central Bank rate on the day of payment.
E-9 visa sectors: manufacturing (the largest quota), construction, agriculture and livestock, fisheries, shipbuilding, and since 2024 services (restaurants, hotels). Which sectors open for the test is stated in each notice — for Uzbekistan usually manufacturing, agriculture and construction. You choose ONE sector at registration and cannot change it later. HRD Korea sets the quota per country each year; more people pass the test than the quota allows, so the score ranking decides.
"We can get you through without the exam", "we sell the answers", "guaranteed place on the roster" — all fraud, because registration exists only in the agency's system, the test is on a computer with randomised questions, and the employer picks candidates from the HRD Korea roster themselves. The agency itself warns officially that passing the test does NOT guarantee employment. The only official costs are the exam fee ($28) and, later, the medical check, visa and airfare. Anyone asking for a "service fee" beyond that is a broker, illegal under both Korean and Uzbek law.