E-7-1 Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries Manager

Overview

E-7-1 Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Manager (14901) is a status for managers who meet the set education, experience and wage standards. They plan, direct and coordinate production at a business related to crop production, livestock, landscaping, forest management, logging, forestry and the like. The occupation code is 14901.

The listed example occupations are farm and forestry enterprise manager, fishery enterprise manager and certification and evaluation manager. Which one you fall under decides the education and experience rule and which ministry issues the employment recommendation.

Farm and forestry enterprise managers face a separate requirement. Fishery enterprise managers and certification and evaluation managers are judged on the general standard.

For all managers, the rule is that in principle they are limited to managers of the operating department at the company headquarters. The immigration office looks at that department, its current state, its independence, how many ordinary staff it has and the wage of the foreign manager, among other things. For 2026 the announced E-7-1 wage floor is KRW 31.12 million a year.

At a Glance

Scope of Activity

• The scope is planning, directing and coordinating production activities at a business related to crop production, livestock, landscaping, forest management, logging, forestry and the like.
• Farm and forestry enterprise manager is the first of the listed example occupations, and this occupation carries a separate education and experience requirement.
• A fishery enterprise manager is also in the list of example occupations, and the general standard applies to education and experience.
• A certification and evaluation manager is also an example occupation, and no ministry is named for its employment recommendation.
• Managers are in principle limited to the operating department at the company head office, so the people covered by this job are managers who run a head-office operating department.

Who Qualifies

• The separate requirement for a farm and forestry enterprise manager is one of two things. One is a master degree or higher in a field related to the occupation; the other is a bachelor degree in a related field together with 3 or more years of experience in that field.
• Fishery enterprise managers and certification and evaluation managers have no separate requirement and fall under the general standard. By degree alone it is a master degree or higher, by degree plus experience a bachelor degree plus 1 or more years, and by experience alone 5 or more years, always in a field related to the occupation.
• A farm and forestry enterprise manager must meet the separate requirement. For reference, the exception for graduates (or expected graduates) of a Korean university lets a person with a bachelor degree or higher be allowed regardless of major when factors such as the need for the hire are recognized. The degree has to come from a university, industrial university, university of education or junior college under the Higher Education Act, and distance universities, technical universities and various-type schools are excluded.
• The employer must be a business related to crop production, livestock, landscaping, forest management, logging, forestry and the like, in normal operation and without unpaid taxes.

Required Documents

• Start with the contract: the applicant needs the signed employment contract, a copy of the passport, one color half-size ID photo and papers proving the qualification, such as a degree, a career letter or a license.
• For a farm and forestry enterprise manager, the key proof is a degree certificate for a master degree or higher in a field related to the occupation, or a bachelor degree certificate in a related field together with a career certificate showing 3 or more years of experience in that field.
• Papers issued abroad have to be translated into Korean or English. The key ones also need a consular notary stamp or an apostille certificate.
• On the employer side, the papers are the establishment documents of the employing company and the like, proof of the need to hire a foreigner (such as a reason-for-invitation statement), a national tax payment certificate and a local tax certificate. The employment recommendation can be collected only from managers at small or medium companies, and large-company managers are exempt.
• Working hours go into the contract next to the pay: the annual salary and total monthly pay, plus hours per day and per month, so that no minimum wage problem can arise.

Application Process

1. Check eligibility — confirm your current status, career, degree and contract type match the requirements.
2. Prepare documents — foreign public documents need a translator's certification plus an apostille (or consular confirmation for non-member states).
3. Book a visit — reserve a slot at your Immigration Office via HiKorea (www.hikorea.go.kr), or file online where e-Application is available.
4. File and pay — submit the Integrated Application Form (Form No. 34) and pay the screening fee.
5. Review — respond to any request for supplementary documents within the deadline.
6. Result — on approval, the period of stay and status are granted; reissue your ARC if required.

Key Points

• Employment recommendation means a document showing that hiring a foreigner is needed, whose recipients, issuing ministry and the like are set by each job standard. For this job it is the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Management Workforce Division) for farm and forestry managers, and the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries (Aquaculture Industry Division) for fishery managers.
• Occupation code refers to the number attached to a job to tell occupations apart. Under the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations, a three-digit number is at the sub-group level, a four-digit number at the unit-group level and a five-digit number at the detailed unit-group level, and the 14901 of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Manager is at the detailed unit-group level.
• Workplace change or addition report means the notice you give the immigration office within 15 days of the reason arising when you change or add a workplace. If you were dismissed or left midway through your own fault, you fall outside this report route unless the former employer agrees to the transfer. It applies to people who meet the qualification requirements needed to work at the new or added workplace.
• Managers at large companies do not need to submit an employment recommendation. Where a recommending body is named, it can be requested only from managers at small or medium companies, and the line between the two follows the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Small and Medium Enterprises.
• The 70 percent wage special rule has three conditions. First, the person belongs to a small or medium company, venture company or non-capital-region mid-sized company. Second, the person is going to work in a job where the wage requirement is 80 percent or more of last year per-capita GNI. Third, the person has either no experience working at a Korean company in E-7 status or up to 3 years of it. If all three are met, 70 percent or more applies for up to 3 years, and after 3 full years it returns to 80 percent or more.
• When a farm, forestry or fishery business brings in a foreign manager or extends the stay, the work VISAS KOREA (Vision Administrative Office) helps with is listed below. The job type is sorted out first so that the right recommending ministry and the education and experience proof line up.
• Visa issuance certificate application, agri-fishery manager (E-7-1)
• Change of status application
• Extension of stay application
• Preparing the employment recommendation letter for filing
• Individual cases need the judgment of the local immigration office, so please confirm that you meet the requirements before applying.
• Related job articles: E-7-1 Production Manager visa, E-7-1 Sales Manager visa, E-7-1 Life Science Specialist visa. The full job list is in All E-7 job categories.
• Documents issued in Korea must normally be dated within 3 months unless another validity period applies.
• Documents already on file in your alien registration record need not be resubmitted.
• Health certificates, drug test results and pre-employment medical reports must be submitted sealed by the issuing hospital (do not open).
• You must be in Korea when applying; leaving the country after filing may result in refusal.
• Screening fees are non-refundable once the application is accepted.
• The head of the Immigration Office may add or waive documents where necessary for review.

Frequently Asked Questions

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