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E-9 Non-Professional Employment

South KoreaWork

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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Get your free results Read the five questions ↓

What type of worker, employment situation, occupation or professional activity is this pathway actually designed for?

E-9 is for persons engaging in simple labour such as manufacturing, as citizens of the 16 sending countries, in accordance with the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers.

See recorded sources

Does the applicant need a job offer, employer, sponsor, transfer relationship or other employer involvement? What is important about that employer relationship?

The checked official sources did not provide enough route-specific evidence to confirm the employer, sponsor or transfer relationship required.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Searched the Visa Navigator for employer, job-offer or sponsor involvement for E-9; none stated beyond the reference to the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers (used in R1).

What are the few decisive professional characteristics of the pathway: occupation, qualifications, experience, salary, skill level, shortage status, labour-market condition or equivalent?

E-9 covers workers in the manufacturing, construction, agriculture, livestock, fishery and service industries.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Skill, language or other selection characteristics for E-9 are not stated.

What work does the permission allow? Is the holder tied to an employer, occupation or sector? Can family accompany where clearly established?

E-9 workers work in manufacturing, construction, agriculture, livestock, fishery and service industries. A change of workplace requires an application for change of workplace (listed for E-9 holders); under the Decree, changing or adding a workplace needs an application to the immigration office and approval by the Minister of Justice. In principle, spouse and underage children may visit but are not entitled to long-term visas.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Source is the Korea Legislation Research Institute English translation of the Enforcement Decree (for reference; the Korean text prevails).
  • Decree Art. 26 is the general workplace-change rule, not E-9-specific; the E-9 limits on how often/why a workplace may change are not captured.

How long is the permission normally granted for, how is it renewed, and what longer-term residence direction exists if officially stated?

E-9 is granted for 3 years, marked extendable. The stated longer-term path: E-9/E-10 holders legitimately employed in Korea for more than 5 years during the past 10 years who meet the requirements including the point system may move to E-7 Skilled Worker (in principle E-9 and E-10 holders are restricted from changing to E-7, with E-7-4 as the exception); then F-2 long-term resident after more than 5 years in E-7, and F-5 general permanent resident after more than 5 years with E-7 or F-2 status.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The renewal procedure and maximum total stay for E-9 are not stated.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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