The E-7 work visa in 2026: how companies hire foreign professionals in Korea

What the E-7 is

The E-7 visa (특정활동 비자, teukjeong hwaldong bija) covers employment in occupations the Minister of Justice designates under the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act — jobs where a foreign worker’s skills are judged to add something the Korean labour market does not easily supply. The list, the salary rules and the employer conditions are set out in the immigration authorities’ visa manual (사증발급 안내매뉴얼) and in ministerial notices, updated regularly. Unlike the E-2 teaching visa or the E-9 non-professional employment permit, the E-7 is the general professional work visa, and for most foreign companies hiring in Korea it is the visa that matters.

An E-7 holder may work only for the employer and in the occupation for which the visa was granted, under Article 18 of the Immigration Act. The employer sponsors the application, signs the contract the immigration office reviews, and takes on reporting duties. A foreigner cannot sponsor himself — a founder who wants to run his own company uses the D-8 investor visa instead.

The four categories

Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2025-406, applying from 1 February to 31 December 2026; occupation counts vary between official tables.

Salary. Until 2025 the thresholds were expressed as a percentage of GNI per capita and moved each July. From 1 February 2026 they are fixed annual figures set by ministerial notice: KRW 31.12 million for E-7-1, KRW 25.89 million for E-7-2 and E-7-3 and KRW 26 million for E-7-4. Total annual pay in the contract counts, including fixed allowances, and the contract must show working hours so the immigration office can check the minimum wage. Exceptions remain: shipbuilding and some manufacturing trades are tied to 70–80% of GNI, and small, venture and mid-sized companies outside the capital region can benefit from a 70% concession for workers with up to three years of E-7 work in Korea. If a salary sits close to the line, ask the immigration office before signing.

Education and experience. For E-7-1, the manual’s general rule is a master’s degree in a related field, a related bachelor’s degree plus at least a year of related experience, or around five years of related experience; some occupations set their own conditions, and outstanding talent can be admitted on lighter terms. Degrees unrelated to the job are a common reason for refusal. E-7-2 and E-7-3 occupations have their own education, experience and certification rules, and some need a sector recommendation.

Premium routes. Top-tier E-7-S categories reward high earners and advanced-industry hires: E-7-S1 for annual income of at least three times GNI per capita, E-7-S2 for at least one times GNI plus points and work in advanced industries, with more flexibility on occupation and workplace.

What the employer needs

The immigration office looks at the employer as hard as at the candidate. It wants a real, operating business that needs this person and can pay them.

• Foreign-staff ratio. If E-7 foreigners already make up 20% or more of the company’s Korean employees enrolled in employment insurance, new invitations, changes of status and workplace changes are in principle refused. Recommended advanced-industry companies can go to 50% and certain export companies to 70%. A new Korean subsidiary with no Korean staff therefore usually cannot sponsor an E-7 until it hires Koreans — a point many foreign groups learn late.
• Tax standing. National and local tax payment certificates showing no arrears.
• Business documents. Business registration or corporate register, recent financial statements or tax filings, and evidence of operations — premises, contracts, revenue.
• Need for the hire. A statement explaining the role and why a foreign specialist is needed, sometimes with the company’s recruitment efforts.
• Employment contract. Salary, hours, duties and duration matching the application; the occupation code must fit the duties.
• Insurances. Industrial accident and health insurance apply to E-7 workers from the start; pension depends on nationality and agreements; employment insurance is optional on application for most E-7 holders. See Korean social insurance.

The E-7 is granted to a company as much as to a person. A company that cannot show Korean staff, tax receipts and a reason for the hire will not get one.

Voixa Korea

How the application runs

From abroad. The employer, or an agent, applies to the immigration office or through the HiKorea portal for a visa issuance certificate (사증발급인정서, sajeung balgeup injeongseo). Once it is issued, the candidate takes the certificate number to a Korean consulate, which issues the visa, often within days. After arrival, the worker registers as a foreign resident within 90 days.

Inside Korea. A foreigner already lawfully in Korea on an eligible status — a graduate on a D-2 student or D-10 job-seeker visa, for example — can apply at the local immigration office for a change of status (체류자격 변경, cheryu jagyeok byeongyeong) to E-7 without leaving. Applicants must be in Korea when applying for any stay permit; leaving after filing can lead to refusal.

Processing times are not fixed and vary by office and by requests for extra documents; plan for several weeks to a few months, longer at busy times. The period granted is decided case by case, typically one to three years, and is renewed by extension with an updated contract, income certificate and the employer’s tax certificates. Fees in 2026 are KRW 60,000 for an extension (KRW 48,000 online) and KRW 120,000 for a workplace-change permit.

Typical file; the manual and the immigration office may ask for more for particular occupations.

Why E-7 applications are refused

Most refusals come from a handful of causes, almost all visible before filing.

• Occupation mismatch. The job title says ‘marketing manager’ but the duties read like sales or administration, or the occupation code chosen does not cover what the person will actually do.
• Unrelated qualifications. A degree in literature for a data engineering role without compensating experience; experience letters that do not show dates, duties and the employer’s contact details.
• Salary engineering. A base salary below the threshold topped up with discretionary bonuses that the officer does not count, or hours that put the effective hourly rate under the minimum wage.
• Weak employer. No Korean insured staff, tax arrears, a company with no revenue, a virtual office with no operations, or a business that looks created to obtain visas.
• History. Earlier overstays, unauthorised work on a previous visa, or a past employer that failed to report departures.
• Documents. Foreign certificates without apostilles or legalisation, or Korean certificates older than three months.

A refusal is not final — the employer can fix the issue and refile — but it stays on the record, and a second refusal for the same reason is harder to overcome. A short pre-check of the occupation code, salary and ratio is cheaper than a refusal, and far cheaper than a candidate who has already resigned from a job abroad.

Hiring through a new Korean subsidiary: a realistic timeline

Foreign groups opening in Korea often want their first local hire to be a foreign specialist. The sequence that works is: incorporate and register the subsidiary as a foreign-invested company; bring the country manager in on a D-8 and any seconded staff on D-7; hire the first Korean employees and enrol them in employment insurance; file tax returns and obtain tax certificates; then sponsor E-7 hires within the 20% ratio. With five Korean insured staff, one E-7 is possible; with ten, two. Building that base takes months, so plan recruitment accordingly. See registering a company in Korea for the first steps.

Changing jobs and ending employment

Because the E-7 is tied to the workplace, changing employer is regulated. For some occupations — engineers in mechanical design, sales clerks, chefs, customer service clerks, hotel receptionists, medical coordinators, the shipbuilding and parts trades and all E-7-4 workers — the worker needs a prior workplace change permit (근무처 변경허가, geunmucheo byeongyeong heoga) under Article 21 of the Immigration Act. For most professional occupations, a report (근무처 변경신고) within 15 days after the change is enough — but only if the previous contract ended normally or with the former employer’s consent. Working for a new employer without a required permit can bring up to a year’s imprisonment or a KRW 10 million fine and deportation; failing to report can bring an administrative fine.

Employers must report a dismissal, resignation, disappearance or a major change in contract terms within 15 days. A worker whose job ends usually has a limited time to find a new eligible employer or leave; a D-10 job-seeker visa can bridge the gap for some. Plan offboarding with the same care as onboarding: an unreported departure is the employer’s violation as well as the worker’s, and repeated violations can count against the company’s next sponsorship.

Families and the road to residence

Spouses and minor children of E-7 holders can join on the F-3 dependant visa (동반 비자, dongban bija). F-3 holders cannot work without separate permission, though they can study. For longer stays, E-7 holders who meet income, Korean-language and other criteria can apply for the points-based F-2-7 residence visa (거주 비자, geoju bija), which removes the tie to a single employer, and later for F-5 permanent residence (영주, yeongju). For high earners, the E-7-S and talent-based routes can shorten the path. Keep every contract, payslip, tax certificate and insurance record from the first day: residence applications look back over years of employment, and gaps or unreported job changes are the most common reason long-term applications stall.

Alternatives to the E-7

Simplified.

For a foreign group opening in Korea, the first expatriates are usually the founder or country manager on a D-8 and seconded staff on D-7. E-7 comes later, when the Korean entity has Korean employees and hires foreign specialists locally. Remote workers who do not need a Korean employer can use the F-1-D digital nomad visa.

Tax and payroll for E-7 workers

E-7 workers are on Korean payroll: the employer withholds income tax monthly, runs the year-end settlement and enrols them in the insurances that apply. Foreign employees can elect a flat 19% income tax rate on gross pay for up to twenty years from first working in Korea — 21% proposed from 2027 — instead of progressive rates with deductions; see income tax for foreigners in Korea. Severance pay accrues after a year, as for Korean staff, and is paid when the employment ends even if the worker leaves Korea; see employing staff in Korea.

A worked example

A Seoul subsidiary of a Dutch fintech has 18 Korean employees and wants to hire a Brazilian data engineer with a master’s in computer science and three years’ experience, currently on a D-10 job-seeker visa after a Korean master’s programme. The role fits an E-7-1 occupation code for software and data professionals; the contract salary is KRW 54 million a year, above the KRW 31.12 million threshold. The company has two E-7 employees already; after this hire it will have three, below the cap of three permitted at 20% of 18 Korean employees.

HR files the change of status at the local immigration office with the contract, degree and experience certificates, the company’s business registration, financial statements, tax certificates and employment-insurance list, and a short statement of need. The status is changed to E-7-1 for two years. A year later the engineer’s wife joins on an F-3 visa. When a competitor offers a higher salary, the engineer resigns on good terms; the company reports the resignation within 15 days and the engineer reports the new workplace within 15 days of starting.

Mistakes we see

1. A new subsidiary sponsoring an E-7 before it has Korean staff.
2. Using 2025 percentage thresholds after the February 2026 fixed figures.
3. An occupation code that does not match the duties, or a degree unrelated to the role.
4. Tax arrears blocking the employer’s certificates.
5. Starting work before the status change is approved.
6. Job changes without a permit where one is required, or unreported resignations.
7. Trying to self-sponsor an E-7 through one’s own company instead of using a D-8.

Korean terms you will meet

Questions readers ask

About the author

Alexander Baranov

Founder of the BCA Group · cross-border corporate and tax adviser since 2008

Alexander advises foreign founders and groups on company formation, tax structuring and corporate law in more than 40 jurisdictions across Europe, the Gulf, Asia and Latin America. He is the author of nine books on international business and tax and writes regularly for professional finance and tax journals. He works in English, German, Spanish and Russian.

This guide is based on the Korean statutes cited in the text and on our own filings. It is reviewed when the law or official rates change.

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