Overview
E-7-1 Sales Manager (code 1511) is a status for people who do the work below and meet the set requirements. It covers those who plan and direct a wholesale or retail business or a general sales department, a technical sales manager who plans and directs the activities of a technical sales department in electronic communications and computing, industrial machinery or automobiles, and those who plan, direct and coordinate a trading or trade brokerage firm. The occupation code is 1511.
Three kinds of workplace fall under it. They are wholesale and retail businesses and general sales departments, technical sales departments in electronics and telecommunications, computing, industrial machinery and automobiles, and trading or trade brokerage firms.
The listed examples are a sales-related manager, a retail-sales-related manager and a trade-related manager. Sales office heads and similar posts are expressly listed as not allowed.
No special education, experience, visa, stay management or similar rule is written for this job, so the general standard applies. The announced 2026 wage floor is KRW 31.12 million a year, and for the IT field the minister of trade and industry (KOTRA) is named as the issuer of the employment recommendation. In principle, managers are limited to managers of the operating department at the company head office.
At a Glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Job and code | Sales Manager (1511) |
| Education and experience | No separate rule; the general standard applies (a master degree or higher in a related field, a related bachelor degree plus 1 or more years of experience in the field, or 5 or more years of work in a related field) |
| Employer requirements | Wholesale or retail and sales departments, technical sales departments in electronic communications, computing, industrial machinery and automobiles, or trade and trade brokerage firms. Recommendation issuer: for the IT field, the minister of trade and industry (KOTRA) |
| Wage requirement | At least KRW 31.12 million per year, the E-7-1 professional amount announced for 2026 |
| Period of stay | The upper limit for one grant of stay is 3 years |
| Key cautions | Sales office heads and similar posts are not allowed. In principle only head-office operating department managers, and the recommendation is exempt for large-company managers |
Scope of Activity
- The basic activity is planning and directing the operation of a wholesale or retail business or a general sales department.
- A technical sales manager who plans and leads sales activity in a technical sales department for electronics and telecommunications, computing, industrial machinery or automobiles is covered as well.
- Planning, directing and coordinating a trading company or a trade brokerage firm also falls within the scope.
- Sales office heads and similar posts are listed as not allowed, so they are not covered by this job.
- The listed example occupations are a sales-related manager, a retail-sales-related manager and a trade-related manager, and the general standard applies to visa issuance, stay management and the like.
Who Qualifies
- No education or experience rule is written for sales, retail or trade manager posts alone, so one of three general routes has to be met in a field related to the occupation: a master degree or higher, a bachelor degree plus 1 or more years of experience, or 5 or more years of work.
- Graduates and expected graduates of a university in Korea have a route whatever their major. With a bachelor degree or higher, and once factors such as the need for the hire are recognized, they are allowed and the one-year experience condition is waived. The school must be a university, industrial university, university of education or junior college under the Higher Education Act. Left out are distance universities (broadcasting, correspondence, broadcast-correspondence and cyber universities alike), technical universities and various-type schools.
- For a sales, retail or trade manager post too, a person with at least 1 year of professional work at one of the world's top 500 companies is allowed when factors such as the need for the hire are recognized, even without meeting the education, experience and similar requirements set for the job.
- The employer must be a normally operating wholesale or retail business, general sales department, technical sales department (electronic communications and computing, industrial machinery or automobiles), or trading or trade brokerage firm, with no unpaid national or local taxes. Sales office heads and similar posts are listed as not allowed and are not a target.
Required Documents
- The papers split into the applicant side and the company side. The applicant brings a passport copy, one color half-size ID photo, the employment contract and proof of qualifications such as a degree, career certificate or license.
- The company's share is the papers proving the need to hire a foreigner (such as an invitation statement and an employment recommendation). The invitation statement sets out in specific terms the need to hire a foreigner, the plan for using the foreigner, the expected effects and the like, and the establishment documents of the employing company and the like, a national tax payment certificate and a local tax certificate go in with it.
- For the IT field, the minister of trade and industry (KOTRA) is named as the issuer of the employment recommendation, and it can be collected only from managers at small or medium companies rather than large ones.
- Anything issued outside Korea is filed with a Korean or English translation attached. For the main key documents, a consular notarization or an apostille certificate is submitted as well.
- Put the annual salary, the total monthly pay and the hours per day and per month in the contract. For an extension or a workplace change, add last year income certificate issued by the tax office.
Application Process
- Check eligibility — confirm your current status, career, degree and contract type match the requirements.
- Prepare documents — foreign public documents need a translator's certification plus an apostille (or consular confirmation for non-member states).
- Book a visit — reserve a slot at your Immigration Office via HiKorea (www.hikorea.go.kr), or file online where e-Application is available.
- File and pay — submit the Integrated Application Form (Form No. 34) and pay the screening fee.
- Review — respond to any request for supplementary documents within the deadline.
- Result — on approval, the period of stay and status are granted; reissue your ARC if required.
Key Points
- Technical sales manager refers to a person who plans and leads sales activity in a technical sales department for electronics and telecommunications, computing, industrial machinery or automobiles.
- Employment recommendation means a document showing that hiring a foreigner is needed. The ministry differs by job; for sales managers in the IT field it is the trade and industry minister, through KOTRA.
- Head-office operating department means the head-office unit that the review of manager jobs looks at; in principle only managers running this unit are covered, and its current state, its independence, its number of ordinary staff and the wage of the foreigner, among other things, are weighed together.
- Sales office heads and similar posts are listed as not allowed. There is no separate visa issuance, stay management or similar rule for this job, and the general standard applies.
- Large-company managers are exempt from the recommendation letter. Even in the IT field, with its named recommending body, the recommendation can be collected only from managers of small and medium firms, and the size test sits in the enforcement decree of the SME Basic Act.
- A small foreign-invested company or venture company in its early years may hire professionals without sales records for up to 5 years from founding. That special rule can fit a young trading firm.
- The work VISAS KOREA (Vision Administrative Office) helps with is listed below. For sales, retail and trade manager posts, the work starts by checking that the post is not a sales office head, and in the IT field whether a recommendation from the Minister of Trade and Industry (KOTRA) is needed.
- Visa issuance certificate application for sales managers (E-7-1)
- Change of status application
- Extension of stay application
- Workplace move and addition notices (permission)
- Where a sales office head title is involved, or an IT-field recommendation, the local immigration office decides case by case, so check first that your post and duties really fit this job.
- Related job articles: E-7-1 Transport Manager visa, E-7-1 Production Manager visa, E-7-1 Accommodation, Travel, Leisure and Sports 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
Q. Does the sales manager E-7 visa have a separate education requirement?
A. No, the general E-7 standard applies without a separate rule. In a field related to the occupation, you need a master degree or higher, a bachelor degree plus 1 or more years of experience, or 5 or more years of work.
Q. Can I get E-7-1 as a sales manager if I did not major in business?
A. Yes, there is a route even with another major. A bachelor's degree holder or higher who graduated (or is about to graduate) from a Korean university under the Higher Education Act (only universities, industrial universities, universities of education and junior colleges count; distance universities, technical colleges and miscellaneous schools are excluded) can be admitted regardless of major when factors such as the need for the hire are recognized. Otherwise you can meet the general standard or look at other routes, such as the exception for people with 1 or more years of professional work at one of the world's top 500 companies.
Q. Can I get E-7-1 as a sales manager if I graduated from a Korean university?
A. Yes, there is a way even right after graduation. If you earned a bachelor's or higher at a university, industrial university, university of education or junior college under the Higher Education Act, your major does not matter once factors such as the need for the hire are recognized, and the 1-year experience rule is waived. Distance universities, technical universities and various-type schools fall outside this rule. For the IT field, the minister of trade and industry (KOTRA) is named as the issuer of the employment recommendation, and it can be collected only from managers at small or medium companies.
Q. Can I switch from D-10 to sales manager status?
A. You can apply if you meet the requirements. You need an employment contract with the head of the company that will use you in sales, retail or trade management, and proof of the education and experience for this job.
Q. I only have sales office head experience; can I apply under this job?
A. A sales office head post cannot be brought in under this job, because sales office heads and similar posts are listed as not allowed. For a sales-related, retail-sales-related or trade-related manager post, education and experience are judged under the general standard.
Q. Does an IT technical sales manager at a small company need a recommendation?
A. A recommendation can be collected from a manager at a small or medium company. For the IT field, the minister of trade and industry (KOTRA) is named as the issuer, and large-company managers are exempt.