E-7-4R (Regional-Specialized Skilled Worker) Korea Visa Guide | 2026

1. What E-7-4R Is

E-7-4R is the skilled-worker track of the 지역특화형 비자 program — a regional variant of the mainstream 숙련기능인력(E-7-4) upgrade, reserved for holders who commit to working and living in a population-declining or population-decline-adjacent area. Eligible applicants are registered foreigners who have held E-9, E-10, or H-2 status for a set number of years within the last 10, currently working normally at their existing employer, and who have not held E-7-4R or its family status within the last 5 years. A holder already on E-7-4 whose current workplace sits in a qualifying area can also convert their sub-code (E-7-4 → E-7-4R) at their next extension, without going through a full status-change review.

2. Eligibility Checklist

• Base gate: local-government recommendation letter, 3+ years of residence-plus-employment commitment in the recommended region, and a points-test score of 200+ out of a possible 300, with income and Korean-language sub-scores each independently required to be 50+ points.
• Points table — base items: (A) average income over the last 2 years, scored on a sliding scale from 50 points (KRW 25,000,000-29,999,999/yr) up to 120 points (KRW 50,000,000+/yr) — agriculture/livestock/fishery/coastal-shipping workers qualify at a lower KRW 24,000,000+/yr floor; (B) Korean ability, scored 50/80/120 points for TOPIK 2급/3급/4급+ (or equivalent 사회통합프로그램 stage/사전평가 score bands); (C) age, scored 40 (19-26), 60 (27-33), 30 (34-40), or 10 (41+) points.
• Points table — bonus items (stackable, max noted per item): central-ministry recommendation 30, metropolitan-government recommendation 50 (only one of these two counts if both apply), employing-company recommendation 50, 3+ years at current employer 20, 3+ years working in a population-declining/adjacent or 읍/면-level area 20, holding a relevant domestic license/degree 10, holding a Korean Class-2-or-higher driver's license 10.
• Points table — deductions (max stated caps): fines under KRW 3,000,000 (up to 20 pts across repeat offenses), tax-arrears-triggered stay restrictions (up to 15 pts), 3-or-fewer immigration-law violations resulting in administrative action (up to 15 pts) — all counted only within a recency window, and fines/arrears/violations already reflected elsewhere are not double-counted.
• Salary floor for the E-7-4R contract itself: KRW 26,000,000+/yr (KRW 25,000,000+/yr for agriculture/livestock/fishery/coastal-shipping), contract term 1+ year, work start within 3 months of a workplace-change application (waived if staying with the current employer).
• Employer/company gate: sponsoring business must already employ registered E-9/E-10/H-2 workers under the existing 숙련기능인력 quota system, be current on national/local tax, and stays within the same tiered max-headcount table used for F-2-R (3 workers at 1-5 Korean employees, scaling to a 50-person cap above 151 Korean employees) — with special carve-outs for construction (headcount tied to certified construction capacity) and for employers simultaneously hosting both E-7-4 and E-7-4R workers.
• Extension (2nd cycle) requirements tighten the entry bar: KRW 26,000,000+/yr salary confirmed at the CURRENT employer (KRW 25,000,000+/yr agri/fishery), continued residence in a qualifying area, a fresh 2+-year E-7-4R employment contract, and TOPIK 2급+/사회통합프로그램 2단계+ Korean ability if not already verified at the initial change — with a time-limited Korean-language grace period running through '26.12.31 letting applicants defer the language requirement to their first 2-year renewal, provided all other criteria are met (failing to close the language gap within that window caps a further extension at 6 months and blocks family sponsorship).

3. Criteria Summary

• E-7-4R is not a points-based category.
• The definition above is taken from the manual's own wording for this code.
• Numeric thresholds, stay periods and fees are set in the manual's tables and annexes and are deliberately not reproduced here — confirm the current figures before filing.
• Where a rule depends on another status, check that status's own criteria too; several of these codes take their conditions from a principal holder.

4. Salary and Contract Rules

• The manual does not attach a salary or contract framework to this code specifically.
• Where income or financial capacity is assessed, it is evidenced with the documents named under that requirement rather than against a published floor.
• If your circumstances involve employment, verify separately whether this status authorises it — several of these categories do not.
• Do not assume the salary rules of a neighbouring code apply; they are set per status.

5. Employer and Workplace Change Rules

• Employer sponsorship is not the organising basis of this code.
• Any economic activity must fall within what the status authorises; where it does not, activity-outside-status permission is the mechanism.
• Report changes of circumstance that bear on the ground for the status.
• Keep the evidence that established eligibility available for extension reviews.

6. Required Documents

• Application form, passport, standard photograph and the fee.
• Evidence establishing the ground on which this status is claimed, as described above.
• Residence and identity documents as required at the counter.
• Any further documents the reviewing office considers necessary.

7. Fees and Processing

• Fees follow the published schedule for the application type rather than the subtype.
• Processing time varies by office workload and by how clearly the qualifying ground is evidenced.
• Where a principal holder's status governs the period granted, the principal's expiry date is the practical constraint.
• Apply with margin before any existing permission expires.

8. Common Rejection Reasons

• The qualifying ground for this specific code is not established by the evidence.
• The circumstances fit a neighbouring code better, making this a category mismatch.
• Supporting documents are incomplete, inconsistent, or out of date.
• An underlying condition the status depends on has ceased to apply.
• Unresolved immigration compliance history.

9. FAQ