JOB support for international student

Part-time Work for International Students

A. Ground Rule

>You can only engage in activities that students usually take up as a part-time job (including low-skilled labor work).

Note: If the activity in which you intend to engage is stipulated in Annex 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Control Act, the corresponding guideline for each activity shall apply. (e.g. an international student invited by President to teach English in a rural area, a language instructor, etc.)

B. Eligible Individuals

>You are a Student (D-2) visa or Language Trainee (D-4-1 or D-4-7) visa holder and confirmed by the person-in-charge of the international students of your school.

Note: Elementary/middle/high school students are not eligible for part-time job permission (only graduating students of high school are eligible to apply.), and you must have held one of the above visas for at least six months.

C. Activities Allowed

<Time Limit>

>(Undergraduate course & language training course) up to 20 hours per week.

Note: up to 25 hours per week for students of a government-accredited university (including language trainees)

>(Postgraduate course) up to 30 hours per week

>(Thesis preparation after completing a postgraduate course) up to 30 hours per week

Note: The Time limit does not apply to holidays (including Saturday) during the semesters and vacations (excluded in the calculation of time limits).

<Activities Allowed (examples)>

>Translation/interpretation, assistant work at a restaurant or office, etc.

>Activities at an English village or English camp as a salesclerk, waiter/waitress or assistant staff (applicable to Chinese, Japanese and other foreign language camps as well)

>Work as a tour guide assistant, sales assistant in a duty-free shop, etc.

Note: Even if the activity you intend to engage in is included in the allowed activities above, you may have to meet specific qualifications if required under the domestic laws.

<Change of Workplace>: If your employer is changed, you shall apply for the change of the workplace according to the following procedure.

>You or the person-in-charge of the international students of your school shall apply for the change by visiting the jurisdictional immigration (branch) office in person or filing an e-application within 15 days of the date of change.

>Extension of Part-time Work Permit

>(Individuals restricted) You are restricted from the extension if:

– your attendance rate is 70% or lower; or your GPA (based on the accumulated credits) is C (2.0) or lower during the latest semester, therefore considered to have difficulty working and studying at the same time.

– you fail to register detailed information on your part-time job (location, working hours, etc.) or haven’t reported the change of the workplace.

(Principle) limited to up to one-year extension within your period of stay and two workplaces

D. Required Documents

– Passport, Alien Registration Card, application form (application fees exempt)

– A letter of recommendation for part-time work, transcript or certificate of attendance (exempt if verifiable on FIMS)

E. Special Cases for Exemption of Permission

>If you engage in a certain activity where you receive temporary rewards, prize money or other forms of remuneration to be used for living expenses and if the activities are consistent with the purpose of stay as a student, you are exempt from the permission for part-time work.

<Examples of Special Cases>

When a student participates in an internship or research project to receive credits and gets paid

When a student receives a working scholarship and works as a teaching assistant/research assistant or a librarian at the school that he/she has enrolled in

When a student gets paid for temporary household services or assisting office work (not as a profession)

When a student gets paid for working as a counselor or appraiser (not as a profession), participating in an event, appearing in a movie or a TV program (one time or irregular) or other similar activities

Note: The head of the Immigration (Branch) Office will examine whether the person concerned may be exempt from permission by considering the type of activities, wage, period, etc. in a comprehensive manner.

Engagement in occupations covered by E-1 through E-7 statuses

If you want to engage in an occupation that falls under one of the E-1 through E-7 statuses while maintaining the current Student (D-2) or Language Trainee (D-4) status, you shall apply for a permit for “activities not covered by the current status” to the immigration (branch) office. However, please be informed that if you plan to primarily engage in the new activity (full-time work, etc.), the permit is not granted. If it is the case, you shall either apply for the change of status, or depart and re-enter the country with a new visa that would allow you to work full-time.