Who can apply for E-7-4?

The base group is registered foreign nationals with four or more years of stay on E-9, E-10 or H-2 within the last ten years. Beyond that it is scored: annual income, Korean language ability, age, work history and employer recommendation among the criteria, with a wage requirement of ₩26,000,000 a year for 2026. Meeting the four-year threshold gets you considered, not admitted — the points decide, and the quota decides how many of those who qualify actually receive it.

Is E-7-4 just a better-paid E-9?

No, it is a different legal structure. Moving to E-7-4 replaces the Employment Permit System’s workplace-change restrictions with E-7 residence management, and it opens two things E-9 does not have: a stay that renews rather than running to a fixed end, and family accompaniment. For 2026 the Ministry of Justice describes it as granting up to two years per period with extension available and dependants permitted. The wage rise matters far less than the change in what you may do.

Does E-7-4 lead to permanent residence?

It opens the door; it does not walk through it. F-2 residence and F-5 permanent residence each have their own conditions — length of stay in Korea, income, conduct, basic civic knowledge, residence history and an established life here — and the requirements differ by which F-2 or F-5 sub-category you apply under. E-9 to E-7-4 to F-2 or F-5 is one possible long-stay roadmap, not an automatic progression, and each step is assessed on its own criteria at the time you apply.

What happens if I miss the quota?

You wait for a following year, and in the meantime the E-9 clock keeps running. That is why the timing matters: the four-year eligibility threshold and the four-year-ten-month employment activity period are close together, so the window in which you are both eligible and still here can be short. Anyone intending this route should be assembling income records, Korean language results and an employer recommendation well before the final year, not during it.

Employment

E-7-4: The Route From E-9 to Long-Term Status

Published October 14, 2026Last verified October 14, 2026

2026 quota

33,000

Base eligibility

4 years on E-9/E-10/H-2

Wage requirement

₩26,000,000 a year

Family

Accompaniment allowed

For a worker on E-9, almost every rule points the same way: a fixed employment activity period, workplace changes only on statutory grounds, no family accompaniment, and a departure at the end.

E-7-4 skilled technical status is the one structural exit — and it is not a promotion that arrives with seniority. It is a rationed status with a threshold, a score and a quota.

Three gates, in order

Clearing the first only gets you assessed

Eligibility. Four or more years on E-9, E-10 or H-2 within the last ten.

Points. Income, Korean ability, age, work history, employer recommendation — plus the wage requirement.

Quota. 33,000 for 2026. Qualifying and receiving are different outcomes.

Which is why this is prepared over years, not applied for in the last one.

The morning guide is the two statuses. This is the bridge between them.

What actually changes

The wage rise is the least of it. Moving from E-9 to E-7-4 replaces one regulatory system with another:

	E-9	E-7-4
Framework	Employment Permit System	E-7 residence management
Changing workplace	Statutory grounds, counted	New employer meets E-7 conditions
Duration	Commonly 4y10m, then departure or re-entry cycle	Up to two years per period, extendable
Family	Not available	Accompaniment permitted
Onward	Limited	F-2 and F-5 pathways exist

The Ministry of Justice operates it as a long-stay settlement track for skilled workers rather than as labour supply — which is a description of intent, and also of what the status actually does.

The eligibility threshold

The base group for 2026 is a registered foreign national with four or more years of stay on E-9, E-10 or H-2 within the last ten years.

Then the points: annual income, Korean language ability, age, work history, employer recommendation among the criteria. And the wage requirement for E-7-4 is ₩26,000,000 a year for 2026 — the same announcement that sets the other E-7 sub-types.

Two of the criteria take years to build

Korean language ability and a documented work history are not assembled in the month before an application. Neither is an employer recommendation from a company that has known you long enough to give one. Anyone treating this as a route should be building those from year one, not deciding to try in year four.

The quota is the part most guides omit

E-7-4 is capped. For 2026 the annual issuance figure is 33,000, with the scope of eligible employment widened in some sectors including agriculture and fisheries.

A quota means qualifying is a threshold rather than an entitlement. Whether the route is realistically open in a given year is a fact about policy, not about the applicant — and it has been expanded before, so it is worth checking rather than assuming in either direction.

The timing problem nobody mentions

Look at the two numbers together:

E-7-4 eligibility          4 years on E-9 / E-10 / H-2
E-9 employment activity    commonly 4 years 10 months

Ten months. That is the window in which someone becomes eligible and is still lawfully working in Korea on the status that made them eligible.

Which makes preparation a year-three activity

Income records, a language qualification, work history and an employer recommendation gathered in month 50 of a 58-month period is not a plan. And missing a quota year does not pause the employment activity period — it keeps running.

The re-entry special case exists for workers who complete the period without converting: depart, and after a short time outside Korea — currently one month — return on E-9. That resets a cycle. It does not accumulate toward settlement in the way E-7-4 does.

E-7-4 does not become F-2 or F-5 by itself

The pathway is real and it is not automatic.

F-2 residence and F-5 permanent residence each carry their own conditions: length of stay in Korea, income, conduct, basic civic knowledge, residence history, an established basis of life here. The requirements differ by which F-2 or F-5 sub-category is being applied for, and by the E-7 sub-type held.

E-9  →  E-7-4  →  F-2 or F-5

A roadmap, not an escalator

Each arrow is a separate application assessed on its own criteria at the time it is made, against rules that can move between steps. Reaching E-7-4 is a substantial change in what you may do in Korea. It is not a place in a queue.

What to have, and when

From year one. Keep the employment records — contracts, payslips, insured status history — that later evidence the four years.

By year two or three. A Korean language qualification. It is a points criterion and it takes preparation, not a booking.

Year three. Check your income against the wage requirement for the current year, and confirm the employer will recommend you.

As soon as eligible. Apply. The quota and the remaining employment activity period both work against waiting.

Where this sits

The structural comparison of the two statuses — mobility, the workplace-change grounds and counts, the wage requirements by sub-type, and the two different 15-day rules — is in E-9 vs E-7: what actually separates them.

What happens to an EPS worker who leaves without converting, including departure guarantee insurance and the gap between it and statutory severance, is in departure guarantee insurance for E-9 and H-2 workers.

For the current year’s criteria, points table and quota, the Immigration Contact Center is 1345 and operates in several languages. The figures move annually, and this is a status where applying against last year’s table is a wasted year you may not have.

Frequently asked questions

Who can apply for E-7-4?: The base group is registered foreign nationals with four or more years of stay on E-9, E-10 or H-2 within the last ten years. Beyond that it is scored: annual income, Korean language ability, age, work history and employer recommendation among the criteria, with a wage requirement of ₩26,000,000 a year for 2026. Meeting the four-year threshold gets you considered, not admitted — the points decide, and the quota decides how many of those who qualify actually receive it.
Is E-7-4 just a better-paid E-9?: No, it is a different legal structure. Moving to E-7-4 replaces the Employment Permit System’s workplace-change restrictions with E-7 residence management, and it opens two things E-9 does not have: a stay that renews rather than running to a fixed end, and family accompaniment. For 2026 the Ministry of Justice describes it as granting up to two years per period with extension available and dependants permitted. The wage rise matters far less than the change in what you may do.
Does E-7-4 lead to permanent residence?: It opens the door; it does not walk through it. F-2 residence and F-5 permanent residence each have their own conditions — length of stay in Korea, income, conduct, basic civic knowledge, residence history and an established life here — and the requirements differ by which F-2 or F-5 sub-category you apply under. E-9 to E-7-4 to F-2 or F-5 is one possible long-stay roadmap, not an automatic progression, and each step is assessed on its own criteria at the time you apply.
What happens if I miss the quota?: You wait for a following year, and in the meantime the E-9 clock keeps running. That is why the timing matters: the four-year eligibility threshold and the four-year-ten-month employment activity period are close together, so the window in which you are both eligible and still here can be short. Anyone intending this route should be assembling income records, Korean language results and an employer recommendation well before the final year, not during it.

Figures in this guide we track

Last checked 7 October 2026

E-7-4 skilled technical status: annual issuance quota33,0002026-01-01
E-7 basic annual wage requirement, professional (E-7-1)₩31,120,0002026-02-01
E-9: maximum continuous employment activity period4 years 10 months2026-09-23

These move. We check them on a schedule and keep the previous values, so you can see what a figure was, not only what it is.

Last verified: October 14, 2026

Official sources

Revision history

October 14, 2026Published

Figures here are re-checked against their official sources at least every six months. Substantive changes — a rate, a cap, a rule — are logged above rather than silently overwritten, and collected site-wide inupdates & revisions.

This article is general information, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Requirements and figures change; confirm the current rules with the official sources above before making decisions.