The E7 visa is the most common visa for Korean companies to hire foreign professionals. The main business of the company must be well matched with the education, major, and work experience of the foreigner to be hired. The key to obtaining an E7 visa is to explain the necessity of the employment through the employment reason statement (updated Nov. 2024)
Reasons of denied E7 visa
- Wrong choice of occupation.
While the business environment is highly developed and the skills and abilities of the professionals needed by companies are diverse, the current E7 visa rules only allow for a limited number of occupations: 67 specialty occupations, 10 semi-specialty occupations, and 9 general skilled occupations.
For this reason, it is difficult for companies to clearly distinguish the boundaries of work, where foreigners are hired to do this and that, and it is difficult to select the correct type of job. is often missed.
2. Unreasonable resume. (Do not good at writing a resume).
A statement of reason for employment should appeal to the visa officer for the company’s capabilities and vision and convince them of the necessity of hiring foreigners. It’s not easy.
Large or publicly traded companies can claim the need to hire foreigners on their own, but small start-ups with little or no track record are subject to stricter visa screening criteria. Therefore, it is important to write a reason for employment that can be contextual and show that the small company has a vision.
3. Inadequate basic qualifications
Even if you choose the wrong occupation or the reason for employment is insufficient, you can modify and submit it, but if the basic qualifications are not met even slightly, permission will be rejected immediately.
Basic qualifications include both the foreigner who is the target of employment and the qualifications of the company seeking employment. Since basic qualifications may vary depending on the type of job you choose, you should proceed with visa issuance after checking from the beginning.
Education and Career
- Have a master’s degree in a field that is relevant to the job you’re adopting
- Bachelor’s degree in a field relevant to the position being introduced + 1+ years of experience in the field
- More than 5 years of work experience in a field related to the job to be introduced
* Work experience is only recognized after obtaining a degree or certificate, but internship experience before graduation is recognized for those in high-tech fields (IT, bio, nano, etc.).
Special Qualifications (education and experience waivers for employment necessity in immigration)
- One year or more of professional work experience at one of the world’s top 500 companies
- Graduated from world-class universities (planned) Bachelor’s degree holders (Universities within the top 500 QS world universities)
- Graduates of domestic colleges and universities – Exempt from the 1-year work experience requirement when working in an industry related to your major
- Bachelor’s degree from a domestic university (expected) – any major, no experience required
- Those who graduated with work-study-linked study (D-2-7) qualification are exempt from applying the national employment rate
- Outstanding talent in cutting-edge science and technology, recommended by KOTRA, Small and Medium Business Corporation
- High-tech intern D-10-3 visa holder who has interned for more than one year in the field of internship and whose wages are equal to or greater than the GNI of the previous year
- Have an employment recommendation from a government ministry and earn an annual compensation of at least 1.5 times GNI.
- Highly compensated professional talent: Annual compensation of more than 3 times GNI (no employment reference required)
- Excellent Private Institution Training Completion
1. Screening criteria for national employment protection
- No rule of thumb for E7-1 professionals except for wage requirements
- Among professionals, national protection occupations, semi-professionals, general skilled workers, and skilled workers are subject to screening criteria.
2. Restriction on the employment rate of foreigners
- In principle, companies with fewer than 5 national employees and focusing on domestic market are not invited.
- National employment protection occupations generally allow foreign employment within 20% of national employees.
- Excludes skilled workers E-7-4, seasonal workers E8, non-specialty workers E9, seafarers E10, visiting workers H2, resident F2, overseas compatriots F4, permanent residents F5, and marriage immigrants F6 from the foreign workforce.
- Professor E1, E7-1 through E7-3 statuses are included in the number of foreign employees to calculate the ratio.
- Proof of Korean employment refers to the number of persons who have been registered for more than 3 months who meet the minimum wage in the employment insurance subscriber list. In principle, even newly established companies should apply for the domestic employment ratio three months after the business registration date.
- However, if there is a recommendation from the competent ministry (KOTRA, Korea International Trade Association), etc., additional employment is permitted within the range of 50% of the total national workers in the high-tech industry and within the range of 70% for excellent exporters targeting special language regions. If there is a criterion, apply that criterion
3. Must meet minimum wage requirements
- Professional manpower: 80% or more of the previous year’s GNI paid
- Paraprofessional and below: Pay at least minimum wage
- Small, venture, and nonmetropolitan middle market businesses exception: 70% or more of GNI
- The employee has not worked for a domestic company on an E7 visa for 3 years or less.
- Submit small business (SMB) verification / venture business verification / mid-sized business verification
4. Employer must not have arrears of tax (national tax, local tax)
5. Small foreign-invested enterprises or ventures in the early stages of startup are allowed even if they have not had sales for 5 years
- Manufacturing, trade, consulting, and R&D Small businesses looking to hire specialized talent
Letter of Intent
Writing an employment letter is a critical component of the E7 visa application. You need to choose the right job and tell a compelling story to explain your need for the job, rather than rhetoric.
Employment recommendation letters for central government ministries are not required to be submitted in all occupations, and the mandatory submission of occupations is separately determined (16 occupations).
1. if you are inviting an E7 visa recruit from abroad
- – Prepare visa documents and apply for a visa issuance certificate to the immigration office having jurisdiction over the company address
- – If permission is granted, the confirmation of visa issuance will be emailed to the foreigner
- – For foreigners, submit it to the Korean consulate in the country
- -Enter Korea after visa issuance is completed
- – Apply for alien registration card within 90 days
2. Change of status if the E7 visa recruit is staying in Korea
- – Prepare visa documents and apply for change of status of stay and alien registration card at the Immigration Office having jurisdiction over the company address
- – Receive alien registration card upon approval
3. How long does it take to issue
- – Once the E7 visa documents are received by the immigration office, it takes approximately 3-4 weeks for approval.
- – This includes the time required to have foreign documents such as diplomas and work experience certificates notarized by an apostille or consulate.
- – In the case of small businesses, it may take additional time to go out on-site due diligence.
E7 visa holders can invite their spouse and children on F3 visas for stable work life. The length of stay is the same as that of the main resident.
You can apply at the same time as your E7 visa application and enter the country together, or you can apply at a later date.
F3 visas do not allow you to work and may be available in limited occupations, such as English language instructors. If your spouse is eligible for an E7 visa, you can change your visa status.
Companies can hire job seekers (D-10 visa) holders as interns. You can work as an intern for up to 6 months and change to an E7 visa midway through. However, it is not guaranteed that you will be able to change to an E7 visa, and you will still need to meet the requirements of the E7 visa.
E7 visa holders can change their work location. For example, if you are moving from the head office to a branch, you can report it to the immigration office within 14 days.
If you are moving to another company, you cannot change your job without the consent of your original employer, unless there are unavoidable circumstances such as suspension or closure of the company you are working for, or delayed payment of wages. You will need a change of employment agreement from your original employer.
Depending on your industry, you may need to file after you change jobs, or you may need to get clearance before you change jobs.
- Integrated application
- Employment letters
- Documents related to establishment of employment organization
- Employment contract
- Documents proving company sales performance
- Tax payment certificate
- Details of Employment Insurance Insured Persons
- Employment recommendation letter (if necessary)
- Background check (applicable to your job)
- Documents separately determined for each job type
- Documents proving foreigner qualification requirements
- Diploma
- Certificate of experience
- Certificates, etc.
- Marriage certificate for family invitation Family certificate
Additional documents may be added or subtracted because the documents to be submitted are different by company and job type
There are many cases where the industry you want to hire is not listed in the occupational code, or you have to select a similar occupation and apply for an E7 visa. If the code is incorrectly applied, not only will you be disapproved, but if you re-apply for the same target and match the same company again, the likelihood of issuing a visa will be very low. So, you need to make good code choices in the first place. This is very important
| Visa | Classification | Occupation |
| E-7-1 | Professional manpower | Managers and Experts (67 Occupations) |
| E-7-2 | Paraprofessionals | Clerical and service workers (10 occupations) |
| E-7-3 | General Skilled Labor | Craftsmen and Related Skilled Workers (9 occupations) |
| E-7-4 | Skilled skilled manpower (score system) | E-9 occupations (3 occupations) |
| E-7-91 | FTA independent expert | |
| E-7-S | Negative Method Professional | High income, working (or planning to work) in high-tech industries |
< Requirements and issuance practices by occupational code >
Click to view the requirements for that occupation code.
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