What are the work permit requirements for foreign nationals in South Korea?
South Korea has no single work permit. The right visa depends on the role, and what's possible for a specific hire is worth talking through with the team early.
· South Korea guide
Illustration · Seoul, South Korea
South Korea has no single "work permit." Foreign nationals need a visa matched to the role: the E-7 visa for skilled and professional work, or the E-9 visa for non-professional work under the Employment Permit System. The employer files the application, generally through the Ministry of Justice's HiKorea portal.
Sponsorship support depends on the specific role and case. The best way to find out what's possible for a given hire is to get in touch with the team directly, early, before an offer goes out.
What visa categories exist for foreign hires in South Korea?
No single work permit. The correct visa depends entirely on the role.
E-7 visa, for skilled and professional roles. This is the main visa route sponsored by an employer, for white collar and skilled work. It splits into several types. E-7-1 is the most common, for general professional roles. E-7-2 and E-7-3 cover specific skilled trades and technical jobs the Korean government has approved. E-7-4 works differently. It is a points-based route, open only to people already in Korea on an E-9, E-10, or H-2 visa. They need over 200 points on Korea's K-Point system. They must also have lived in Korea for at least four of the last ten years. The 2026 quota for E-7-4 is 33,000 people. For E-7-1, the minimum annual salary from 1 February to 31 December 2026 is KRW 31,120,000. The employer must also show the pay on offer meets or beats the going industry rate.
E-9 visa, for non-professional roles. This sits under the Employment Permit System, known as EPS. It covers sectors such as agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, construction, and some service roles. The 2026 national quota for E-9 workers was cut to 80,000. That is down from 130,000 in 2025 and 165,000 in 2024. Places are limited and competitive, well before any one employer applies.
Whichever visa applies, one rule holds for every worker. The 2026 statutory minimum wage is KRW 10,320 an hour, and it applies no matter what visa someone holds. No introduction fee or training fee can push a worker's pay below that floor.
Who is eligible, and who applies?
The Korean employer applies, not the candidate. Processing generally runs two to six weeks, faster for a standard E-7-1 case.
E-7 eligibility generally needs one of three things. A master's degree or higher, in a field related to the job. Or a bachelor's degree plus at least a year of relevant work experience. Or five years of relevant experience with no degree at all. The employer files the case through the Ministry of Justice's HiKorea portal. Each case is reviewed on its own facts, so most employers work with an immigration lawyer.
Once a foreign hire is approved, the employer's job is not done. Korean law says every foreign worker must be registered for the country's four major social insurances, the same as a local hire: National Health Insurance, National Pension, Employment Insurance, and Industrial Accident Insurance. Since 2 January 2026, employment reporting for foreign workers must run through the HiKorea portal online. Any major change, such as a role change or an early departure, must be reported within 15 days.
How does visa sponsorship work with Teamed?
Not a single yes or no answer.
What's possible depends on the role, the visa category, and the specific case. The team reviews each request individually rather than working from a blanket policy.
South Korea is served through Teamed's vetted partner-entity network. Where sponsorship is being considered, the role and the visa category both matter, and each request is reviewed on its own facts before any commitment is made. Rather than guess at what applies to a specific role, the fastest way to know is to raise it with the team directly, early in the process.
Two narrower routes exist outside standard visa sponsorship, worth knowing about regardless of how a specific case resolves. K-ETA covers business visits, but does not allow paid work. A C4 visa allows short, defined project work, up to around three months at a time, filed at a Korean embassy or consulate before travel. Both fall well short of standing employment. A qualified Korean immigration adviser, or the team directly, can help work out which option, if any, fits a specific case.
What Teamed can still do
Two things, right now.
Teamed can run a South Korea salary simulation for the role today, and the team can talk through the visa question directly. Once it resolves, either through sponsorship or because the candidate already has status, Teamed is ready to onboard fast.
Once a candidate holds a valid visa or work status, independent of any sponsorship decision, Teamed becomes the legal employer of record from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up. Payroll, contracts, and the full Korean employment stack run on one platform. The South Korea hiring guide covers the full onboarding process once the visa question is settled.
Run the numbers before the offer goes out with the Employer Cost Calculator, or start from the South Korea hiring overview; each guide here takes one layer of Korean employment law.
Frequently asked questions
Can Teamed sponsor a work visa for a foreign hire in South Korea?
It depends on the role and the specific case. South Korea sponsors foreign hires through specific visa categories rather than one general work permit, and the right process depends on which one applies. The team can talk through what's possible for a given role.
What visa does my candidate need in South Korea?
It depends on the role. Skilled and professional roles generally need an E-7 visa. Non-professional roles, such as agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, or construction, fall under the E-9 Employment Permit System instead.
What if I'm not sure whether a role can be sponsored in South Korea?
A few routes are worth knowing about. The candidate can secure their own visa independently. For short project work, K-ETA covers business visits but does not allow paid work, and a C4 visa allows limited project work filed at a Korean embassy abroad, though neither is full EOR employment. Getting in touch with the team early is the fastest way to find out what fits a specific role.
What if my candidate already has the right to work in South Korea?
Then hiring is straightforward. A Korean national, or a foreign national who already holds independent, valid Korean work status, needs no sponsorship, and onboarding can proceed right away.
Can Teamed help once the visa question is settled?
Yes. Teamed can run a South Korea salary simulation for the role now, and stands ready to onboard the candidate the moment their visa or status is confirmed.
A Korean work visa is tied to the sponsoring employer, not to the worker, and not to any brand built on top of it. What's possible depends on the role and the specific case, which is exactly why it is worth raising early, before an offer goes out, not after.
A work visa sits with the employer, not with the relationship built on top of it. We would rather talk through the visa question with you early than have a candidate find out at offer stage instead of the first conversation.
Get in touch before you make the offer, not after.
Once the candidate has their own visa or status, we are ready fast.
Looking for a job in Work Permits yourself? Teamed does not hire people directly. Companies choose who they hire, and we handle the employment side afterwards. Here is why we cannot help with your search.
