E-7-1 Construction and Mining Manager (1411)

Overview

The E-7-1 Construction and Mining Manager visa (1411) is for foreigners who manage construction or mining activities and meet the general education and experience standard and a pay requirement of KRW 31.12 million a year or more.

On the construction side the work is planning, directing and coordinating earthwork such as ground preparation and related blasting, test drilling, excavation and grading, as well as activities related to building, extending, remodeling, repairing, maintaining, demolishing and the like of the various buildings and structures on building land. On the mining side it is planning, directing and coordinating activities related to extracting, collecting and the like of coal, oil, natural gas, and metallic and non-metallic minerals.

Only two example jobs are listed: a construction department manager in the construction industry and a production department manager in mining. A recommendation letter issuer is named only for the construction department manager, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Construction Industry Division). No body is named on the mining side.

Education and experience follow the general standard, and this job carries no extra condition of its own. Pay must be at least KRW 31.12 million a year, and on either the construction or the mining side, in principle only head-office operating-department managers qualify. The operating department's status and independence, its ordinary staff count, the foreign manager's pay and other factors are also reviewed.

At a Glance

Scope of Activity

• Planning, directing and coordinating earthwork such as ground preparation and related blasting, test drilling, excavation and grading
• Planning, directing and coordinating activities related to the construction, extension, remodeling, repair, maintenance, demolition and the like of the various buildings and structures on building land
• Planning, directing and coordinating activities related to extracting, collecting and the like of coal, oil, natural gas and metallic or non-metallic minerals
• When you change or add a workplace and meet the requirements of the workplace you move to or add, it is an after-the-fact report to the Immigration Office with jurisdiction, due within 15 days of the reason arising. People dismissed or who left midway through their own fault without the former employer's transfer consent are excluded

Who Qualifies

• Foreign nationals who will work as construction department managers in the construction industry, planning, directing and coordinating earthwork and activities related to building, extending, remodeling, repairing, maintaining, demolishing and the like of buildings and structures on building land
• Foreign nationals who will work as production department managers in mining, planning, directing and coordinating activities related to the extraction, collection and the like of coal, oil, natural gas and metallic and non-metallic minerals
• People holding at least one of: a master's degree or higher in a field related to the job, a related bachelor's degree plus 1 or more years of experience in the field, or 5 or more years of work experience in a related field (the same standard for construction department managers and mining production department managers)
• People who will hold a head-office operating-department manager post, in principle, at pay of KRW 31.12 million a year or more. For Korean graduates, a bachelor's or higher from a university, industrial university, university of education or junior college under the Higher Education Act (remote universities, meaning broadcasting, correspondence, broadcasting-and-correspondence and cyber universities, technical colleges and other schools are left out), earned or expected, is accepted without regard to major when the need for the hire and similar factors are recognized, and the 1-year experience requirement is waived

Required Documents

• The applicant prepares the employment contract, one half-size ID photo in color and a passport copy, and proves the qualification requirements with a degree, career certificate, license or the like
• Overseas papers such as a career certificate from a builder or mine operator abroad must have a Korean or English translation attached; the key ones among them are submitted with consular notarization or an apostille as well
• What the construction or mining company or other employing body files falls into two groups. One is establishment documents, the national tax payment certificate and the local tax certificate. The other is documents proving the need to hire a foreigner (such as a letter of reasons for invitation and a recommendation letter). The letter of reasons states in specific terms the need for the hire, the usage plan, the expected benefit and the like
• Because this job names a recommending body, the letter from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Construction Industry Division) can be collected for a construction department manager only when the employer is a small or mid-sized company, not a large one. A large company hiring a manager is exempt
• For an extension of stay the core papers show income and tax: the personal income certificate (mandatory: the income certificate issued by the tax office or the withholding record issued by the employer), the employer's payment record, the tax certificate and the local tax certificate. The application form, passport and alien registration card, the fee, the employment contract, a copy of the business registration or the corporate registry extract and proof of address (a lease, a housing confirmation and the like) are needed as well. A change of status from another status follows the attachments used for the visa issuance certificate, with a career certificate and a recommendation letter or a paper proving the need for the hire. Construction department managers and mining production department managers prepare the papers on the same basis

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 letter means a document the minister in charge issues to confirm that hiring a foreigner is needed. For construction department managers, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Construction Industry Division) is named as the issuer.
• Head-office operating department refers to the operating unit at a company's head office that the review of manager jobs looks at. The common review standard for manager jobs (codes 1212 to 1522) says that, in principle, only managers of this department qualify.
• Workplace change or addition report means the report made when a foreign worker switches employers or takes a second one, for instance by moving from a builder to a mining company. The deadline is 15 days, and it covers people who meet the requirements of the new workplace. Someone dismissed or who quit midway through their own fault, with no transfer consent from the former employer, is not covered.
• No recommending body is named for mining production department managers. Where a job names a recommending body, the letter can be collected only for managers at small or mid-sized companies rather than large ones, and large-company managers are exempt from it.
• Pay is examined by the annual total, and the employment contract must show hours worked per day and per month.
• The work VISAS KOREA (Vision Administrative Office) helps with is listed below. For a construction or mining department head, the first step is to sort out whether the Construction Industry Division letter applies.
• Visa issuance certificate filing for E-7-1 Specific Activities
• Change of status application
• Report (permission) for a workplace change or addition
• Pre-filing check of requirements and papers for construction and mining department heads
• The construction side names a recommending body and the mining side does not, and individual cases can be judged differently, so check with the Immigration Office with jurisdiction before you file.
• Related job articles: E-7-1 Production Manager visa, E-7-1 Transport Manager visa, E-7-1 Business Support Manager 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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