Skilled foreign workers in the fields of manufacturing, fishing and agriculture may apply for a new visa scheme to extend their stay here, the government said Wednesday.

As part of efforts to secure experienced workers in the sectors facing chronic labor shortages, the Justice Ministry has created the E-7-4 visa for those with proven skills.

“The ministry believes that the system will greatly contribute to stable supply of skilled laborers for employers facing labor shortages,” an official from the Justice Ministry told The Korea Herald.

According to the ministry, holders of an E-9 visa (for low-skilled 
workers from 16 Asian countries under the Employment Permit System), an E-10 visa (for foreign workers in the fishing industry) and an H-2 visa (for ethnic Koreans from China and Central Asia) who have stayed here for four years are entitled to apply.

Under the current work visas, foreign workers were required to return to their countries after a four-year and 10-month stay. Few workers, who met strict conditions, could switch their visas to E-7 visas to extend their stay here.

“We diversified conditions foreign workers should meet to make it easier for employers to use skilled workers in the crucial manufacturing sectors,” the official said.

According to Statistics Korea, there were 962,000 foreigners working in the country last year. Among them, the number of foreign workers on the H-2 visa was 254,950, while there were 279,187 on the E-9 visa and 15,312 on the E-10 visa as of the end of 2016, according to the ministry.

Under the new visa scheme, workers, who score more than 50 points, can receive the visa on a first-come, first-served basis. Workers are given points in accordance with their work experience, income, age, Korean proficiency and level of education, among other things.

Those holding the E-7-4 visa can extend it every two years upon a review, which will allow them to live here indefinitely once conditions are met. They can also bring their families to the country.

As the cap has already been reached this year, the ministry will issue 300 additional visas for the remainder of the fiscal year as part of the pilot program. Next year’s quota for the E-7-4 visa will be set after consulting with relevant ministries at the end of this year, it said.

South Korea has been relying on imported labor to fill jobs in the manufacturing, fishing and agricultural sectors, which are shunned by locals, especially the young, for low pay and poor working conditions.

A researcher from the Korea Small Business Institute said that the latest measure will help small and medium-sized companies struggling to retain highly-skilled foreign workers.

“I think the new visa policy is a win-win for both companies and foreign workers,” said Noh Mean-sun from the KSB. “SMEs can hire workers with skills and expertise and train them in the long term. For foreign workers, they will be motivated to accumulate skills to work longer and earn more money in the country.”

Migrant workers were more cautious about the policy.

“I welcome the establishment of the new visa, but it will be virtually very difficult for migrant workers to get the visa with all those conditions attached,” said Shekh al-Mamun, a Bangladeshi official from Korea’s first migrant workers’ union.

“For example, not many migrant workers are able to make that much income and save that much money in bank accounts (to score points for the new visa.)”

Activists have long called for the abolishment of the current EPS system, instead suggesting that the government issue a “Labor Permit System” that will allow foreign workers to freely change their workplaces without having to get approval from their employers and to extend their stay here.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)