Ministry of Justice Alarmed as 'Mass Visa-Free Entry of Chinese Nationals in April' Rumors Spread on SNS

"Visa-Free Foreigners Allowed Only Short-Term Stay"
"Chinese Nationals Account for Only 0.2% of Skilled Workers"

On the 19th, the Ministry of Justice pointed out that there are "inaccurate parts" regarding the posts rapidly spreading through social networking services (SNS) such as Facebook, claiming that "from April, a large number of Chinese nationals will enter visa-free." In a press release to reporters that afternoon, the Ministry of Justice refuted some of the claims circulating on SNS by stating, "It is unrelated to visa-free entry and is not limited to any specific country."

Recently, posts have been shared on SNS and online communities stating that due to changes in the entry system, a large number of Chinese nationals will enter Korea without a visa starting next month. Provided by the Ministry of Justice

Earlier, posts were shared on SNS and online communities stating that due to changes in the entry system, a large number of Chinese nationals would enter South Korea visa-free starting next month. As these posts spread, many people expressed concerns. The main content of the posts was that "the Chinese visa-free entry system will begin in April, and the quota for skilled workers (E-7-4) visas will expand from 2,000 to 35,000, resulting in a large influx of Chinese nationals entering visa-free."

As the controversy grew, the Ministry of Justice explained, "The skilled worker (E-7-4) visa is granted to non-professional foreign workers (E-9) who have stayed for more than four years and possess a certain level of Korean language proficiency." The Ministry added, "In September 2023, the quota for this qualification was expanded from 2,000 to 35,000, but this is unrelated to visa-free entry. Also, it is not limited to any specific country."

Furthermore, the Ministry emphasized, "Among the 31,869 people currently staying under the skilled worker (E-7-4) visa, only 78, or 0.2%, are Chinese nationals as of February this year." They also added that the visa-free entry system allows foreigners entering visa-free to stay for short-term visits of up to 90 days under the tourist/transit (B-2) status, which is unrelated to skilled workers.