E-7 visa for graduates of Korean universities
In short
- What it is
- E-7 is for work under a contract with a public or private organisation in Korea, in an activity the Minister of Justice designates: 94 occupations as of August 2026.
- With a Korean bachelor's degree or higher
- If you take a job in a designated occupation, your major does not have to match and the experience requirement of 1 year is waived, when the need to hire you is accepted. With a Korean associate degree the occupation must relate to your major. Degrees from distance universities do not count, and where an occupation's entry sets its own requirement, that must be met.
- Pay standard
- From February 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026, E-7-1 needs at least 31,120,000 won a year under the Ministry of Justice's notice No. 2025-406; an occupation with its own standard follows that.
Not on this page: E-7-4, the points route for E-9 workers; the codes E-7-91, E-7-S, E-7-Y and E-7-T; and the list of occupations.
What kinds of E-7 are there?
The stay manual of September 18, 2026 counts 94 occupations as of August 2026, in the kinds below. Its table of codes also lists E-7-91, E-7-S, E-7-Y and E-7-T, which this page does not cover.
- E-7-1, professionals: managers and experts
- 67 occupations
- E-7-2, semi-professionals: office and service staff
- 10 occupations
- E-7-3, general skilled workers
- 14 occupations
- E-7-4, skilled workers on a points system
- 3 occupations
Every occupation has a code and an entry of its own in the manual (직종별 세부관리기준). Look yours up in the table of permitted occupations of the stay manual, then read its entry.
Who qualifies with a Korean degree?
- General requirement
- Any of these, the stay manual of September 18, 2026 says: a master's degree or higher in a field related to the occupation; a related bachelor's degree with 1 year or more of experience in the field; or 5 years or more of experience in a related field. Experience counts only from after the degree or licence, except that people working in high-tech fields such as IT, bio and nano may count an internship in the field done before graduation.
- An occupation's own requirement
- Where an occupation's entry sets its own education or experience, that is what must be met. The entry for robotics experts, for example, asks for a master's degree or higher.
With a Korean degree
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- Graduated or about to graduate from a Korean university: a job in a designated occupation is allowed whatever the major, with the 1 year of experience waived, when the need to hire is accepted.
- Associate degree
- Graduated or about to graduate from a Korean junior college: for a designated occupation related to the major, the 1 year of experience is waived and the job is allowed when the need to hire is accepted.
More on the degree rule
- Which schools
- Only degrees from universities, industrial universities, universities of education and junior colleges. Distance universities (broadcast, correspondence and cyber universities), technical colleges and miscellaneous schools are excluded.
- Recommendation letter
- Holders of a Korean associate or bachelor's degree, the manual's change-of-status rules say, may also take a job in an occupation that asks for a bachelor's degree plus 1 year of experience, and leave out the employment recommendation, except in occupations where a recommendation is mandatory.
Some occupation entries carry a clause of their own for graduates of Korean universities, tied to a ministry's recommendation; the entries for hotel desk clerks and shipbuilding welders are examples.
What if you graduated on a D-2-7 visa?
The stay manual of September 18, 2026 speaks of people who graduated on the work-study visa D-2-7 in more than one place, and not in the same words.
- Under the special requirements
- Inside the rule for holders of a Korean bachelor's degree or higher: a person who graduated on D-2-7 is exempt from the nationals-employment ratio.
- Under the change-of-status criteria
- A Government-invited scholar who graduated on D-2-7 is exempt from the nationals-employment ratio in every occupation; the bracket names professional, semi-professional and skilled-worker occupations.
- Under the notes on protecting nationals' jobs
- A Government-invited scholar who graduated on D-2-7 is exempt from the nationals-employment ratio and the company-size rule in professional, semi-professional and general skilled occupations, and similar occupations are read broadly.
Each sentence is about the visa a person graduated on, not about every GKS scholar. D-2-7 is a visa GKS scholars can ask for: GKS scholar visa
What is the E-7 pay standard?
The Ministry of Justice's notice No. 2025-406 of December 29, 2025 sets the minimum yearly pay that applies from February 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026. The stay manual: the amount that counts is the one announced as of the day you apply.
- E-7-1, professionals
- 31,120,000 won
- E-7-2, semi-professionals
- 25,890,000 won
- E-7-3, general skilled
- 25,890,000 won
- E-7-4, skilled, points-based
- 26,000,000 won
Beyond the table
- Occupations with their own standard
- The notice: an occupation for which the Minister of Justice has set a different pay standard follows that standard. The stay manual's wording: some occupations among the E-7-1 occupations and in E-7-3, such as shipbuilding welders and ship painters, follow the standard in their own entry.
- Smaller companies
- For small and medium-sized companies, venture companies and mid-sized companies outside the capital area, the manual allows a relaxed standard for up to 3 years: 70% of the previous year's GNI per person where 80% would apply, for a worker with no E-7 experience at Korean companies or 3 years or less of it. Where that and the year's announced amount differ, the more favourable one applies.
- Elsewhere in the manual
- The manual's change-of-status criteria word it differently: the announced standard for professionals, and “the minimum wage or more” for semi-professional, general skilled and skilled workers, with some occupations following their own standard.
- Contract
- The employment contract must state the working hours against the monthly or yearly pay, and both the hourly and the monthly pay must meet the minimum wage.
What must the employer meet?
The stay manual of September 18, 2026 states the rule on nationals' employment in more than one place.
- Change-of-status criteria
- In principle E-7 foreigners may be hired up to 20% of the nationals a company employs. A company that serves the domestic market with fewer than 5 nationals, or is already over 20%, is in principle refused new hires and changes of status. With a recommendation from the ministry in charge, the head of the immigration office may allow more: up to 50% in high-tech fields and 70% for well-performing exporters to special-language regions. An occupation with its own standard follows that.
- Notes on protecting nationals' jobs
- For professionals these rules are in principle not applied, the pay standard aside. As exceptions the notes name mechanical engineers, draftsmen, travel-product developers, overseas sales staff, translators and interpreters and others, along with semi-professional, general skilled and skilled workers.
How staff are counted
- Who counts as a national employee
- People on the employment-insurance roll for 3 months or more at the minimum wage or above; another line of the manual says regular staff employed for 3 months or more without a break. So in principle a company applies at least 3 months after opening.
- Taxes
- An employer with unpaid national or local taxes cannot sponsor an E-7 worker.
How do you change from D-2 or D-10 to E-7?
- Who
- A registered foreigner staying lawfully on D-2, D-10 or another status the manual lists, whose job falls under a work status and meets its requirements, with a contract signed with the employer's representative.
- When
- Before you start the job: the job-search plan form in the manual says so for D-10 holders.
- Job and income report
- Holders of a status that allows work, E-7 included, report their job and yearly income with each application for a change of status, an extension or a change of workplace: the job on the foreigner's job report form, the income in the yearly-income box of the application form. The manual's general section says an income certificate is left out because the tax office's data is linked; its E-7 pay rules say last year's income certificate from the tax office is mandatory for an extension and a change of workplace.
- Fee
- 100,000 won for a change of status. This change is not on the Ministry of Justice's list of online applications.
Documents
- Application form, passport and residence card, photo, fee
- Employment contract
- The employer's registration papers
- Papers proving your qualification: degree certificate, certificate of work experience, licence
- A ministry's employment recommendation or papers showing the need to hire
- National and local tax payment certificates
Documents issued outside Korea need a Korean or English translation, and the key ones a consular confirmation or an apostille: the manual's list for visa applications says so, and it is applied to changes of status as fits.
What applies after you get an E-7?
- Length of a permit
- 3 years is the most a single permit can give, 5 years for a few groups the manual names. The manual prints it as a ceiling for a single grant, not as a total.
- Changing employer
- Occupations on the manual's list need permission first; the list begins with mechanical engineers and draftsmen. Others report within 15 days of the change; an agent may make the report, and a visit to the office is the rule because the passport gets a sticker or a stamp. A person dismissed, or leaving early, through their own fault and without the former employer's consent cannot use the report.
- If the job ends
- A holder of E-7 whose contract ends, or whose work ends for a good reason, may change to D-10-1 to look again: up to 1 year in total, 6 months at a time, with no internship. D-10 job-seeker visa after a Korean degree
Extending
- Application form, passport and residence card, fee
- Employment contract
- Proof of your income, which is mandatory
- The employer's business registration
- Proof of where you live
- The employer's tax certificates
A guarantee of identity is asked only in occupations the manual lists. An E-7 extension is excluded from the applications the Ministry of Justice takes online.
Sources
StudySunbae is independent of the Korean Government. The Ministry of Justice says its manual can lag behind a changed guideline, and an immigration office may add or drop documents: confirm with the Immigration Contact Center (1345) or your immigration office before you apply.