Working Visit
방문취업 — Long-term residence / employment (non-professional). Special Employment Permit System (특례고용허가제) for ethnic Koreans of foreign nationality.
At a glance
Ethnic Koreans holding foreign nationality (외국국적동포), aged 18-55, from designated countries: China and six former Soviet / CIS states (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,…
Up to 3 years per initial stay; extendable to a total of up to 4 years 10 months when an employment-extension confirmation is obtained from the Ministry of Employment…
Employment allowed only in industries designated by the Foreign Workforce Policy Committee (외국인력정책위원회) under the Special Employment Permit System – historically…
No formal TOPIK level is mandated to hold H-2.
Who can apply
- ✓Ethnic Koreans holding foreign nationality (외국국적동포), aged 18-55, from designated countries: China and six former Soviet / CIS states (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan).
- ✓Historically issued to compatriots without close domestic relatives (unlike F-4).
- ✓NOTE: after the 2026-02-12 F-4 integration, this category is no longer issued to new applicants.
Documents you'll need
- Passport
- visa application form
- document proving Korean ethnic descent (family register / ancestry proof)
- certificate showing designated-country nationality
- documents required by the entry route (e.g. invitation, lottery selection, or self-departure confirmation depending on sub-route). After entry, for employment: foreigner registration card
- and for work-start reporting, a change-of-registration report (외국인등록사항 변경신고서) plus passport and registration card. (Exact document set varies by sub-code/route and by the destination immigration office – confirm on hikorea.go.kr.)
How to apply
- Historically an overseas embassy visa (사증) via routes such as relative invitation, lottery selection, or self-departure; new issuance discontinued from 2026-02-12 (integrated into F-4), so current activity is extension or conversion to F-4.
- Entry has historically been via several routes (e.g. relatives / personal ties (연고) invitation, lottery selection, self-departure procedures).
- After arrival, holders must complete orientation/employment training and register for job-seeking before starting work.
- Because new issuance stopped on 2026-02-12, current activity is mostly extensions and conversion to F-4 rather than new applications.
Stay & extension
Up to 3 years per initial stay; extendable to a total of up to 4 years 10 months when an employment-extension confirmation is obtained from the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
Extension of stay up to the 4-year-10-month total requires an employment (re-)extension confirmation from the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Given the 2026-02-12 integration, holders are generally guided toward converting to F-4; extension/conversion procedures should be confirmed at the local immigration office or hikorea.go.kr.
(Specific 2026 transitional extension rules are (unverified) beyond the official statement that existing holders retain status until expiry.)
Working on this visa
- Employment allowed only in industries designated by the Foreign Workforce Policy Committee (외국인력정책위원회) under the Special Employment Permit System – historically manufacturing (small-scale), agriculture/livestock, fishery, mining, part of construction, and most service sectors (e.g. accommodation, restaurants, welfare/social services, domestic help).
- Prohibited sectors include entertainment/adult-entertainment establishments, gambling, and similar (e.g. entertainment bars, bathhouses, video/karaoke rooms, game arcades).
- Workers must file a work-start report (취업개시/근로개시 신고) with the immigration office within 14-15 days of starting employment (change-of-workplace also reportable).
- Employers must hold the special employment confirmation from the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
Requirements in detail
No formal TOPIK level is mandated to hold H-2. New entrants must complete orientation/employment training (approx. 16 hours, within about 15 days of entry, at the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation or a designated foreign-worker training institution).
Korean ability / social-integration program completion becomes important for upgrading to E-7-4 or (post-2026) for the F-4 pathway and its social-integration education.
Overseas-Korean resident numbers were historically capped by the Foreign Workforce Policy Committee (외국인력정책위원회); new H-2 intake stopped 2026-02-12, so there is no current issuance quota. (specific historical cap unverified)
H-2 itself is not points-based; the onward change to E-7-4 (Skilled Worker) requires at least 200 of 300 points.
Employment requires the employer’s Special Employment Permit confirmation (특례고용가능확인서) from the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
For the H-2 to E-7-4 upgrade, 4+ years of employment on E-9/E-10/H-2 within the past 10 years is required; no general work-experience waiver applies to H-2 itself.
Sub-types
Historically H-2-1 through H-2-99 by entry/selection route (relative invitation, lottery, self-departure, change-of-status, etc.). (exact definitions unverified)
No standard accompanying-dependent visa under H-2.
Applies — existing H-2 holders with foreigner registration and an ARC can issue the mobile Alien Registration Card (외국인등록증) (from 2025-01-10).
2025–2026 policy updates
- 2026-02-12 (effective): Ministry of Justice implemented the overseas-Korean residence-status (F-4) integration (동포 체류자격(F-4) 통합) – the overseas-Korean statuses of F-4 and H-2 were unified under F-4, removing nationality-based distinctions for roughly 860,000 resident compatriots; new H-2 issuance discontinued and existing H-2 holders may convert to F-4.
- A new dedicated division (the Overseas Korean Residence Integration Division, 동포체류통합과) was created (announced 2025-12-31) to implement the integration and expanded social-integration education.
- Alongside, F-4 (post-integration) was allowed to legally perform a defined set of simple-labor occupations (per the ‘scope of employment-activity restrictions for Overseas Korean (F-4) status’ notice (재외동포(F-4) 자격의 취업활동 제한범위), Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2026-65 (법무부고시 제2026-65호)). 2025-12-16: MOJ expanded the online employment-information reporting system on HiKorea (covering H-2 and other statuses). 2026 E-7-4 (skilled worker) transition quota set at about 33,000 (down from ~35,000 in 2025) – relevant as the H-2/E-9 upgrade path (quota figure via news, (unverified) against a primary source).
Common mistakes
- Assuming H-2 can still be newly obtained – it cannot after 2026-02-12 (integrated into F-4).
- Working in a prohibited sector (entertainment/gambling) which voids the permission.
- Failing to file the work-start report within the required period.
- Confusing H-2 (designated-country compatriots, employment-focused, age/route limited) with F-4 (broader overseas-Korean status).
- Overlooking the 4-year-10-month cumulative stay cap and the employment-extension confirmation requirement.
Where this leads
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