What can and can't I do with a D-7 intra-company transferee visa?

D-7 is for essential professional staff sent by a foreign head office to its Korean branch or affiliate. It only allows you to work for that company. To earn money from other work, you usually need permission first.

What you can do

• Work at the Korean branch, office, or affiliate you were sent to (as essential professional staff, such as an executive, senior manager, or specialist)
• If you worked at an overseas local company and were sent to the Korean head office, teach or learn professional knowledge and skills at the head office
• Attend regular schools such as elementary, middle, and high schools or universities. No permission is needed if it does not harm your original purpose of stay.
• Teach foreign language conversation to coworkers inside your company
• Do unpaid volunteer conversation teaching at schools, religious facilities, community centers (주민센터), and similar places
• Move within the same group of affiliated companies. You do this with a report of change in alien registration details (외국인등록사항 변경신고), not a permit to change workplace.
• Give lectures at a university for up to 90 days. This is possible if you work at a Korean company as a full-time director or higher and get permission for activities outside your status of stay.

What you can't do

• Being hired directly by a Korean company when you were not sent by the head office
• Doing general staff work that is not essential professional work
• Working at another company or doing part-time jobs without permission
• Paid conversation lessons, or cases where conversation teaching becomes your main work

💡 Good to know

D-7 can be granted for a maximum of 3 years at a time. If the branch has received almost no operating funds, or has no record of paying taxes, the review may go against you. To do other work, you must first get permission for activities outside your status of stay. The fee is 120,000 KRW.

If you are not sure whether the work you want to do is allowed, check with HiKorea (hikorea.go.kr) or 1345 before you start.