The government will allow ethnic Korean migrants in China and the former Soviet Union to get a working visa valid for five years in South Korea from the second half of this year, the Justice Ministry said Thursday.
With the visa for multiple visits, foreigners with ethnic Korean heritage can stay in the country for up to three years per visit, the ministry said.
Almost all jobs are open for them except some related to the sex industry, it said.
The ministry issued advance notice of a government revision to the enforcement ordinance to immigration law and detailed regulations for the application of the law.
Currently, ethnic Koreans in those regions can find a job in South Korea only after entering the country with an F-1 visa valid for one year and then turning it into "E-9" visa for manual workers. The law also requires them to get a new visa if they want to re-enter the country after three years of work.
In addition, work permits are limited to compatriots whose name remains in a domestic family registry or they are invited by relations living in the country. Only jobs in the manufacturing, construction, agriculture and fisheries or service industries are allowed.
Compatriots who do not have relatives in the country will also qualify for a visa, but the number will be limited based on a quota system, the ministry said. The measure is intended to minimize confusion in the domestic labor market, it added.
Discussion is still underway on the level of the quota.
Officials say the number might be around 30,000.
"The revision is in line with the government's policy toward overseas Koreans, which considers them not merely as foreign manpower but as subjects to be embraced," a ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
"We think the revision will help us brace for Korea's transition to an aging society given its low birth-rate, as well as helping us cement a network of Koreans overseas," the official added.
Seoul, May 18 (Yonhap)
Ethnic Koreans in China, Russia to easily get jobs in S. Korea |
