Hiring Foreigners at a Korean Restaurant: Visas for Hall and Kitchen Staff

A Korean restaurant can hire F-5 (Permanent Residence) and F-6 (Marriage Migrant) holders, and F-2 (Residence) holders in the sub-categories set by the Enforcement Decree, as hall or kitchen staff without job restrictions. F-4 (Overseas Korean) holders can also be hired for serving, kitchen assistant and cooking work, but duties that match the restaurant delivery worker or liquor service worker jobs in the Notice in principle cannot be assigned to them. D-2 (Student) holders may work only with permission for activities outside their status, and H-2 (Working Visit) and E-9 (Non-professional Employment) workers are hired through the Job Center procedure.

Cartoon illustration of a male server in a black apron holding a tray of Korean dishes and a female cook in a white chef's jacket plating food at the kitchen counter, both smiling in a bright Korean restaurant

Which visas can a restaurant hire for hall and kitchen work?

Status	Hall or kitchen hiring	Condition	Legal basis
F-5	Any hall or kitchen duty can be assigned	Permanent residence carries no limit on activities, so only the status shown on the card needs checking	Immigration Act Article 10-3(1)
F-6	Any hall or kitchen duty can be assigned	There is no employment restriction by status category, so check that the period of stay has not expired	Decree Article 23(2)3
F-2	Can be assigned if the sub-category fits	Holders under items (d) and (f) are free of restrictions only while working in the field of their previous status, so check whether restaurant work is that field	Decree Article 23(2)1 and 2
F-4	Can be hired for hall and kitchen work	Duties that match restricted jobs in the Notice, such as restaurant delivery worker or liquor service worker, in principle cannot be assigned	Decree Article 23(3), Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2026-65
D-2	Can work only with permission	To work alongside the original activity, the holder must first obtain permission for activities outside status	Immigration Act Article 20
H-2	Can be hired through the Job Center procedure	Restaurants are not among the service industries excluded from the H-2 scope, and the employer must obtain a special employment confirmation	Decree Annex 1-2, Foreign Workers Employment Act Article 12
E-9	Can be hired only through the Job Center employment permit procedure	The Foreign Workforce Policy Committee decides the industries and size of intake, so check with the Job Center whether and how restaurants are covered	Foreign Workers Employment Act Article 4(2)

Which restaurant duties cannot be given to an F-4 employee?

F-4 holders are restricted only in the 3 cases set by Article 23(3) of the Enforcement Decree, and the job-by-job list is in Attachments 1 and 2 of Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2026-65. Comparing the 37 jobs in the two attachments with restaurant work, hall servers, kitchen assistants and cooks are not on the list. Serving customers, taking orders, washing dishes, preparing ingredients and cooking are duties an F-4 employee can do.

Some duties that arise in a restaurant do match restricted jobs and need to be checked separately.

Food delivery: Attachment 1 describes the restaurant delivery worker as a person who belongs to a restaurant and delivers finished dishes to a specific place.
Liquor hosting: Attachment 2 lists the liquor service worker, who helps customers choose and serves liquor at liquor-serving venues such as bars and clubs, with sommeliers and wine stewards as examples.
Building cleaning: The building cleaner in Attachment 1 is also a restricted job, so hiring someone only to clean needs to be checked separately.
Entertainment bars: Item (b) of the general standard in the Notice restricts working as an entertainment worker at an entertainment bar.

Writing duties such as “hall serving” or “kitchen assistance” in an F-4 employee’s contract makes it easier to show that delivery or liquor hosting was not assigned.

How do I check a student working part time?

Article 20 of the Immigration Act requires a foreign national who wants to engage in an activity of another status alongside the activity of their own status to obtain permission for activities outside status from the Minister of Justice in advance. Study is the original activity of a D-2 holder, so the student must obtain this permission before starting work at a restaurant. Before hiring, confirm that the applicant has obtained the permission and that its content matches work at your restaurant.

How can a restaurant employ an H-2 worker or an E-9 worker?

Annex 1-2 of the Enforcement Decree, which sets the H-2 scope of activities, allows activities in service industries and excludes only certain industries such as water supply, some transport businesses, finance and education services; restaurants are not among the excluded industries. To employ an H-2 holder, however, the employer must file a domestic job offer and, if it cannot hire anyone despite job referrals, obtain a special employment confirmation from the head of the employment security office under Article 12 of the Foreign Workers Employment Act, and hire from those registered on the foreign job seeker list. When the worker starts work, the employer reports it to the employment security office.

E-9 workers are hired only through the Job Center employment permit procedure. Article 4(2) of the Foreign Workers Employment Act has the Foreign Workforce Policy Committee deliberate and decide the industries and size of foreign worker intake, so check the current standard with the local Job Center to see whether and how a restaurant can employ E-9 workers.

What should I check when hiring someone who worked at another business?

Article 18(2) of the Immigration Act prohibits a foreign national with an employment status from working anywhere other than the designated workplace, and Article 21(2) prohibits employing a foreign national who has not obtained permission to change workplace. For an applicant whose status is subject to the workplace change procedure, such as E-7 (Special Activities), confirm that the duties fall within that status and that permission to change the workplace to your restaurant has been obtained first. Professionals designated by Presidential Decree instead report within 15 days from the date they change workplace. Under Article 12(7) of the Foreign Workers Employment Act, this workplace change provision does not apply to H-2 workers.

Steps

Check the card: At the interview, look at the alien registration card or domestic residence report card and note the status and remaining period of stay.
Match the duties: For an F-4 holder, check that the duties are not delivery, liquor hosting or building cleaning, and write the main duties in the employment contract.
Check permissions: Confirm that a D-2 holder has permission for activities outside status, and that an applicant subject to the workplace change procedure has permission to change workplace (or has reported it, if a report applies).
Job Center procedure: To employ H-2 or E-9 workers, file a domestic job offer with the local Job Center and go through the special employment confirmation or employment permit procedure.
Contract and start of work: Sign the employment contract, and let the employee start work after confirming that any required permission has been obtained.

This article was checked as of November 8, 2026 against the original texts of the Immigration Act, its Enforcement Decree and Annex 1-2, the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers, and Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2026-65 on the National Law Information Center.

Frequently asked questions

Can an F-4 employee who serves in the hall sometimes go out on deliveries?

In principle, delivery should not be assigned. The restaurant delivery worker in Attachment 1 is a job of delivering finished dishes for a restaurant, so asking the employee to deliver may fall within the restricted scope even if their main duty is serving.

If the restaurant is in a depopulation area, can an F-4 employee do deliveries?

Yes, under conditions. An F-4 holder who has a residence in a city, county or district designated by the Minister of Justice for the region-specific visa project, or who works within the metropolitan city or province that includes that residence, is not subject to the restrictions in Attachments 1 and 2. Even then, the restrictions under item (b) of the general standard, such as working as an entertainment worker at an entertainment bar, still apply.

Can every F-2 employee be hired without job restrictions?

It depends on the sub-category. Article 23(2) of the Decree frees F-2 items (a) to (c) and (i) to (m) from restrictions, but items (d) and (f) are free only while the holder continues work in the field of the previous status. Check the detailed code on the residence card first.

Can I hire a student only on weekends without permission?

No. Regardless of how many days they work, a D-2 holder must obtain permission for activities outside status in advance under Article 20 of the Immigration Act.

How New World Job checks

When New World Job (Hwang Yunsang Job Placement Office) receives a restaurant job offer, we first ask which duties, hall serving, kitchen work or delivery, will be assigned, and check on the applicant’s card that their status allows those duties before making the introduction. E-9 and H-2 workers, who are hired through the Job Center procedure, are not introduced by New World Job.

Hwang Yunsang Administrative Office files applications for permission for activities outside status and for workplace change on your behalf under a separate contract. Whether you use this service has no effect on the introduction.

This post reflects the law as of the date shown. Individual cases can differ by visa status and workplace, so we check again during consultation.