Reports That Foreign Workers Must Not Miss

Foreign workers have three reporting obligations: place of residence, registration details, and workplace. The deadlines, offices, and consequences of violations differ. Also, the procedures for the workplace vary depending on the status of stay.

The confusing points are the third and fourth rows. For the place of residence, you report after moving, but for E-9 workplace, you obtain permission before moving. The order is reversed. Even though both are "workplace," for H-2 it is not permission but reporting after the fact. You must first confirm which category your status of stay falls into.

If you have stayed in Korea for more than 90 days from the day of entry, you must register your foreigner registration at the local immigration and foreigner office in charge of your place of residence within 90 days (Article 31, Paragraph 1). If you do not do this, you may be subject to imprisonment of up to 1 year or fines of up to 10 million won (Article 95, Item 7). The following content assumes that you have completed your foreigner registration.

When a registered foreigner changes their place of residence, they must report this change to the head of the city, district, or town office in the new place of residence, or to the head of the local immigration and foreigners' affairs office that oversees the new place of residence, within 15 days from the day they move in (Article 36, Paragraph 1 of the Immigration Control Act). If they do not do this, they will be fined up to 10 million won (Article 98, Item 2). This is a fine, not a penalty fee, and it is a criminal penalty, which is different from the reporting of changes in registration information.

These are all cases of "change of residence"

• When moving into a company dormitory
• When moving out of a dormitory and getting a one-room apartment
• When moving rooms within the same industrial complex
• When moving to another house following a roommate

It is easy to think that you don't need to report just because you moved rooms, but the law only checks whether you have actually moved your place of residence (Article 36, Paragraph 1). In manufacturing sites where dormitory entries and exits are frequent, this is an easy-to-miss report.

Where to report. The new place of residence's city, district, or town office, or the immigration and foreigners' affairs office that oversees the new place of residence (Article 36, Paragraph 1). There are two ways: applying through the High Korea e-service or making a reservation through High Korea and visiting in person (Easy-to-Access Daily Life Law Information "Foreigner Registration and Change Report"). When reporting, you submit your foreigner registration certificate, and after the change of residence is written on it, it is returned to you (Article 36, Paragraph 2). There is no fee for reporting a change of residence — this item is not listed in the fee list in Article 72 of the Enforcement Rules of the Immigration Control Act.

You also need to report if you get a new passport. The passport number, issue date, and validity period are part of the foreigner registration information, so if you renew your passport at your home country's embassy, you must report the change to the immigration and foreigners' affairs office in charge of your place of residence within 15 days (Article 35, Item 2). This side is subject to a penalty fee of up to 10 million won (Article 100, Item 1, Subitem 1).

Before starting a job, it is better to first confirm whether the company operates a dormitory. The BIZ360 Small and Medium Enterprise List indicates whether the company operates a dormitory or a shuttle bus in the announcement text. If the value is empty, it means there is no basis in the announcement, so it is more accurate to confirm directly with the company.

The main text of Article 21 (1) of the Immigration Act says that to change or add a workplace within your status of stay, you must get permission from the Minister of Justice in advance. Moving without permission means up to 1 year in prison or a criminal fine of up to 10 million won (1천만원) (Article 95, Item 6), and it is also grounds for deportation (Article 46 (1) 9).

But this article does not apply to everyone in the same way. There are three tracks.

• The rule (E-9 and other permission-required statuses) — get permission before moving (Article 21 (1), main text).
• Some professional statuses — holders of statuses from Professor (E-1) through Specific Activities (E-7) who meet the requirements announced by the Minister of Justice may instead report within 15 days of the change or addition (Article 21 (1), proviso; Enforcement Decree, Article 26-2 (1)). Missing this report costs an administrative fine of up to 2 million won (200만원) (Article 100 (1) 3).
• H-2 (Working Visit) — Article 21 of the Immigration Act does not apply to foreign workers who entered and work on Working Visit (H-2) status (Foreign Workers Employment Act, Article 12 (7) and (1)). Instead, the start of first employment and a change of employer are handled as change reports of foreigner registration items (Enforcement Rule, Article 49-2, Items 4 and 5). The deadline is the 15 days of Article 35; a violation costs an administrative fine of up to 1 million won (100만원).

What follows is based on E-9, which needs permission. On the shop floor, this article usually comes up like this.

• The boss says, "A factory of a friend of mine is busy — go help out for a few days" — that is adding a workplace without permission
• Moving to another company inside the same industrial complex, 5 minutes on foot — distance does not matter; it is a workplace change
• Working somewhere else only on weekends — a short period makes no difference

E-9 has two procedures

An E-9 worker who came in under the Employment Permit System (고용허가제) is not done with immigration alone. You must go through the Ministry of Employment and Labor procedure and the immigration procedure in order.

Miss either one and you must leave the country (Article 25 (3), main text). But if you could not get the permission or could not apply because of a work accident, illness, pregnancy, childbirth, or similar, each period is counted from the day that reason ends (same paragraph, proviso).

The reasons for which you can apply for a change are in Article 25 (1): ① the employer intends to end the contract for a justified reason, or refuses to renew it after it expires; ② continued work is impossible for reasons that are not the worker's fault, as announced by the Minister of Employment and Labor — suspension or closure of the business, a cancelled employment permit, an employment restriction, a dormitory provided in violation of Article 22-2, violated working conditions, unfair treatment, and so on; ③ an injury or the like makes the worker unfit to keep working at that workplace but fit to work at another (same paragraph, Item 3; Enforcement Decree, Article 30 (1)). Worth remembering: a dormitory that falls short of the legal standard is inside ②.

The count limit is, in principle, 3 changes during the work period (Article 18) and 2 during a period extended by re-employment (Article 18-2 (1)) (Article 25 (4)). A change for the reasons in ② above does not count toward this limit. Moving because the company shut down and moving by your own choice are counted differently.

The fee for workplace change or addition permission is 120,000 won (12만원) (Enforcement Rule, Article 72, Item 3). Applying online gets a 20% reduction (Article 74 (2) 1).

> The detailed rules for workplace changes (which industries and regions you can move to, and so on) are set by Ministry of Employment and Labor notice, and they change. If you have decided to move, check the current rules at 1345 or your local employment center before applying.

Foreigners staying in the Republic of Korea must always carry their passport and Alien Registration Card (including the mobile Alien Registration Card), and present them when requested by immigration officers or authorized officials in the course of their duties (Article 27, Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 2 of the Immigration Control Act). This does not apply to foreigners under the age of 17 (same paragraph, exception). Violation may result in a fine of up to 100만원 (Article 98, Item 1). Simply keeping your registration card in a dormitory drawer is a violation of the law.

If the company asks you to hand over your registration card or passport

Do not hand it over. It is illegal for an employer to receive a foreigner's passport or Alien Registration Card as a means of ensuring contract performance or debt fulfillment, or to compel or facilitate such provision (Article 33-3, Item 1 of the Immigration Control Act). The violator may be subject to imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 3,000만원 (Article 94, Item 19).

Demands such as "Hand over your registration card so you can't run away" or "Keep your passport at the office until you pay the dormitory fee" are illegal, not just common practice. If you are asked to do so, refuse. If you have already handed it over, request its return. If you cannot resolve the issue, consult at 1345.

If your card is lost or damaged and cannot be used, apply for a reissue at the immigration office (branch or sub-office) in charge of your place of residence. The reasons for reissue are specified in Article 42, Paragraph 1, each item (Item 1: lost, Item 2: damaged and cannot be used) of the Enforcement Regulation, and the application method is specified in Paragraph 2 of the same article. The fee is 35,000원 (Article 72, Item 10 of the Enforcement Rules), and this fee can only be paid in cash or with a certificate proving cash payment (Article 73, Item 1-ga). Until you receive the reissued card, you are unable to fulfill the obligation to carry it, so it is better not to delay.

Not being fluent in Korean can also lead to the same problem, as you may miss on-site instructions or safety regulations. The BIZ360 OJT library has 50 modules of safety and fairness education materials, and all modules are translated into Vietnamese. Other languages such as English, Indonesian, and Thai are being expanded sequentially from some modules, so the available range varies by language now. Since the translations are made by AI and have not been reviewed by a person, safety rules should be prioritized based on the original Korean text and on-site instructions.

The counters are different. If you mix up tasks that should be done at the Ministry of Employment and Labor and those that should be done at the Immigration and Foreigner Office, you may miss the deadline.

High Korea (www.hikorea.go.kr) is an e-government portal for foreigners operated by the Ministry of Justice. Since electronic government services and visit reservations are handled on the same site, you should make a reservation before going to the office.

When you are blocked

• Foreigner Comprehensive Information Center 1345 — Dial 1345 without the area code. It operates from 09:00 to 22:00 on weekdays. However, consultations in 20 languages are available only until 18:00, and from 18:00 to 22:00, only Korean, English, and Chinese are available (Ministry of Justice Immigration and Foreigner Policy Headquarters guidance). If you want to consult in Vietnamese, Thai, or Indonesian, you need to call before 18:00.
• Ministry of Employment and Labor Customer Service Center 1350 — The official counter for labor issues such as unpaid wages and violation of working conditions.

If you missed the deadline

Missing the deadline is different from not reporting at all. Even if a fine or penalty is imposed, the obligation to report remains the same. If you just leave it because it's too late, the unreported status will continue to accumulate. If you are late, you should report today.

However, the 1-month and 3-month periods for E-9 workplace change are different. These two deadlines are deadlines that result in an obligation to leave the country (Article 25(3) of the Foreigner Employment Act), so if the company contract ends, you should start counting from that day. Applying to the Employment Center should come before looking for the next company.