E-7-1, E-7-2, E-7-3, and E-7-4 Visa Korea: The Four Tiers Explained

The E-7 visa is not a single category. It is four distinct tiers, each with different occupation lists, salary requirements, eligibility paths, and restrictions. Filing under the wrong tier is an automatic rejection, and many applicants -- and their Korean employers -- do not realize the tiers exist until immigration sends the denial.

Here is how each tier works.

E-7-1: Professional Personnel

This is the tier most foreign professionals will apply under. It covers 67 occupations split into two groups:

Managers (15 roles): Enterprise executives, finance managers, sales directors, production managers, and similar senior positions.

Experts and Specialists (52 roles): Software developers, data scientists, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, chemical engineers, translators, interpreters, and professionals in fields like biotechnology, aerospace, and international business.

Eligibility: A Master's degree with no experience required, a Bachelor's degree plus one year of post-degree experience, or five years of professional experience without a degree. Graduates from a top-200 university (QS or THE rankings) or employees of a Fortune Global 500 company for one year or more receive preferential treatment.

Salary floor (2025): 28,670,000 KRW per year. This replaced the previous floating standard tied to 80% of GNI per capita, which would have required closer to 35-40 million KRW based on recent GNI growth.

Key restriction: Five specific roles -- Mechanical Engineers, Draftspersons, Travel Product Developers, Overseas Salespersons, and Interpreters -- face heightened scrutiny under the 5:1 Korean-to-foreign employee ratio. Companies hiring for these roles must demonstrate stronger justification for why a Korean national cannot fill the position.

E-7-1 is the tier with the clearest path to the F-2-7 resident visa and eventually F-5 permanent residency.

E-7-2: Semi-Professional Personnel

E-7-2 covers 10 occupations that fall between professional and technical roles. These include office workers in specialized fields, medical coordinators, and certain service providers. The distinction from E-7-1 is that these roles do not require the same level of advanced expertise or academic specialization.

Eligibility: Generally a relevant diploma or Bachelor's degree with demonstrated competence in the role. The experience requirements are less rigid than E-7-1, but the applicant must still prove that their skills are not easily replaceable by domestic workers.

Salary floor (2025): 25,150,000 KRW per year.

E-7-2 holders can still transition to F-2-7 and F-5 status, but they accumulate fewer points in the education category of the F-2-7 scoring system, making the 80-point threshold harder to reach without compensating through higher income or Korean language proficiency.

E-7-3: General Skilled Labor

E-7-3 targets technical trades with 10 designated occupations, including welding, industrial machinery operation, construction equipment operation, and certain automotive mechanics roles. These are skilled manual positions that require demonstrated technical certification but not necessarily a university degree.

Eligibility: A technical certification or diploma in the relevant trade, plus documented work experience. The Ministry of Justice may accept vocational school credentials and trade certificates from the applicant's home country, provided they are apostilled and translated.

Salary floor (2025): 25,150,000 KRW per year -- the same as E-7-2.

E-7-3 is newer and was expanded in recent years as Korea recognized labor shortages in manufacturing and construction that extended beyond the unskilled E-9 category. Pilot programs have recently added roles like aircraft parts manufacturers and caregivers to address acute sectoral shortages.

E-7-4: Points-Based Skilled Technical Workers

E-7-4 is fundamentally different from the other three tiers. It does not accept fresh applications from abroad. Instead, it is a points-based transition pathway for foreign workers already in Korea on E-9 (non-professional employment), E-10 (maritime), or H-2 (working visit) visas.

How it works: Workers who have been in Korea on an E-9, E-10, or H-2 visa and want to continue working after their initial visa period can apply for E-7-4 status by passing a points assessment. The scoring evaluates Korean language ability (TOPIK scores), duration of stay, skill certifications, employer evaluations, and age.

Salary floor (2025): 26,000,000 KRW per year.

Key difference: E-7-4 selection criteria were significantly expanded recently, allowing more workers to transition rather than being forced to leave Korea when their E-9 or H-2 visa expires. This reflects the government's recognition that retaining experienced workers is more efficient than cycling new ones through the Employment Permit System.

E-7-4 holders can eventually pursue F-2 and F-5 residency, but the points calculation for F-2-7 tends to be harder because E-7-4 holders typically score lower in the education category.

Which Tier Should You Apply Under?

The decision is not yours or your employer's to make freely. Your tier is determined by the occupation code your role maps to:

The occupation code matters more than the job title. A "Full-stack Developer" might map to "Computer System Designer" (2221) or "Web Developer" (2223), and the wrong code will trigger a rejection even if the role itself is legitimate. Your employer's HR department or a Haejungsa (administrative attorney) should verify the exact KSCO mapping before filing.

Salary Comparison and Planning

These are floors. Your salary must also meet or exceed the prevailing average for Korean workers in the same role. Offering exactly the minimum for a senior engineering position will raise red flags with immigration even if it technically meets the threshold.

For the complete list of occupation codes, salary benchmarks by role, and the tier-specific document requirements, see the South Korea E-7 Work Visa Guide.

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