I had a meeting with a professor from the hotel-related department at a university in Gyeonggi Province.
The topic of the meeting was about the career paths and employment visa issues for foreign students studying hotel-related in Korea after they graduate from domestic universities.
Of course, just because you work in a hotel doesn't mean you can only get a job as a hotel receptionist or accommodation-related manager out of the 87 job categories available for the E-7 visa.
If, for example, the applicant graduated in culinary arts, and if both the company and the applicant meet the necessary requirements, they could potentially work as a chef in a hotel restaurant. Additionally, other job categories like product planning specialists or casino dealers might be available depending on the applicant's education, major, and experience, as well as the specific field (department, division) the hotel is looking to hire for. The choice of job category can vary greatly.
※ When applying for an E-7 visa, the most crucial factor is finding the most suitable job category based on the applicant's education, major, and experience, while considering the field (department, division) they will be working in.
It's more important to understand what department the applicant will be working in and what their role will be, rather than just identifying what the company does.
However, for foreign nationals who have graduated from hotel-related programs, the most fitting job categories are likely to be hotel receptionists and accommodation-related managers.
Hotel receptionists, in particular, are one of the job categories that require applicants to obtain a Letter of Recommendation for Employment from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism when applying for the E-7 visa.
Today, let's take a closer look at the requirements for obtaining a Letter of Recommendation for Employment from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism for hotel receptionists and accommodation-related managers.
First, let's examine the eligibility and requirements for obtaining a Letter of Recommendation for Employment for hotel receptionists and accommodation-related managers among the E-7 visa categories as announced by the Ministry of Justice's Immigration and Foreigners Policy Bureau.
E-7 Visa Hotel Receptionist Eligibility and Requirements
❍ (Job Description) - Individuals working in hotels who handle customer reception, reservations, check-in, check-out, and various guest service tasks ❍ (Examples of Eligible Occupations)
Front desk clerks ❍ (Recommendation Letter Issuer) - Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism ※ Mandatory ❍ (Qualification Requirements) - General criteria apply. However, individuals without degrees are restricted, with a limitation on those with over 5 years of experience in the relevant field. ❍ (Employer Criteria) - Hotels falling under the definitions of tourism hotel, waterfront tourism hotel, Korean traditional hotel, and family hotel according to Article 2 of the Tourism Promotion Act Enforcement Decree with foreign guests accounting for more than 40% of the total annual accommodation guests in the previous year. ❍ (Maximum Allowed Employees per Establishment) To protect domestic employment, a maximum of 2 foreign employees per hotel, with a total limit of 400 employees (pilot program). ❍ (Visa Issuance) Single-entry visa with a maximum stay of 2 years
❍ (Residence Management, etc.) General criteria apply ※ As you can see, the recommendation letter from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is mandatory. The maximum number of foreign employees that can be employed as hotel receptionists in each hotel is two. There is a condition that foreign guests should exceed 40% of the total annual accommodation guests in the previous year. However, considering the current circumstances, the standard for the previous year refers to 2019, and due to the closure of international travel caused by COVID-19, no hotel, regardless of its type, could have had more than 40% of foreign guests among the total accommodation guests in 2021. Therefore, this standard is temporarily relaxed, allowing applications if the foreign guest room utilization rate in 2019, before the pandemic, was 40% or higher, until June 30, 2023.
E-7 Visa Hotel Receptionist Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Recommendation Letter Issuance Requirements
- You can apply for a recommendation letter if you meet any of the following criteria
1. Holding a master's degree or higher
2. Holding a bachelor's degree in a related field and having at least 1 year of experience in the same field (the degree can be in any major)
3. Holding a domestic bachelor's degree (including specialized bachelor's degrees in related fields) without the need for work experience.
4. Employer criteria: Hotels that fall under tourism hotel, waterfront tourism hotel, Korean traditional hotel, and family hotel categories according to the Tourism Promotion Act, with a foreigner occupancy rate (OCC) exceeding 40% among the total annual accommodation guests in the previous year (based on the Ministry of Justice's standards).
* Foreign specialized bachelor's degrees are not eligible.
※ Relevant Major Fields: Tourism, Hotel Management, etc.
※ Note that points 1 and 2 refer to individuals who have completed their education abroad
※ Point 4 also follows the explanation provided above, taking into account the foreign guest room utilization rate in 2019.
※ Pay close attention to point 3.
- If you have graduated from a domestic university, whether it's a 4-year or 2-year college, you can apply as long as your major matches, even if you don't have work experience. However, this only pertains to the issuance of the recommendation letter, not the E-7 visa issuance requirements. Naturally, having relevant work experience is much more advantageous when applying for the E-7 visa.
Now, let's look at the requirements for individuals in accommodation-related management roles. Accommodation-related managers are included in the E-7 visa category for managers in accommodation, travel, entertainment, and sports-related fields.
E-7 Visa Accommodation, Travel, Entertainment, and Sports-Related Manager Eligibility and Requirements
❍ (Job Description)
- Individuals who plan, direct, and coordinate the operations of businesses or departments related to accommodation, travel, entertainment, and sports.
❍ (Examples of Eligible Occupations)
- Hotel managers, hotel general managers, casino managers, travel agency managers (general travel, overseas travel), tourism and leisure business managers (comprehensive amusement facilities, resort condominiums), sports facility department managers (e.g., golf course).
※ Not eligible: Inn managers
❍ (Letter of Recommendation for Employment Issuance)
- Mandatory for travel agency managers and tourism and leisure business managers - Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism
❍ (Required Documents) General criteria apply (However, travel agency managers need to include a copy of their tourism business registration certificate)
❍ (Qualification Requirements, Visa Issuance, and Residence Management, etc.) General criteria apply
※Note that the requirement for foreign guests comprising more than 40% of total annual accommodation guests in the previous year, as set by employment agency standards for hotel receptionist hiring in the previous year (2019), does not apply to the recruitment of accommodation-related managers.
※ I have mentioned this before.
The 15 managerial job categories are not the same as those applied to regular employees. These are job categories that real managers, typically at the level of department heads or higher executives, apply for. Therefore, salary is also subject to evaluation criteria. For instance, I have seen cases where applications for managerial positions were denied due to low salaries, with an example being an application for a managerial position with a salary of 40 million won three years ago. Therefore, I strongly recommend not applying for managerial positions unless the salary is at least 40 million won (ideally stable at 50 million won or higher). It is difficult to believe in the sincerity of employment when hiring hotel managers or hotel general managers at the salary level of regular employees.
Next, let's look at the requirements for obtaining a Letter of Recommendation for Employment from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism for accommodation-related managers under the E-7 visa category.
E-7 Visa Accommodation-Related Manager Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Letter of Recommendation for Employment Requirements
- Job Description: Individuals who plan, direct, and coordinate the operations of accommodation-related businesses or departments.
- Examples of Eligible Occupations: Hotel managers, hotel general managers, resort condominium managers.
- Qualification Requirements: If any of the following conditions are met, you can apply for a Letter of Recommendation for Employment
1. Hold a master's degree or higher in a relevant field
2. Hold a bachelor's degree in a relevant field and have at least one year of experience in the same field
3. Have at least five years of work experience in a relevant field
※ This Letter of Recommendation for Employment is specifically for positions like hotel managers or hotel general managers. Therefore, it's crucial that the applicant's major field of study matches the relevant field (hotel management), and their work experience should also align with this field.