Today, we will look into the targets and requirements for the E7 visa Mechanical Engineering Technicians, which is one of the most applied or previously applied occupations among male foreigners (including international students) under the E7 visa category.
In fact, Mechanical Engineering Technicians are one of the occupations that undergo precise examination by the immigration office. Previously, there were many cases where this visa was applied for purposes other than employing foreign workers as professional personnel in manufacturing or factories, as described in the job description. In other words, they were often used for other purposes (simple labor force) and many such cases were detected. Therefore, when hiring foreign workers as Mechanical Engineering Technicians, the immigration office often conducts unannounced field investigations.
※ Of course, this applies not only to Mechanical Engineering Technicians but also to any E7 visa occupation if the immigration office suspects any irregularities.
Moreover, due to the abuse of the system, the issuance of employment recommendation letters, which were previously advantageous during the E7 visa application process, has been abolished. One of the fundamental requirements of the E7 visa, "one E7 foreign worker per five Korean employees," does not apply, and the number of Mechanical Engineering Technicians that a company can hire is limited to two, regardless of the number of Korean employees. If the company has less than ten regular employees, it cannot hire Mechanical Engineering Technicians at all.
You will realize that the requirements for this occupation are more detailed and strict compared to other occupations.
E7 Visa Mechanical Engineering Technician Targets and Requirements
❍ (Job Description)
◆ Research, design, develop mechanical devices and systems for heating, ventilation, air purification, power generation, transportation, and production, and perform tasks related to the evaluation, installation, operation, and maintenance of mechanical systems.
❍ (Example of Eligible Occupations)
◆ Press mold design technicians, plastic mold design technicians, casting mold design technicians, injection mold design technicians, heating equipment technicians, air conditioning device technicians, ventilation device technicians, ventilation machinery technicians, refrigeration machinery technicians, heat exchanger designers, clean room air conditioning equipment design technicians, GHP developers, heat exchanger developers, air purification design technicians, construction machinery (design) technicians, etc.
❍ (Issuance of Employment Recommendation Letter)
◆ Abolished due to system abuse.
❍ (Qualification Requirements)
◆ General standards apply.
- However, if a person who has stayed in Korea with an E-9 qualification applies based on over 5 years of experience, they must have at least a bachelor's degree.
※ There are cases where companies that have employed E9 workers apply to hire them as E7 visa Mechanical Engineering Technicians based on their over 5 years of simple labor experience. In such cases, the applicant must have a bachelor's degree or higher. It's rare for E9 workers to have a bachelor's degree, so this can be interpreted as discouraging simple labor applications.
※ "General standards" refer to the basic qualification requirements for the hiring company and applicant when applying for an E7 visa.
❍ (National Employment Protection Review Criteria) Applicable Targets
- (Employer Requirements, etc.) National employment protection review criteria apply, but employment is restricted if the company has less than 10 regular employees.
- (Permitted Number of Employees) Maximum of 2 per company.
※ The national employment protection review criteria mean that one E7 foreign worker can be hired for every five Korean nationals registered in employment insurance. This shows that there are strong special requirements beyond the basic national employment protection.
❍ (Visa Issuance and Residence Management, etc.)
◆ General standards apply. However, the following conditions apply for extension of stay
◆ (Extension of Stay)
- During the extension review, the previous year's salary records are checked, and if wage requirements and company requirements are not met, the residence permit may be restricted.
- Foreign nationals who do not meet the requirements may be granted a shortened extension period or have their residence permit restricted.
- Companies that do not pay wages according to the submitted employment contract and abuse this will be restricted from inviting new foreign workers.
※ In simple terms, when extending the E7 visa, if the conditions have changed from when the E7 visa was first applied for, i.e., if the documents submitted for the E7 visa issuance were just for the sake of obtaining the visa and the employment has devolved into simple labor, the extension will not be granted, and inviting new foreign workers will also be restricted.
◆ (Change of Workplace)
- Restrictions on changing or adding a workplace. However, exceptions are allowed only in cases of closure or business deterioration (regardless of nationality).
※ Even if a transfer agreement is obtained, workplace changes are not allowed except for the above reasons.
This seems to be a stricter condition than for E9 workers, indicating how much this occupation has been abused and problematic.
◆ (Change of Job-seeking Qualification)
- If a person with an E-7 (Mechanical Engineering Technician, Drafter) qualification applies for a change to job-seeking status, nationals of 21 countries with high rates of illegal stay are allowed 3 months + 3 months, while other nationals are processed according to the D-10 (job-seeking) visa regulations.
If the aforementioned individuals find a new workplace while on a job-seeking status, they must re-enter the country through a visa issuance confirmation letter (regardless of nationality).
※ This seems almost uncharacteristic of an E7 visa. Even if someone manages to obtain a D10 visa after resignation and luckily finds a company in Korea that meets the requirements for E7 employment, they cannot change their status in Korea. They must leave and re-enter the country.