South Korea Immigration Services

Newland Chase offers full support with all aspects of corporate immigration to South Korea. Please find an overview of the typical corporate immigration processes below. Every situation is unique, so please do get in touch, either through your usual Newland Chase contact or using the details on the right hand side of the page. Our immigration experts will be glad to discuss your needs in greater detail.

Immigration Summary

The D-7 Visa for Intra-Company Transfer in Korea is the appropriate category for transferees moving to a Korean branch or liaison office that is registered with the Korean Government, for an initial stay of between one and two years (renewable indefinitely).

The E-7 Visa for Local Hire is for employees hired by an entity in Korea, with local contract and payroll, for an initial stay of between one and two years (renewable indefinitely). The job description must match one of 83 categories of occupation classified by the immigration department in Korea.

The D-9 Visa (Treaty Trader) is the appropriate category for transferees working at their employer's client company in South Korea, for an initial stay of between one and two years (renewable indefinitely) if the sending company does not have its own Korean entity that can sponsor a visa. The assigning overseas company should have a major agreement for the supply of major industrial machinery and equipment or major intangible goods (like enterprise software) for which the assignee performs related services. The salary must be paid by the sending company.

The D-8 Visa for Inter-Company Transfer is the appropriate category for employees of an overseas parent company (or its overseas affiliate) being transferred to a Korean subsidiary registered as a foreign-invested company with the Korean government, for an initial stay of between one and three years (renewable indefinitely).

D-8 applicants who require visas to enter Korea will need to apply for a short-term business C-3-4 visa at the Korean consular post in the country of residence or nationality (dependents who require an entry visa will need to apply for a C-3 visitor visa). Visa waiver nationals may enter Korea without a visa.

Nationals of high TB-burden countries who are also resident in any of these countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam) must submit a 'Certificate of Health', including TB test result, issued by a hospital designated by the relevant Korean consular post, when applying for a long-term visa (more than 90 days) at a consular post. Children aged 5 years and under are exempt from this requirement.

The C-4 Short-Term Employment Visa is required for for-profit activities that generate revenue, for up to 90 days, including installation, repair, inspection and acquisition of know-how of operation of machinery.