Visa Support for Residence and Employment in Population-Declining and At-Risk Areas
The visa issuance project to attract foreigners to areas in Busan experiencing population decline will be fully launched.
The Busan Metropolitan Government (Mayor Park Hyungjoon) announced on the 20th that it will be recruiting foreign talents to participate in the region-specialized visa program from March 26 to April 25 to encourage the settlement of outstanding foreign professionals.
This year, Busan will be recruiting for three types: ▲Regional Specialized Outstanding Talent (F-2-R), ▲Regional Specialized Skilled Worker (E-7-4R), and ▲Regional Specialized Overseas Korean (F-4-R). The Overseas Korean type will be open for continuous applications from March 12, 2025, to September 30, 2026.
The region-specialized visa project is a foreigner policy initiative led by the Ministry of Justice, aiming to grant visa privileges to foreigners needed in specific regions to promote settlement in the local community, increase the resident population, stimulate economic activity, and curb population outflow. In Busan, the project will be implemented in three population-declining areas and two areas of concern for population decline.
In the population-declining areas (Seo-gu, Dong-gu, Yeongdo-gu), visas for Regional Specialized Outstanding Talent (F-2-R), Regional Specialized Skilled Worker (E-7-4R), and Regional Specialized Overseas Korean (F-4-R) will be issued. In the areas of concern for population decline (Jung-gu, Geumjeong-gu), only the Regional Specialized Skilled Worker (E-7-4R) visa will be issued.
The Regional Specialized Outstanding Talent (F-2-R) visa will undergo some changes in its main requirements starting in 2025.
The major changes include: ▲Raising the Korean language proficiency requirement from Level 3 to Level 4 ▲Adjusting the same nationality recommendation ratio per local government from 40% to 30% ▲Differentiating the number of employees allowed based on company size ▲Newly establishing income requirements based on the number of accompanying family members ▲Abolishing industry restrictions except for previously restricted employment sectors.
Starting this year, a new type of Regional Specialized Skilled Worker (E-7-4R) visa will be introduced, allowing those holding Non-professional Employment (E-9), Seafarer Employment (E-10), and Working Visit (H-2) visas to participate, as part of efforts to address the risk of regional extinction.
Unlike the existing Skilled Worker (E-7-4) visa, the Regional Specialized Skilled Worker (E-7-4R) visa grants special privileges on the condition of residing and working in population-declining (or at-risk) areas.
This year, the recruitment quota is ▲150 for the Regional Outstanding Talent type and ▲159 for the Skilled Worker type, while the Regional Specialized Overseas Korean type will be operated through ongoing recommendations without a set quota.
The quota for the Regional Outstanding Talent type has been expanded from 120 last year to 150 this year, and applicants can now apply based on income requirements in addition to academic qualifications.
The newly established Regional Specialized Skilled Worker (E-7-4R) visa will be flexibly managed within the existing Skilled Worker (E-7-4) quota of 159.
Those wishing to apply for a change to a Regional Specialized Outstanding Talent or Skilled Worker visa should prepare the required documents and submit their application in person at the relevant district office by 6 p.m. on April 25. Detailed information can be found in the public notices section of the city's official website.
The Busan Metropolitan Government plans to actively promote the region-specialized visa in cooperation with the relevant local governments and to implement robust settlement support policies to help outstanding foreign talents settle stably in the local community.
Lee Kyungdeok, Director of Planning at Busan Metropolitan Government, said, "With the addition of the Regional Specialized Skilled Worker visa this year and the expansion of participating areas, we will do our best to actively attract the foreign talents needed in each region so that they can settle as members of the local community."
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