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It has become impossible for non-professional employment (E-9) foreign workers to immediately obtain a region-specific visa (F-2-R). From now on, you must first obtain an E-7-4 visa and then convert to an F-2-R visa.
On December 8, the Ministry of Justice released details of the 2024 Regional Specialized Visa (F-2-R) regional talent system.
Residence status that does not allow for F-2-R visa application
The Ministry of Justice has released details related to the 2024 F-2-R visa system in advance, and most of the contents are not much different from this year. However, it is noticeable that E-9 foreign workers are excluded from the list of applicants. Early this year, the Ministry of Justice allowed E-9 foreign workers as there were not many applicants due to the strict application requirements for regional-specific visas (F-2-R), but decided to exclude them next year.
Excluded visa types are as follows: Non-professional employment (E-9), technical training (D-3), general training (D-4), hotel entertainment (E-6-2), seasonal work (E-8), seafarer employment (E-10), Others (G-1), tourism employment (H-1)
Therefore, E-9 workers will have to make more efforts to obtain an E-7-4 visa in the future.
Relatively, international students can now apply for F-2-R under better conditions.
Basic requirements for regional-specific visa
The two basic requirements for a region-specific visa are still Korean and income or education. ① Korean Language Proficiency Test level 3 or higher (Completion of social integration program level 3 or higher. *From 2025, it will be raised to Korean Language Proficiency Test level 4 or social integration program level 4 or higher. ② Only one of the two income or education level must be met (Income: GNI per capita of the previous year) More than 70%, educational background: holders of a domestic associate's degree or higher). In addition, a visa is issued on the condition that ▲ employment or business start-up in an area with a decrease in population has been confirmed as of the date of application ▲ residence and employment in the local government of the project target ▲ residence and employment or start-up in an area with a decrease in population for more than 5 years. If this is violated, the visa will be disqualified. Cancellation ▲Duplicate applications from multiple local governments are prohibited, so in the case of duplicate applications, additional requirements are added, such as cancellation of permits and restrictions on applications for the same year.
Invitation and employment of accompanying family members
Foreign talented local talent who receive a regional-specific visa (F-2-R) can invite accompanying family members, including spouses and minor children. However, if there are four or more accompanying family members invited, they must prove an income of at least 1 times GNI.
The invited spouse (F-1) can also start a business by applying for ‘permission to engage in activity other than that permitted under the status of residence permit’ in the relevant region. However, the spouse must complete at least level 2 of social integration within two years.
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