Today, I will post about a recent case of changing the workplace of the E7 visa (Overseas Salesperson).
The client was a young Chinese female student who had recently graduated from college and was working in the position of an overseas salesperson at a clothing company that retails to China with an E7 visa.
However, due to the impact of COVID-19, the financial situation of her original company deteriorated, leaving only 2 out of 5 employees. The problem was that the company had not paid her salary for two months, and the company's representative was nowhere to be seen. Even when the client sent messages on KakaoTalk, there was no response. Eventually, the client reported the unpaid wages to the Ministry of Employment and Labor and decided to join a new company that wanted to hire her. She then requested me to assist with the change of her E7 visa workplace.
Today, let's look at the approval for reporting a change in the workplace for the E7 visa and delve into the overseas salesperson, one of the most commonly applied positions for the E7 visa.
Workplace Change Additional Report
Eligibility
- Foreigners registered and residing with specific activity (E-7) qualifications, excluding 14 professions such as sales clerks, who have the necessary qualifications to work in the new workplace.
※ Even if you meet the qualifications, if you were dismissed or resigned due to your own fault and did not receive the consent of the original employer, you are excluded.
Reporting Procedure
- The person obligated to report (foreigner) must report to the head of the Immigration and Foreigner's Office (office/branch) within 15 days from the date of the occurrence of the reason for the report.
※ Since the workplace change/additional report sticker or the reporter's stamp/entry must be attached or stamped on the passport, in-person reporting is the principle.
※ Please note that if you were dismissed or resigned due to your own fault, you are excluded from the application unless you have the consent of the original employer (subject to application for workplace change approval or visa issuance certificate).
Workplace Change Additional Approval
Applicable Professions
Those who need prior management due to restrictions on the number of employees allowed per employer, such as
- Mechanical Engineering Technician (2351),
- Draftsman (2395),
- Overseas Salesperson (2742) for online product sales,
- Designer (285),
- Sales Clerk (31215),
- Kitchen Manager and Cook (441),
- Customer Service Clerk (3991),
- Hotel Reception Clerk (3922),
- Medical Coordinator (S3922),
- Aquaculture Technician (6301),
- Ship Welder (7430),
- Skilled Workers under the Point System [Root Industry Skilled Worker (S740),
- Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Skilled Worker (S610),
- General Manufacturing and Construction Skilled Worker (S700)
Required Documents
① Proof of business closure, official proof related to unpaid wages, VAT declaration, etc. (any one of the relevant documents)
② Consent letter from the original employer (excluding cases of business closure, unfair practices such as unpaid wages, violation of employment contract conditions, or if you worked until the end of the employment contract period)
③ Documents to review the qualifications of the newly contracted company (submit according to the documents attached when applying for a visa issuance certificate).
As we've seen, among the overseas salespersons (2742), those selling products online overseas must obtain permission before changing their workplace. When applying for a change of workplace approval, a guarantee of identity must also be submitted.
※ If you are just an overseas salesperson, you should report within 15 days.
Let's look at the criteria for the client's submitted documents. In her case, since she is changing her workplace due to unpaid wages, she doesn't need one of the most important documents for workplace change approval, the consent letter from the original employer. However, she will definitely need proof related to unpaid wages, right? One of the strongest documents is the unpaid wage confirmation issued by the Ministry of Employment and Labor where she reported the unpaid wages.
Let's look at document ③. It says, "Documents to review the qualifications of the newly contracted company (submit according to the documents attached when applying for a visa issuance certificate)."
You might think, "I'm not getting an E7 visa issued, but just changing or getting approval for the workplace, so why do I have to submit the same documents again?" However, the nature of the E7 visa itself is a typical working visa issued for the reason of hiring the applicant by the company. Since the company has changed, it makes sense to think that you need to be reviewed again. And for a workplace change, there should be some alignment between the field of the hiring company and the applicant's major and experience.
※ The requirements for the applicant remain unchanged.
However, since the company has changed, you should carefully review the requirements of the company. For instance, if the combination of the previous company and the applicant was most ideal for an overseas salesperson, and thus received the E7 visa under the overseas salesperson code, the new company should also meet the qualifications to hire an overseas salesperson. If they don't meet the requirements to hire an overseas salesperson, you should look into other job categories. And if the job category changes, you need to prepare new documents corresponding to that category.
Let's take a look at the criteria, requirements, and necessary documents for overseas salespersons.
※ For reference, the documents listed below are not only required for the notification of workplace change approval but also, as previously explained, when initially applying for the E7 visa as an overseas salesperson (or when changing residency status to E7 visa within the country).
E7 Visa Overseas Salesperson
❍ (Job Description)
- Individuals who perform sales activities necessary to sell products to overseas buyers and sales activities to import products from overseas sellers, and others who contribute to enhancing national competitiveness through overseas sales activities.
※ Includes individuals who manage overall tasks such as selecting and registering products for sale on online shopping malls, managing inventory, responding to customer inquiries, and shipping ordered products.
❍ (Possible Job Examples)
- Overseas salesperson, trade salesperson, import/export salesperson ※ Restricted: Trade clerks (3125)
- Restrictions: Domestic online mall salesperson, individuals managing sales products, individuals only packing products for shipment, trade clerks (3125)
❍ (Employment Recommendation) Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy (KOTRA, Trade Association)*
* Employment recommendation is mandatory for employers or those who meet the special criteria for the number of employees allowed per company.
❍ (Criteria for Protecting Employment of Nationals) Applicable
- Separate criteria apply for foreign investment companies and export companies targeting special language regions.
- Criteria for protecting the employment of nationals, such as company requirements and the number of employees allowed per company, are applied. However, foreign investment companies and export companies targeting special language regions have special exceptions* applied.
* (Annual sales of over 100,000 USD + employing at least one national) and (annual sales of over 100,000 USD + export companies targeting special language regions) are allowed to employ one foreigner.
* Export companies targeting special language regions with annual sales of over 500,000 USD: Employment of foreigners is allowed within 70% of the national employment.
- (Other matters) If there are no specific measures to protect the employment of nationals, such as company size, employment ratio, and minimum wage, the general criteria are fully applied.
❍ (Qualifications, Visa Issuance, and Residency Management, etc.) General criteria apply.
◈ Separate application for overseas online product salespersons
(For overseas salespersons, trade salespersons, and import/export salespersons, the existing regulations apply.)
❍ (Company Requirements) Must meet all of the following:
ⅰ) The business type should be trade (registered with the Trade Association).
ⅱ) The previous year's overseas export performance should be over 5 billion KRW.
ⅲ) Must have office space for the salesperson (remote work or dispatched work is not recognized).
❍ (Educational and Experience Requirements) Separate requirements apply:
ⅰ) Must have at least an associate's degree from a domestic institution.
ⅱ) Must have a bachelor's degree from overseas and at least one year of experience in the relevant field or have a master's degree or higher.
❍ (Qualifications)
- Must possess a Korean Language Proficiency Test (TOPIK) Level 3 or higher certificate.
❍ (Visa Issuance and Residency Management, etc.) General criteria apply but with enhanced post-management.
- (Visa Issuance Certificate) Single-entry visa with a maximum stay of 1 year.
- (Extension of Stay) During the extension of stay review, if the wage requirements are not met based on the previous year's salary record, restrictions on residency approval apply.
․ For foreigners who do not meet the requirements, a shortened extension period is granted.
․ For companies that do not pay wages according to the submitted employment contract and violate or abuse this, restrictions apply to new invitations (employment).
- (Workplace Change) Restrictions on workplace changes and additions. Even in cases of inevitable workplace changes due to business closure or deteriorating business conditions, you must leave the country, get a visa issued, and then re-enter.
- (Activities Outside of Qualifications) Restrictions on granting permission for activities outside of qualifications.
- (Additional Documents) Proof of trade performance, proof of office space, Korean language proficiency proof.
❍ (Number of Employees Allowed) : Only for cases with an annual export performance of over 5 billion KRW.
- For performance between 5 billion and 10 billion KRW: Up to 40 people.
- For performance over 10 billion KRW: No personnel restrictions. However, employment of foreigners is allowed within 70% of the relevant field.
Required Documents
1.Original and copy of the passport.
2.Original and copy of the alien registration card.
3.Integrated application form (template).
※ When changing residency qualification (or reissuing the alien registration card), attach a passport photo.
4.Proof of residence (lease agreement or notice of expiration of the stay period).
*If the period has passed: Gas, electricity, rent receipt.
*If someone else provides accommodation: Accommodation confirmation letter and a copy of the ID of the person providing the accommodation.
5.Proof of income (applicant).
*If the previous year's income proof has not been issued yet, the original tax withholding receipt for labor income.
6.Foreigner's job and annual income declaration (applicant).
7.Copy of the employment contract.
8.Degree certificate, TOPIK score certificate, qualification certificates, etc. (applicant).
9.Business registration certificate, corporation registry (company).
10.Identity guarantee letter, copy of the employer's ID (company).
11.Employment insurance enrollee list (company).
12.VAT proof, financial statements (company).
※ For new corporations, corporate account transaction history (3 months).
13.Payment proof, tax payment certificate, local tax payment certificate (company).
14.Employment justification letter (manpower utilization plan) (template) * If necessary, employment recommendation letter (issued by the relevant ministry).
15.Overseas sales-related contract (company).