Types and Size of Business Eligible for Foreign Workers under Non-Professional Employment (E-9) Status
The Ministry of Employment and Labor announces a plan for the introduction of foreign workers including matters concerning the types and size of business eligible for the introduction of foreign workers annually by means of an official gazette, a daily newspaper, or internet (Article 5 Section 1 of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers and Article 3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers).
Procedures for Foreign Workers outside Korea under Non-Professional Employment (E-9) to Engage in Employment for the First Time in Korea
Registration on the Foreign Job-Seekers List
- An employer is supposed to recruit an eligible worker among those registered on the list of foreign job-seekers. Therefore, for foreign workers under Non-professional Employment (E-9) status to engage in employment in the Republic of Korea, they must be registered on the list of foreign job-seekers (Article 8 Section 3 of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers).
Application by Employers and Referral by the Head of Employment Center
- For a foreign worker to engage in employment, an application of referral must be made by an employer and a subsequent referral of eligible person must be made by the head of an employment center.
- If an employer selects a foreign worker among eligible persons referred by the head of an employment center, a written employment permit for the selected foreign worker is to be issued immediately.
Entering into Employment Contract
- Drafting Standard Employment Contract
· A foreign worker who has been referred by the head of an employment center and subsequently selected by the relevant employer is to enter into an employment contract with the employer who hires him/her in a standard employment contract form (Article 9 Section 1 of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers).
· A foreign worker who has entered into an employment contract is to receive 1 copy of the employment contract (Article 16 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers).
- Term of Employment Contract
· A foreign worker and the relevant employer may enter into or renew an employment contract by consent of both parties within 3 years (Article 9 Section 3 and Article 18 Section 1 of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers).
※ In this case, such employment contract is effective as of the date the foreign worker enters the Republic of Korea (Article 17 Section 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers).
· However,notwithstanding the 3-year limitation, if an employer has requested theMinister of Employment and Labor to permit re-employment of a foreign workerprior to his/her departure from Korea upon expiration of 3 years of employment,the foreign worker may be granted an extension of employment period only oncewithin a period not exceeding 2 years and thereby enter into an employmentcontract within such extended period(Article 18-2 paragraph 1 of the 「Act on the Employment,etc. of Foreign Workers」).
√ When the head of the employment security office having jurisdiction over a foreign worker’s place of stay receives an application for extension of employment period of the foreign worker whose employment period has expired, the head of the employment security office will issue a certificate of extension of the employment period within 7 days from the date of receipt of the application if he/she reviews the application for extension and concludes that it meets the relevant requirements (Article 14-2 Section 2 and Appendix 12-4 of the Enforcement Rule of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers).
Application for Visa Issuance
- A foreign worker files an application for a visa granting Non-professional Employment (E-9) status with the Embassy or Consulate of the Republic of Korea after receiving a certificate of visa issuance from the employer by mail (Article 10 of the Act on the Employment etc. of Foreign Workers, Article 8 of the Immigration Act, and Article 9 of the Enforcement Rule of the Immigration Act).
※ There are certain countries which issue a visa issuance number instead of a certificate for visa issuance. Such visa issuance number is applicable in countries which issue electronic visas.
Entry into the Republic of Korea
- Aforeign worker must hold a valid passport and a visa when entering the Republicof Korea. However, if a foreign worker who has obtained permission to reenterby the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Korea or is exempted frompermission of reentry enters Korea before the period of such permission orexemption expires, such person may enter Korea without a visa (Article 7 paragraph 1and Article 7 paragraph 2 subparagraph 1 of the 「Immigration Act」).
Completing Employment Training for Foreign Workers
- Every foreign worker must receive employment training provided by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea or the Korea International Labour Foundation within 15 days after his/her entry into the Republic of Korea (Article 11 Section 1 of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers and Article 10 of the Enforcement Rule of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers).
Health Examination
- Since employers are required to conduct general health checkups or special health checkups to protect workers' health (Articles 129 and 130 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act), health checkups must also be conducted for foreign workers.
※ Those whose health conditions require further examination as a result of the initial health examination are subject to a secondary in-depth medical examination. The workers subject to the secondary examination are quarantined in consultation with the relevant Immigration Control Office until the result of the secondary examination is confirmed. If the result shows the relevant worker is eligible for employment, such worker is dispatched to workplace as arranged. If the result shows otherwise, measures necessary for the relevant worker to depart from the Republic of Korea will be taken.
Alien Registration
- A foreign worker must file for alien registration with a head of the Immigration Service (hereinafter referred to as the “head of service”), a head of an immigration office (hereinafter referred to as the “head of office”), a head of an immigration branch office having jurisdiction over his/her place of stay within 90 days from the date of entry into Korea (Article 31 Section 1 of the Immigration Act).
Extension of Period of Stay
- A foreign worker who intends to continue to stay in excess of the permitted period of stay of 1 year on the ground of renewing his/her employment contract must file an application for permission to extend his/her period of stay with the head of service or branch office having jurisdiction over his/her place of stay before the expiration of the permitted period of stay (Article 25 of the Immigration Control Act and Article 31 (1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Control Act).
Procedures Necessary for Foreign Workers Who Have Been Employed in Korea under Non-Professional Employment (E-9) Status to Change Place of Business
Application for Change of Business or Place of Business
- Ifany of the following events occur, and as a result, it is deemed that a foreignworker is unable to continue employment in the business or place of business,such foreign worker must file an application for change of business or place ofbusiness with the relevant employment center within 1 month after theexpiration of the employment contract with the employer[Article 25 paragraph 1 and paragraph3 of the 「Act on the Employment,etc. of Foreign Workers」, Article 30 paragraph 1 of the 「Enforcement Decree ofthe Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers」, and NotificationRegarding Grounds Not Attributable to Foreign Workers to Change Place ofBusiness (NotificationNo. 2021-30 of the Ministry of theEmployment and Labor)].
1. If the employer of the foreign worker intends to terminate his/her employment contract during the contract period or to refuse renewal of the employment contract after its expiration on a justifiable ground;
2. If the foreign worker is unable to continue to work in the business or place of business on a ground such as temporary shutdown or closure;
3. If the foreign worker is unable to continue to work on a ground that his/her employer violated terms and conditions of employment or treated the foreign worker unfairly; or
4. If the foreign worker is unfit to continue to work in the business or place of business due to the injury or other related reasons, but is possible to work for another business or place of business.
Application for Permission to Change Workplace
If a foreign worker is to work at a new workplace due to the above reasons, aside from applying to the job center to change the business or workplace, a foreign worker must apply for permission to change the workplace from the Minister of Justice in advance according to Article 26 of the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Control Act before work begins (Article 21 (1) of the Immigration Control Act).
-
- Any foreign worker who fails to obtain permission to change of workplace within 3 months from the date of the application for change of business or place of business is subject to deportation. However, if a foreign worker is unable to obtain permission to change of workplace or file an application for change of workplace due to causes such as an accident on duty, illnesses, pregnancy, or childbirth, he/she must obtain permission to change of workplace within 3 months or must file an application for change of workplace within 1 month from the date on which such cause ceases to exist (Article 25 Section 3 of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers).
Limitations on Changing Business or Place of Business
- A foreign worker shall not change his/her business or place of business more than 3 times in principle within 3 years from the date of entry into Korea (Article 25 Section 4 of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers).
- For a foreign worker whose employment period has been extended due to the request for a permit of reemployment made by his/her employer before he/she leaves Korea upon the expiration of 3 years of employment, he/she may not change business or place of business more than 2 times within the extended period of employment (Article 25 Section 4 of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers).
※ If it is deemed that a foreign worker is unable to continue to work in the workplace on the ground of temporary shutdown, closure of business, or other reasons not attributable to the foreign worker, the foreign worker may change his/her business or place of business without limits on the number of times he/she can make (Article 25 Section 4 of the Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers).
Reporting on Change in Place of Residence
- If a foreign worker’s place of residence is subject to change due to the change of his/her workplace, the foreign worker must file a moving-in report with the head of the Si/Gun/Gu (Gu includes a non-autonomous Gu) or Eup/Myeon/Dong where the new place of residence is located, or with the head of service, the head of office, or the head of branch office having jurisdiction over the new place of stay, within 15 days from the date on which the foreign worker moves into the new place of residence (Article 36 Section 1 of the Immigration Act).
Other Procedures
- Among the procedures regarding employment of foreign workers who apply for change of business or place of business, the matters below follow the same procedures applicable to foreign workers who intend to engage in employment in Korea for the first time while staying outside Korea: ① making an entry in a list of foreign job-seekers, ② entering into an employment contract, and ③ commencing employment.