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日本語F-5 (Permanent Resident) holders are free from limits on activities and length of stay under Article 10-3(1) of the Immigration Act, so a company can hire them for any occupation without an employment permit. The employer report under Article 19 of the same Act (within 15 days of a resignation, contract change or similar event) applies only to employers of foreigners with an employment status, so F-5 employees are not covered. At hiring, check the status and expiry date on the permanent residence card, and file the employment insurance acquisition report on the same basis as for Korean employees.
What do you check when hiring an F-5 holder?
| Item | Applies to F-5 employees? | Condition | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupation limits | No | F-5 holders have no limits on activities or length of stay, so you can hire them for office, production or service work | Immigration Act Art. 10-3(1) |
| Employment permit | Not needed | The Enforcement Decree of the Foreign Workers Act excludes F-5 holders from the foreign workers covered by that Act | Foreign Workers Act Article 2 proviso; Enforcement Decree Article 2 subpara. 2 |
| Employer report to immigration on resignation or contract change | Does not apply | F-5 is not among the employment statuses subject to the report (Enforcement Decree Art. 23(1) and 23(5)) | Immigration Act Art. 19(1); Enforcement Decree Art. 23(1) |
| Employment insurance | Applies | The whole Employment Insurance Act applies to an F-5 holder with an employment contract, so no separate application to join is needed, but the employer must still file the acquisition report | Employment Insurance Act Art. 10-2(2); Enforcement Decree Art. 3-3 subpara. 1(b) |
| Permanent residence card | Check needed | The card is valid for 10 years and the holder must have it reissued before it expires | Immigration Act Art. 33(3) and 33(4) |
Does the company have to report the hire to immigration?
Article 19(1) of the Immigration Act requires anyone who employs a foreigner with a status that allows employment under Article 18(1) to report to the immigration office within 15 days when the foreigner is dismissed, resigns or dies, cannot be located, or when an important part of the employment contract changes. Article 23(1) of the Enforcement Decree lists those statuses as C-4 (Short-term Employment), E-1 (Professor) through E-10 (Crew Employment) and H-2 (Working Visit), and Article 23(5) treats an H-1 (Working Holiday) holder who works as having such a status. F-5 is not within this scope.
So when an F-5 employee joins or leaves, or when the contract period changes, the company does not file the report on changes in employed or trained foreigners with the immigration office. If an E-7 (Special Occupation) employee at the same company resigns or has a contract change, the company must report within 15 days, so keep track of each employee’s status separately.
How does employment insurance apply?
Article 3-3 subparagraph 1(b) of the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act applies the whole Act to an F-5 holder who has an employment contract. Subparagraph 2 of the same article applies the whole Act to foreigners not covered by the Foreign Workers Act who hold F-4 (Overseas Korean) status or an employment status only when they apply to join, so F-5 employees are handled the same way as Korean employees. Because the whole Act applies, its exclusion rules also apply in the same way as for Korean employees.
Under Article 15 of the Employment Insurance Act and Article 7(1) of its Enforcement Decree, the employer must report acquisition of insured status by the 15th of the month after the month in which the employee was hired. If the employee asks for an earlier report, it must be filed without delay.
What do you check on the permanent residence card?
The alien registration card issued to an F-5 holder is called a permanent residence card, and under Article 33(3) of the Immigration Act it is valid for 10 years. Article 33(4) requires the holder to have it reissued before it expires, and failing to do so can lead to a fine of up to KRW 2,000,000 under Article 100(1)4 of the same Act. For people who obtained permanent residence before September 21, 2018, Article 33-2 of the Act sets a separate reissue deadline, and their card is treated as valid until it is reissued. Reissue is the holder’s duty, but checking the status and expiry date on the card at hiring lets you remind the employee in advance. A mobile alien registration card issued under Article 33(6) has the same effect as the alien registration card.
Steps
- Before hiring: check on the permanent residence card (or mobile alien registration card) that the status is F-5 and when the card expires.
- Employment contract: sign the contract the same way as with a Korean employee. There is no employment permit procedure.
- Employment insurance acquisition report: file it by the 15th of the month after the month of hiring.
- Resignation or contract change: no immigration report is needed; file the loss of insured status report by the 15th of the month after the month in which the reason for loss occurred.
This post was checked as of November 7, 2026 against the immigration, foreign workers and employment insurance laws registered in the National Law Information Center, the Ministry of Justice press release (December 16, 2025) and the Ministry of Justice stay manual by status (November 6, 2026).
Frequently asked questions
If an F-5 employee moves to another company, must they report the change of occupation?
F-5 is not on the list of statuses that must report a change of occupation. Article 49-2 subparagraph 6 of the Enforcement Rule of the Immigration Act limits the occupation change report to holders of the statuses in Enforcement Decree Article 23(1) to 23(3) and of D-7 (Intra-company Transfer) through D-9 (Trade Management), and the Ministry of Justice press release (December 16, 2025) also states that F-5 holders are excluded from employment information reporting. However, if their name or nationality, or passport number or validity changes, they must report the change of alien registration details within 15 days under Article 35 of the Act.
Do F-5 employees count toward the foreign employee ratio for E-7?
No. The Ministry of Justice stay manual says that when calculating the foreign employee ratio for occupations that protect Korean employment (within 20% of Korean employees), one of the E-7 employer requirements, F-5 holders are excluded from the number of foreign employees.
What if you learn that an employee’s permanent residence card has expired?
Ask the employee to have it reissued and check the new card. Article 33(4) of the Immigration Act places the duty to have the card reissued before it expires on the holder, and breaching it can lead to a fine under Article 100(1)4 of the same Act.
Can you hire an F-5 holder part-time?
Yes. F-5 holders have no limits on activities, so you can hire them in any type of work arrangement and no separate permit is needed.
How NewWorldJob checks
NewWorldJob (Hwang Yunsang Job Placement Agency) checks the status and expiry date on an F-5 job seeker’s permanent residence card before introducing them to a hiring company.
Hwang Yunsang Administrative Office prepares and submits immigration reports and applications, such as alien registration change reports, on your behalf under a separate contract. Whether you use this service has no effect on job placement.