Employment Relations by VISA Type
I. Introduction
As of the end of July 2016, the number of foreigners residing in Korea stood at 2,034,878. This includes 1,141,803 registered as non-Korean foreign nationals, 347,836 people as Korean foreign nationals, and 543,239 people as foreign nationals on short-term stays. Four percent of the people living in Korea are foreign nationals, who are forecast to increase to 3 million in 5 years, or 6% of the total number of people in Korea. There are concerns about whether Koreans will suffer from a high unemployment rate due to the rapidly-increasing number of foreign nationals and whether foreigners will commit more violent crimes, thereby making Korea a more dangerous place. However, as we attract more high-quality human resources and continue to use greater numbers of cheap, skilled workers in work involving the “three Ds” (difficult, dirty, dangerous), there are many advantages.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to know where all the foreign nationals are placed and how many of them are working, what qualifications they have, what kinds of work they are engaged in, and what kinds of foreign workers are allowed to be employed. This is because there are so many types of visa under a very complicated immigration law. Herein, I would like to look at the classification of 36 visa types under different categories, and then look at the types of visa granted for employment and what relationship exists between the Immigration Control Act and labor laws.
II. Visa Types & Categories
1. Visa types & current status of stay for each visa type
In order to understand more about the foreign nationals staying in Korea, it is necessary to know the types of visa available to them and the purpose and status of stay. A visa determines the economic activities (if any) that foreign nationals can conduct in their host country, and their status. The visa type makes it easy to recognize the purpose of their visit, whether or not they are allowed to engage in money-making activities, whether they have family relations in Korea, and whether they are overseas Koreans. The current Immigration Control Act places foreign nationals in one of eight categories (A to H) which are comprised of 36 visa types in total. Group A is related to official duties and includes those working in diplomacy and those conducting official government duties and the accompanying family of foreign nationals in this category. Group B refers to visitors for short-term stays such as tourists and those exempt from visa requirements due to bilateral conventions between countries. Group C includes those visiting for short-term activities such as broadcasting, short-term tourism, and short-term employment. Group D covers those staying long-term and professional personnel engaged in culture and the arts, those engaged in technical training, corporate investment, international trade, job-seekers, those studying abroad (including language studies), and media correspondents. Group E covers employment activities for professors, native language instructors/teachers, researchers, technology guidance supervisors, professionals (specific jobs with high salaries such as IT engineers, translators and lawyers etc.), non-professionals (such as simple factory jobs), and ship crewmen. Group F covers those staying long-term due to family relations. Group G does not cover any specific type of traveler, but is rather a temporary stay visa issued for emergency situations and others. Last, Group H includes those on working holidays and employment of Korean foreign nationals.
[Visa Types, Status of Sojourn & Maximum Length of Stay per Visit]
No Category Status of Sojourn Currently in Korea Length of Stay No Category Status of Sojourn Currently in Korea Length of Stay
1 A: Official Duties A-1 (Diplomacy) Work period 19 E:
Long-term Employment E-1 (Professor) 2,559 5 years
2 A-2 (Official business) (1,131) 20 E-2 (Language teaching) 15,202
(273) 2 years
3 A-3 (Conventions) 21 E-3 (Research) 2,942 5 years
4 B: Short-term Stays without Visa B-1 (Visa-exempt) (103,507) Agreed period
22 E-4 (Technology instruction) 190
5 B-2 (Tour & transit) (115,450) 23 E-5 (Professionals) 619
6 C:
Short-term Stays
C-1 (Temporary broadcasting) 90 days 24 E-6 (Artistic work) 4,485
(352) 2 years
7 C-3 (Short-term visit) (224,879)
(71,680) 25 E-7 (Particular activities) 19,930
(710) 3 years
8 C-4 (Short-term employment) (1,200) 26 E-9 (Non-professional) 268,103
(7,399)
9 D:
Non-professional D-1 (Culture & art) 66
2 years 27 E-10 (Ship crewmen) 14,436 1 year
10 D-2 (Studying abroad) 67,939
(527) 28 F:
Long-term Stays & Family Relations
F-1 (Family visitation) 92,238
(2,526) 2 years
11 D-3 (Technical training) 29 F-2 (Residence) 38,909 5 years
12 D-4 (General training) 32,039
(1,574) 30 F-3 (Dependent family) 22,126
(532) Same as spouse
13 D-5 (News gathering) 88 31 F-4 (Overseas Korean) 354,801
6,965) 3 years
14 D-6 (Religious activities) 1,587 32 F-5 (Permanent resident) 127,377 No
15 D-7 (Overseas assignment) 1,751 33 F-6 (Marriage immigrant) 119,455 3 years
16 D-8 (Investment) 5,956 34 G: Others G-1 (Miscellaneous) 31,877 1 year
17 D-9 (Trade) 5,936 35 H: Working Holiday/Working Visit H-1 (Working holiday) Agreed period
18 D-10 (Job-seeking) 6 months 36 H-2 (Working visit) 263,999
(6,533) 3 years
2. Visa Categories
(1) Group A: Official work related to relations with other countries
1) Diplomacy (A-1): Diplomats and consular post members, and their families.
2) Official business (A-2): Civil servants working for other countries or international organizations, and their families.
3) Conventions (A-3): People without alien registration according to various Conventions, and their families. A typical example is those staying in Korea under the SOFA (the US-ROK Status of Forces Agreement).
(2) Group B: Short-term stays without visa
1) Visa-exempted (B-1): Activities related to bilateral visa-exempt agreements between countries. Korea has entered into such agreements with 102 countries as of June 2015.
2) Tour & transit (B-2): Entering for the purpose of travel or transit.
(3) Group C: Short-term stays (90 days or less)
1) Temporary broadcasting (C-1): Temporary news gathering and broadcasting activities
2) Short-term visit (C-3): Business activities like market surveys, business networking, consultation, and contract-making, as well as travelling, transit, medical treatment, visiting relatives, goodwill sports matches, and participating in event or conferences, etc.
3) Short-term employment (C-4): Earning money by means of circus shows, advertisements or fashion shows, lectures, research, technical instruction, etc. for a short period of time.
(4) Group D: Non-employment professional and long-term stays
1) Culture & art (D-1): Activities related to academic and artistic studies without pursuing profit.
2) Study abroad (D-2): Studying as part of a regular curriculum at a junior college or higher education institute.
3) Technical training (D-3): Training at Korean companies.
4) General training (D-4): Studying the Korean language at a language institute; technology or skill training in a public research center; and interns with foreign companies.
5) News gathering (D-5): Journalist activities assigned or contracted by a newspaper or other broadcasting company.
6) Religious activities (D-6): Missionary activities at branch offices or related religious organizations in Korea after assignment from a foreign religious or welfare group.
7) Overseas assignment (D-7): Assigned to associated or subsidiary companies after working at the head office of a foreign company for at least one year.
8) Investment (D-8): Foreign managers or engineers engaged in management and operation of foreign-invested compa
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