Ulsan City applies for 100 places under ‘regional visa’ program allowing family members to accompany foreign workers

[Financial News, Ulsan—Reporter Choi Soo-sang] Ulsan City has decided to take part in the Ministry of Justice’s ‘regional visa’ program to address the labor shortage in the local shipbuilding industry.
According to Ulsan City on the 11th, the ‘regional visa’ is a program under which the Ministry of Justice accepts applications from 16 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide and issues Specific Activities visas (E-7). The visa restricts employment to the relevant region, but it is distinctive in that, with the Ministry’s approval, spouses of foreign workers may also be broadly permitted to work in the region.
Ulsan City decided to apply for just 100 of the 200 places allocated to each region by the Ministry of Justice and submitted an application to this call for proposals for the full-scale ‘regional visa’ program.
However, rather than recruiting new applicants from abroad, Ulsan City decided to convert to the regional visa foreign workers already employed in the shipbuilding industry in the Ulsan area under General Skilled Worker visas (E-7-3) and Professional Worker visas (E-7-1). They include ship welders, ship electricians, ship painters and plant engineering technicians.
The conversion requirements include at least three years of continuous employment at the same workplace (at least one year for those who entered under the pilot program), Level 2 of the Social Integration Program, and TOPIK Level 2. Those who entered under the existing pilot program must also undergo eligibility checks and a separate conversion procedure.
Meanwhile, an analysis by the Ministry of Justice of the pilot program over the past two years found that the regional visa has played a positive role in addressing labor shortages and has had little impact on jobs and wages for Korean nationals. However, the program was assessed as providing somewhat inadequate support for family settlement and spending. With the full-scale program now allowing spouses to work in the region, it is expected to encourage foreign workers to stay in their jobs longer and help boost local consumption.
An Ulsan City official said, “This is expected to provide an opportunity for skilled foreign workers to settle securely as members of the local community together with their families.”
The Ministry of Justice will review and verify Ulsan City’s application and is scheduled to announce the final selections in December. The full-scale program will run for two years, from January next year through December 2028.

[email protected] Choi Soo-sang Reporter