Need an E-series work visa or student work permit?

Korea's employment visa system spans several distinct categories — E-2 for native-speaking instructors, E-7 for specific-activity professionals (including the E-7-4 skilled-worker track), E-9 for non-professional employment, and E-6 for entertainers — each with its own eligibility, employer, and document requirements. A D-2 or D-4 student visa holder considering part-time work, or an employer converting a foreign worker to E-7-4 status, faces the same complexity from the other side of the filing.

What this covers

• E-2 visa filing, extension, and workplace change/addition for native-speaking instructors
• E-7 (specific activity) filing across all five sub-categories — E-7-1 (management/professional, 15 management occupations plus 52 specialist occupations like life-science and applied-software roles), E-7-2 (semi-professional, occupations like airline clerks, hotel front-desk staff, and tour guides), E-7-3 (general skilled occupations), E-7-4 (skilled-worker track with its own income/wage-level requirements), and the negative-list E-7-S1/S2 tracks for high earners and advanced-industry workers
• E-9 non-professional employment visa filing
• D-2 (student) and D-4 (general training) visa holders' part-time work eligibility and related status questions
• D-2 to D-10 (job-seeking) and D-10 to E-7 status-change filings for graduating students moving into employment
• E-6 (arts/entertainment) visa filing and extension for musicians, artists, models, and hotel-venue performers — built around proving genuine artistic professionalism, not just a job offer
• Employer-side support: the 20%-of-Korean-headcount cap on E-7 hires, minimum-wage and tax-compliance requirements, and government skilled-worker conversion recommendation letters

E-6 (entertainer) visa: the employment recommendation letter is the crux

Unlike most work visas, E-6 hinges on a performance/employment recommendation letter (고용추천서) issued by the relevant government body (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Media Rating Board, etc.) for the specific genre — this, not just a contract, is what proves the applicant's artistic legitimacy:

• Initial filing requires the recommendation letter, a detailed employment contract (pay, term, and duties spelled out precisely), a sponsor's guarantee letter, and stay-address proof
• Extension (filed from 4 months before expiry) requires an entirely new recommendation letter matched to the new contract term, plus evidence the prior period's performances actually happened and were paid as contracted (withholding tax receipts, etc.), and a review of the venue's own facility and administrative-penalty history
• The hard line: working outside the designated venue, or doing general service work like serving tables, is strictly prohibited on E-6 status — getting caught blocks the extension outright

What we handle

• Confirming which E-series category and sub-category fits the specific job and employer, and the wage/qualification threshold that applies
• Preparing and filing the visa application, extension, or workplace change
• D-2→D-10→E-7 sequencing for graduating students moving directly into employment, including the general (degree + experience) and special (world-top-500-company experience, top-university graduate, Korean-university graduate) qualification paths
• E-7-4 conversion filings for employers, including the government recommendation letter process
• E-6 recommendation-letter applications and extension filings, including venue and performance-history documentation
• Advising D-2/D-4 student visa holders on part-time work permission before they start a job

How the process works

1. We confirm the correct visa category for the role and the applicant's qualifications.
2. We prepare the application, including employer documentation where required.
3. We file with immigration and follow through to approval, extension, or workplace-change confirmation.

Who typically needs this

Native-speaking instructors filing or extending an E-2 visa, skilled workers and their employers pursuing E-7/E-7-4 status, employers hiring under E-9, and international students on a D-2/D-4 visa who want to work part-time legally.

Common mistakes

• Assuming a job qualifies for E-7-4 without checking the current income/wage-level threshold, which is updated periodically
• A D-2/D-4 student working part-time without the required permission
• Applying under the wrong E-series category for the actual work being performed

Timeline

Processing time varies by visa category and immigration office caseload; wage-level and eligibility criteria should be confirmed before filing, since they're updated periodically.

Considering an investor visa instead of an employment visa? See our FDI company setup & D-8 investor visa service.