E-9, H-2 Visa Issuance Numbers 70,128 to 114,596 Applied
H-2 Workers Must Obtain Special Employment Confirmation for Legal Employment
Minister of Employment and Justice: "Expected to Alleviate Workforce Shortage in SMEs and Rural Areas"
[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has decided to extend the domestic stay period of up to 110,000 foreign workers by one year to strengthen the workforce in small and medium-sized enterprises and rural fishing villages. Even foreign workers whose maximum five-year employment activity period has expired will be able to work in Korea until the end of next year.
The government announced on the 13th that it resolved on the 12th to extend the employment activity period by one year for foreign workers who are having difficulties entering and exiting the country until December 31. The amendment to the "Act on the Employment, etc. of Foreign Workers," which includes related details, will be promulgated and enforced from that day. This measure reflects the reality that the number of foreigners entering Korea has sharply decreased due to the spread of COVID-19.
According to the government, the number of people who introduced the non-professional employment visa (E-9), issued to general foreign workers, dropped sharply from 51,365 in 2019 to 6,688 last year. From January to March this year, it was only 1,412. The number of foreigners registered with the visiting employment visa (H-2), mainly issued to compatriots from China and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) who came to Korea for employment purposes, also decreased from 63,339 in 2019 to 6,044 last year. As a result, the total number of E-9 visa issuances decreased from 277,000 in 2019 to 231,000 as of last February, and H-2 visa issuances decreased from 226,000 to 143,000.
From today until December 31, foreign workers whose employment activity period ends will be allowed to stay in Korea for one more year from that date. For example, a foreigner whose stay period ends on December 31 will be able to remain in Korea until December 30 of next year. Those among the E-9 visa holders who had previously received a 50-day extension of their employment activity period will also be included in the one-year extension measure. For H-2 visa holders, only those who have obtained a special employment eligibility certificate from the employment center and have reported the start of work will be granted a one-year extension. According to a Ministry of Employment and Labor official, "Many H-2 visa holders work as daily workers and travel between Korea and China, and in many cases, employers do not properly follow the legal employment verification procedures."
The number of foreign workers who will receive the one-year extension will vary depending on how many H-2 visa holders complete the legal employment verification process. The government expects the measure to apply to a minimum of 70,128 and a maximum of 114,596 people. Currently, 7,889 H-2 visa holders have confirmed legal employment. If all eligible workers for the one-year extension complete the legal employment verification process, the number of applicable people is expected to increase to 52,357. For E-9 visa holders, the measure will apply to all 62,239 eligible for the extension.
Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment and Labor, said, "The difficulties of foreign workers entering and exiting the country due to COVID-19 are significant, but the manpower shortage in small and medium-sized enterprises and rural and fishing villages that cannot find foreign workers is also severe. I hope this measure will alleviate the difficulties of foreign workers and employers even a little." Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, said, "We expect this measure to help frontline sites such as manufacturing and rural fishing villages experiencing labor shortages. We hope that the introduction of new foreign workers, which is currently limited depending on the quarantine situation, will return to normal as soon as possible."
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