Specific Activities E-7 (professional and skilled personnel)

E-9 assigns non-professional workers through government-to-government referrals, while E-7 lets a company designate and hire professional or skilled personnel in a specific occupation. For E-7, occupational eligibility and an individual review of education and experience are central.

Each occupation has a prescribed combination of degree and work-experience requirements. In general, a bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant field, an associate degree plus experience, or substantial experience is required; the detailed criteria must be checked in the Ministry of Justice's annual guidelines.

It is a category that assesses foreign workers with a long domestic residence history through a points system and converts them to skilled-functional personnel. It is a major route for extending into long-term employment workers who have worked under E-9 or similar status.

For international students who graduate from a Korean university (D-2), conversion to E-7 upon meeting the requirements is a typical route. The connection between the major and the role, as well as company requirements, must be reviewed together.

Depending on the industry, limits apply to the ratio of foreign employees to Korean employees, as do workplace requirements. Before hiring, confirm how many foreign workers your company may employ in the relevant occupation.