South Korea Professional Work E-7 in 2026
The E-7 status covers designated occupations requiring specified professional, semi-professional, general-skilled or skilled-worker qualifications. For many internationally recruited professional employees, the relevant category is E-7-1.
E-7 is not an open work permit
The Ministry of Justice divides E-7 into subcategories including:
- E-7-1 professional personnel;
- E-7-2 semi-professional personnel;
- E-7-3 general skilled personnel; and
- E-7-4 skilled-worker points categories.
The job must fit a designated occupation and the applicant must satisfy the education, experience, licensing or other criteria that apply to that occupation.
2026 general E-7-1 wage criterion
The Ministry of Justice notice for 2026 sets the general annual wage criterion for E-7-1 at KRW 31.12 million or more for the period from 1 February through 31 December 2026.
That number is not a universal guarantee of eligibility. The same notice says occupations for which the Minister of Justice sets a different wage standard use that separate standard.
Qualifications and employer matter
A Korean employer normally needs to support the qualifying activity and employment arrangement. The applicant's degree, professional experience or license must match the occupation rules where required.
A high salary in an occupation that does not fit an E-7 category does not by itself create eligibility.
E-7 and direct Korean employment
For foreign professionals directly hired in Korea, E-7 is one of the main long-term employment frameworks. It is different from:
- Corporate Investor D-8, which is tied to foreign-invested companies/investment activity;
- Digital Nomad F-1-D, which is designed around overseas remote work; and
- Job Seeker D-10, which is a preparatory/job-search status rather than the final employment status.
E-Visa processing exists for specified cases
The Korea Immigration Service E-Visa Center lists certain recommended E-7 applicants among the categories that can use centralized electronic visa processing. This does not mean every E-7 application qualifies for e-visa treatment.
Family
Eligible E-7 holders can generally sponsor qualifying spouse and minor-child dependants under F-3, subject to the family-status rules. F-3 itself is not open work authorization.
See Dependent Family F-3.
Permanent residence
E-7 can contribute to a person's long-term lawful stay, but permanent residence depends on the relevant F-5 category and its separate requirements. Do not assume a fixed number of E-7 years automatically guarantees F-5.
Review Permanent Residence F-5 or the Korea immigration hub.
Verified against Ministry of Justice/Korea Immigration Service sources on 20 September 2026.
Official and supporting sources
- Ministry of Justice — 2026 E-7 wage criteriagovernment · accessed 2026-09-20
- Korea Immigration Service — 2026 visa issuance scalegovernment · accessed 2026-09-20
- Korea Immigration Service — E-Visa Centergovernment · accessed 2026-09-20