E-7-1 Professional Services Manager (1390)

Overview

The E-7-1 visa for Professional Services Managers (1390) is for people who plan, organize, direct and manage firms offering services such as market and opinion research and overseas senior-talent headhunting. They must meet the general education, experience and wage rules. In principle, only a manager of the head-office operating department qualifies.

The professional services in question are services such as market and opinion research and headhunting of senior talent from overseas. The example jobs are a market and opinion research manager and an overseas senior-talent headhunting service manager.

No recommending body is listed for this job. There is no special education or experience rule either, so the general standard applies to qualification, visa issuance, stay management and the like. A large company hiring a manager is exempt from the recommendation letter.

The job is in principle limited to head-office operating-department managers, and the review takes into account the department's state and independence, its number of regular staff and the foreign manager's pay, among other factors. The E-7-1 wage requirement is KRW 31.12 million a year or more (amount announced for 2026).

At a Glance

Scope of Activity

• Planning, organizing, directing and managing the operation of a business that provides professional services such as market and opinion research and headhunting of senior talent from overseas
• The example jobs that can be brought in are a market and opinion research manager and an overseas senior-talent headhunting service manager
• The example jobs are a market and opinion research manager and an overseas senior-talent headhunting service manager
• If you change or add a workplace and meet the qualification requirements for the new or added workplace, no prior permit is needed; report it within 15 days of the event to the head of the competent immigration office (branch or sub-office). A person who was dismissed or left midway through their own fault and did not obtain the former employer's consent to transfer is excluded and must apply for a workplace-change permit or for a certificate of visa issuance confirmation. A report through an agent is also allowed. Where the former workplace was temporarily or permanently closed, left wages unpaid or the like, supporting documents or a statement of reasons can replace the former employer's consent form

Who Qualifies

• Foreigners who will work as a market and opinion research manager
• Foreigners who will work as an overseas senior-talent headhunting service manager
• Professional services managers (1390) follow the general standard as well. The general requirement is met by 5 or more years of work in a related field, or by a master's degree or higher in a field related to the occupation, or by a related bachelor's degree together with at least 1 year of experience in the field
• For this job the target is, in principle, a head-office operating-department manager paid KRW 31.12 million a year or more. A holder of a bachelor's or higher who graduated (or is about to graduate) in Korea from a university, industrial university, university of education or junior college (institutions counted as universities under the Higher Education Act; distance universities (broadcast, correspondence, broadcast-and-correspondence and cyber universities), technical colleges and miscellaneous schools are left out) is accepted whatever the major, when the need for hiring and similar factors are recognized

Required Documents

• The foreign applicant gathers proof of qualification, such as degree certificates, career certificates or licenses, and submits it with a passport copy, one color half-size ID photo and the employment contract. Under the general standard, the degree and experience shown must be in a field related to the occupation; where a special provision such as the one for graduates of Korean universities applies, its own conditions are followed
• Every paper issued abroad is attached with a Korean or English translation, and the main key papers are backed by a consular notarization or an apostille certificate
• On the company side the papers are establishment documents of the employer or the like, the national tax payment certificate and the local tax certificate, plus documents proving the need for the hire. A company with unpaid national or local taxes does not meet the inviter requirement, and whether it meets the employer requirements and operates normally is also reviewed
• Documents proving the need to hire a foreign worker, such as a statement of reasons or a recommendation letter, are submitted. No recommending body is listed for this job. The statement of reasons spells out the need for the hire, the usage plan, the expected benefit and the like
• Extension and status change take different sets. For an extension: the application form, passport and alien registration card, the fee, the employment contract, personal income proof (required; a certificate of income amount issued by the tax office or a withholding record issued by the employer), a copy of the business registration or corporate registry, proof of residence (lease contract, accommodation confirmation and the like), the employer's payment record, and the tax payment certificate and local tax payment certificate. For a change of status to E-7 by a registered foreigner legally staying under D-1, D-2, D-4 to D-10 or E-1 to E-6 (excluding E-6-2, performers at hotel facilities, entertainment venues and the like under the Tourism Promotion Act; including an accompanying spouse in F-3), you first submit the application form, passport and alien registration card, one standard-size photo and the fee, with the employment contract and a career certificate attached. Then come the establishment documents of the hiring firm or the like (business registration, registry copy and the like), national and local tax payment certificates, and an employment recommendation from the head of the competent ministry or a document showing the need for the hire. The same lists apply to someone who will manage a professional services business such as a research firm or a headhunting firm. For both an extension and a change, the principle that only head-office operating-department managers qualify is examined separately

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

• The review standard of each occupation sets who the recommendation letter is issued for, which ministry issues it and so on. No recommending body is listed for 1390. That a large company hiring a manager is exempt from collection of the letter is common to all manager jobs.
• The principle is that only head-office operating-department managers of the company qualify. Whether a firm is large or small and mid-sized is decided by the standard in the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on SMEs.
• Salary is measured by the yearly total. Daily and monthly hours of work belong in the employment contract.
• Letter of reasons for invitation means the paper that sets out in detail the need to hire a foreign worker, the plan for using the person, the expected benefit and the like. It is one of the documents that prove the need for the hire.
• Regular staff count refers to how many ordinary employees belong to the operating department a foreign manager will head. The review considers it together with the department's state, its independence, the pay level and other factors.
• Post-move notice means the report a foreign manager gives when moving, say, from a research firm to a headhunting firm, or when taking on an extra workplace. It is not a permit applied for first but a report within 15 days of the event, open to people who meet the qualification requirements of the new workplace; anyone dismissed or who left midway through their own fault without the former employer's consent to transfer is excluded.
• Work VISAS KOREA (Vision Administrative Office) helps with: sorting out the papers that show why a research or headhunting firm needs a foreign manager, since no recommending body is named for this job.
• Visa issuance certificate for a service-firm manager (E-7-1 filing)
• Change of status application
• Extension of stay application
• Workplace move or addition notice for research and recruiting firms
• Judgments can vary with the size and circumstances of the firm, so ask the local Immigration Office about your own case before filing. That office reviews and decides.
• Related job articles: E-7-1 Business Support Manager visa, E-7-1 Insurance and Finance Manager visa, E-7-1 Sales 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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