About the Center
The E-Visa Center, which is taking full charge of online civil affairs and visa issuance services on a national scale, was established to provide expedited visa issuance services for international talent and foreign group tourists via online and to handle civil affairs in relation to immigration and sojourn matters for foreigners residing in the nation, based on remote operation services.
Main responsibilities
Foreign employees who have worked legally in Korea for 5 years or more during the recent 10 year period on E-9, E-10, or H-2 Visa.
Ineligibility: Criminals, tax delinquents, and those who have violated the Immigration Act more than 4 times. (However, those who have cleared overdue taxes are eligible to apply)
Employment Quota Limits
E-Visa Issuance
| Category | Eligibility | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Group | Foreign Group Tourist (C-3-2) |
|
| Individual | ① Professor(E-1), Researcher(E-3), Technical Instructor(E-4), Professional(E-5), Foreign National of Special Ability(E-7) recommended by relevant organizations such as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, etc. ② Dependent family (F-3) of foreigners that fall under item ① ③ International Student (D-2) on Master’s degree course/ PhD program at accredited university ④ Foreign patients and the dependent family(C-3-3, G-1-10) invited by Medical Institution for Attraction of Foreign patients ⑤ Foreign scientist (C-4) invited by a government-funded research institute or accredited university |
Processed at the E-Visa Center since July, 2016 E-Visa Issuance of Short-Term General (C-3) for foreign scientists entered into force as of April, 2018 |
However, companies currently employing foreign workers on E-9 or E-10 are allowed to employ minimum 1 worker.
- Processing Foreigners’ e-Applications
- Integrated processing of sojourn related e-Applications from 9 Immigration Offices* nationwide (240 thousand cases annually, managing 58.2% of e-Applications in the nation)
Seoul, Seoul Southern, Suwon, Sejongno, Pyeongtaek, Ansan, Goyang, Cheonan, Mokpo
- 1345 Call Center (Immigration Contact Center)
- The E-Visa center operates the 1345 Call Center to offer counselling services on Immigration and Sojourn matters as well as information services on living in Korea in 20 languages including English and Chinese, etc.
What are the impacts?
The E-Visa Center contributes to enhancing the national competitiveness by facilitating the entry procedures for foreigners making good use of the nation‘s state of the art IT technology, which serves to substantially attract international talent and foreign tourists into the nation.