Bringing in technical staff, performers, or short-term workers?

Korea's E-7 visa is the main channel for hiring foreign professionals and skilled workers directly, alongside two narrower categories — C-4 for short-term technical/performance work and D-9-2 for machinery installation technicians.

E-7-1: professional employment (67 approved occupations)

Covers two occupation groups the Ministry of Justice designates: 15 manager-level roles (senior executives, business/finance/IT/culture/construction/production/sales/hospitality managers) and 52 professional roles spanning IT (developers, network/security engineers, data specialists), engineering (architecture, civil, chemical, electrical), science/R&D, finance and insurance, law, translation/interpretation, design, nursing, and education. Standard E-7 eligibility applies on top of the specific occupation's own requirements: a master's degree related to the role, or a bachelor's degree plus 1+ year of relevant experience (with further alternate paths per occupation). E-7-1 holders can bring a spouse and children to Korea, and the visa is a recognized track toward F-2-7 residence and eventual F-5 permanent residency.

E-7-4 (K-point skilled-worker visa): converting from E-9/E-10/H-2

For workers already in Korea on E-9, E-10, or H-2 status with 4+ years of cumulative stay in the past 10 years (time can combine multiple stints in the same job/employer) who are currently working normally:

• Points — 300-point scale, 200+ required, with categories for current-employer recommendation (mandatory, also worth points), 3+ years at the current employer, 3+ years in a shrinking region, certifications, and a Korean associate degree or higher.
• Income — 2-year average earnings ≥ KRW 26M/yr (₩25M for agriculture/livestock/coastal-shipping workers) — ordinary wage, not total compensation.
• Korean ability — TOPIK level 2, Social Integration Program stage 2, or a level-3 preliminary placement — temporarily deferred until December 31, 2026 for otherwise-qualified applicants, but family invitation is blocked and the stay period capped at 6 months until it's met.
• Employer side — must currently employ E-9/E-10/H-2 workers; E-7-4 headcount is capped at 30% of the employer's Korean staff (50% in shrinking regions or designated "root industries"), with a minimum 1-worker (2 in shrinking regions/root industries) allowance even for smaller employers. A tax-delinquent business cannot sponsor.

E-7-4R: the regional-specialized version

Created February 2025 for Korea's 89 population-decline regions and 18 "at-risk" regions — same 300-point/200-minimum K-point framework as E-7-4, but with faster eligibility (2 years' stay + 1 year at the current employer in an at-risk region, or no minimum current-employer tenure at all in a shrinking region — versus 4 years for standard E-7-4) plus a mandatory regional-government recommendation. E-9 holders can move to E-7-4R after just 2 years in an at-risk region (vs. 4 years for regular E-7-4). E-7-4R holders can bring a spouse who's also permitted to work locally in simple-labor categories (agriculture, forestry, livestock, domestic help, childcare, nursing), and after 3 years can convert to F-2-R residence.

C-4 (short-term technical/performance work) and D-9-2 (machinery technicians)

C-4 covers short-term paid activity under 90 days that doesn't fit a long-term work category — machinery installation and commissioning, performances, and model/advertising shoots are the most common uses we handle. D-9-2 is the dedicated visa for foreign technicians dispatched to install or maintain industrial machinery in Korea, typically tied to an equipment-supply or maintenance contract with the Korean buyer.

Why employers get this wrong

The E-7-4/E-7-4R point calculation and the employer-side headcount cap are the two places self-filed applications most often fail — the 30%/50% employer quota is easy to miscalculate (it's based on 4-major-insurance enrollment records, not a simple headcount), and the Korean-language deferral deadline creates a hard stop that catches employers off guard when it lapses.