Questions by situation
Each answer starts with the conclusion, then who it applies to, the documents and the timing. Jump here from “Choose your situation” above.
Which jobs exactly qualify for the Korea E-7-2 semi-professional visa?
E-7-2 covers only the 10 occupations selected by the Minister of Justice. The five clerical ones are sales clerk at tax-exempt shops (면세점) or in Jeju English Education City, air transport clerk, hotel front desk clerk, medical coordinator and customer service clerk; the five service ones are transport service worker, tour interpreter guide, casino dealer, cook and chef, and care worker. If your role does not match exactly it can be reviewed as the most similar occupation, but for semi-professional jobs that needs approval from the Minister of Justice, so it is harder than for professional jobs.
Can I get a Korea E-7 visa for chef if I cook Korean food? Do I need a cooking licence?
No for Korean cuisine: Korean-food chefs and cooks, and snack, coffee and traditional tea cooks are excluded, so only Western, Chinese, Japanese and other foreign-cuisine chefs and cooks qualify. An award at an internationally recognised cooking competition waives the licence and experience rules; an overseas intermediate-or-higher licence waives experience, an entry-level licence needs at least 3 years, and 6 months or more of training needs at least 5 years. Licences, career certificates and training certificates must carry an apostille or consular confirmation.
What does a restaurant in Korea need to sponsor a foreign chef on E-7-2, and how many can it hire?
The employer must be a tourist hotel, tourist restaurant, restaurant specialising in foreign tourists or an airline catering division, or a foreign-cuisine restaurant meeting all minimum floor area, annual VAT and Korean staff standards. A general restaurant needs at least 60㎡, KRW 3 million in annual VAT and 2 Korean staff; a Chinese restaurant needs 200㎡, KRW 5 million and 3 staff, counting only staff on employment insurance for 3 months or more who earn at least the minimum wage. The number allowed is the average of the counts by floor area, tax paid and Korean staff, and businesses without regular work such as wedding halls and catering services are restricted.
What are the E-7-2 rules for hiring a foreigner as a hotel front desk clerk in Korea?
A recommendation from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism is mandatory, and experience alone (5 years or more without a degree) is not accepted. Only tourist hotels and similar where foreign guests made up over 30% of last year's guests (15% outside the capital region, 10% in depopulating areas) can hire, up to 5 per hotel. International students with a Korean associate degree or higher in tourism or hospitality who obtain the recommendation can be allowed regardless of the guest ratio and per-hotel cap.
Can I work at a Korean travel agency as a tour interpreter guide on E-7-2, and what education do I need?
Yes, with a mandatory recommendation from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. You need a master's or higher, a foreign bachelor's in Korean studies plus 1 year of experience, a degree (or expected degree) from a Korean university in tourism or history, or a college degree or higher plus the Korean tour interpreter guide licence. The employer must be a registered general travel agency with an average of 2,000 or more foreign tourists a year over the last 2 years or equivalent results, and the base cap is 2 per agency.
I graduated from a Korean college and hold a care worker licence. Can I work at a nursing home on E-7-2?
Yes, if you have all of: an associate degree or higher from a Korean university, the care worker licence, and Korean ability of KIIP level 3, a pre-assessment score of 61 or TOPIK level 3. The employer must be an elderly medical welfare facility under the Welfare of Older Persons Act, within 20% of its Korean staff, paying at least the current minimum wage. Approval comes after review and a quota allocation by headquarters, so plan the filing date early.
What is the E-7-2 salary requirement in Korea? Is the minimum wage enough?
Semi-professional jobs are checked against the semi-professional wage requirement the Minister of Justice confirms and announces each year (as of the filing date), and both hourly and monthly pay must also meet the minimum wage. The contract must state monthly gross pay against daily and monthly working hours, and if short hours leave the total below the threshold the hire is restricted. Where an occupation has its own rule, such as customer service clerks (at least the average pay of Korean staff doing the same work at the same site), that rule applies.
Can I change from D-2 or D-10 to E-7-2 without leaving Korea?
Registered foreigners lawfully staying on D-1 through E-6, and their F-3 spouses, can apply for a change of status inside Korea if they meet the E-7-2 occupation rules. B and C short-term statuses, D-3, E-8, E-9, E-10 and G-1 are restricted, and a D-10 job-seeker visa for semi-professional jobs cannot be applied for from abroad. You file the application form, passport, alien registration card and photo, the employment contract, the employer's incorporation documents, career certificates, a recommendation or proof of hiring need, and tax certificates.
I work as an E-7-2 chef in Korea. Do I need permission before moving to another restaurant?
Yes: sales clerks, cooks and chefs, customer service clerks, hotel front desk clerks and medical coordinators need a permit before changing or adding a workplace, while other E-7-2 jobs report within 15 days after the change (care workers may change only when the move is not their fault, e.g. closure). The permit needs one proof of closure, unpaid wages or business decline, the former employer's release consent (not needed when the contract ended or the business closed) and the new employer's eligibility documents. A chef's hours at an added workplace cannot exceed one third of the hours at the original one, and customer service clerks are in principle not allowed to change workplace.
For an E-7-2 extension, do I need an income certificate and a letter of guarantee?
An individual income certificate (from the tax office, or the employer's withholding ledger) is mandatory, along with the application form, passport, alien registration card, employment contract, business registration or corporate register, proof of residence and the employer's tax certificates. The original letter of guarantee is required only for sales clerks, cooks and chefs, customer service clerks, hotel front desk clerks and medical coordinators. If last year's pay fell below the wage requirement, the extension may be restricted.
How many years is the E-7-2 visa for on first entry to Korea?
Sales clerks, hotel front desk clerks, medical coordinators, transport service workers, tour interpreter guides, casino dealers and cooks and chefs get a single-entry visa with a stay cap of 2 years at the visa stage, and customer service clerks a cap of 1 year. The cap per grant for the whole E-7 status is 3 years, and the actual period depends on the review. You can keep working by getting an extension before expiry.
On E-7-2, can my spouse and children join me, and can I later switch to F-2-7?
The spouse and minor children of E-7 holders are eligible for accompanying (F-3) status, so family can join an E-7-2 worker. However, the professional-worker and Korean master's-graduate tracks of the points-based residence visa (F-2-7) exclude semi-professional, general skilled and skilled workers (E-7-2 to E-7-4), so E-7-2 work alone does not qualify for those tracks. Eligibility under other F-2-7 tracks has to be checked separately against your occupation, income and education.
Key terms
- Semi-professional (E-7-2, 준전문인력)
- The Special Activity (E-7) sub-status for the 10 occupations the Minister of Justice selected from skill levels 2 and 3 of major groups 3, 4 and 5 of the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations.
- Similar occupation (유사직종)
- Reviewing a role that does not exactly match the list under the requirements of the closest designated occupation; for semi-professional jobs this needs approval from the Minister of Justice.
- Employment recommendation (고용추천서)
- A letter from the competent ministry confirming the need for the hire; mandatory for hotel front desk clerks, medical coordinators and tour interpreter guides.
- Korean-worker protection criteria (국민고용 보호 심사기준)
- Rules applied to semi-professional jobs on employer eligibility, the maximum number of foreign hires per employer and minimum pay, to protect jobs for Koreans.
- Workplace change/addition permit (근무처 변경·추가 허가)
- Prior permission that sales clerks, chefs, customer service clerks, hotel front desk clerks and medical coordinators must obtain before changing or adding a workplace.
- Letter of guarantee (신원보증서)
- The employer's guarantee required at the visa certificate and extension stages for occupations whose workplace changes are restricted.
About our office
- Office
- Vision Administrative Office (비전행정사사무소 · VISAS KOREA)
- Principal
- Alex Lee (이원중), licensed administrative agent (행정사)
- Licence
- Administrative agent (행정사) — preparing immigration and residence filings and submitting them on the client’s behalf with written authorization (위임장)
- Scope
- Korean visas (visa issuance certificate, change of status, extension), permanent residency (F-5), foreign-invested company, branch and liaison office setup, immigration violation review and entry-ban response
- Languages
- Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese
- Address
- 3F Sungwoo Bldg, 324 Toegye-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul 04614, Korea
- Hours
- Weekdays 09:30–17:30 (KST)
Who hires us for this
- Owners of foreign-cuisine restaurants and tourist hotels inviting foreign chefs for the first time
- Hotels with many foreign guests and general travel agencies serving foreign tourists
- International students who graduated in Korea and have a semi-professional job offer
- Hospitals registered to attract foreign patients and elderly medical welfare facilities
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