The Most Important Visa Issue When Hiring Employees. Know This and Stop Worrying!
The first thing to check when hiring a foreign employee is whether the applicant holds a visa that permits employment. Here, "employee" means regular, contract, or freelance positions that require professional skills and allow long-term employment, excluding part-time work.
When companies consider hiring foreign employees, they often start recruiting without knowing much about the employment conditions or visas. To widen your pool of foreign candidates, it is important to actively support workers in converting their visas when you hire them.
If your company is willing to support visa issuance to hire a foreign employee, check the visa sponsorship option when posting your job ad or state it clearly, and more foreign candidates will be able to apply.
In particular, when you post a job ad on Talent Link, AI automatically translates it into English ㆍ Vietnamese, so even foreigners living overseas can easily read the posting and apply.
Also, as a general rule, simple labor positions can be filled by F visa holders, but hiring under the E-7 visa is not possible. The visas that allow employment in simple labor jobs are E-8 (seasonal work), E-9 (non-professional employment), and E-10 (crew). In these cases, direct hiring is not allowed; employment is only possible by applying through the government or local authorities.
> How to hire for simple labor jobs
Now let's take a closer look at the 3 main cases of hiring foreign employees.
Many different situations exist depending on the industry and company, and the explanation below is based on the common cases that make up the majority.
First. When the candidate already holds a work-eligible visa
Holders of F-2 (residence), F-4 (overseas Korean), F-5 (permanent residence), and F-6 (marriage immigrant) visas can be freely hired for simple ㆍ professional positions.
※ F-4 holders cannot work in simple labor jobs or certain industries.
Second. When hiring an international student staying in Korea
Changes of status to the E-7 visa are usually requested by foreigners holding D-2 (study), D-4 (language training), or D-10 (job seeking) visas. When they wish to work in Korea instead of returning home after completing their studies, they convert to an E-7 visa.
For a worker to convert to an E-7 visa, an employment contract must first be signed with a company that meets the E-7 foreign hiring requirements, for an occupation in which E-7 employment is permitted. After signing the contract, the company must prepare documents so that the worker can be issued an E-7 visa.
Usually, once the company provides the necessary documents to the foreign worker, the worker can carry out the administrative procedures for the visa change themselves, although some companies handle it on their behalf.
> Company requirements for E-7 employment
> Occupations eligible for E-7 (check additional requirements by job)
> What employers must do for E-7 visa issuance
Third. When hiring a foreigner living overseas
Most foreigners living overseas do not hold a Korean visa. Just as you support international students in Korea to obtain an E-7 visa, you must support foreigners without a visa so that they can be issued an E-7 visa.
However, unlike foreigners already in Korea, the hiring company must obtain a Certificate for Visa Issuance from the immigration office and deliver it to the worker before the worker can be issued an E-7 visa. You can think of the Certificate for Visa Issuance as a document approving that the company has proven its need for the worker and that the worker may obtain a visa and enter Korea .
This process is quite complicated, so many companies seek help from administrative agents or agencies. However, the considerable cost can be a burden. Talent Link provides detailed guidance on this process, so try applying on your own.
> Company requirements for E-7 employment
> Occupations eligible for E-7 (check additional requirements by job)