Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Weigookin74]

I asked a similiar question about this in a discusion on the Japanese forum. This is not meant to compare or talk about Japan, but to note the changes in the Korean system here in Korea.

""Weigookin74, to answer your question, Korea has essentially leap-frogged Japan in terms of immigration. Until 2008 or so, Korea was clearly behind Japan, immigration-wise. However, it has since surpassed Japan, at least in terms of ease of getting permanent residency. I will compare the two countries' systems below.

Back when I was living there in 2006, there were only five ways to get permanent residency:
1. Invest 5,000,000,000 won (approximately 5 million US dollars) and receive PR immediately
2. Invest 500,000,000 won (approximately $500,000) and wait three years
3. Make a "special contribution to Korea" (for example, take a bullet for the president)
4. Marry a Korean and stay married for five years (later slashed to two years)
5. Have Korean blood (instant permanent residency)

This made it impossible for English teachers, or just about anyone else, to acquire PR in Korea prior to 2008. However, in Japan, PR was possible provided a person had lived in Japan for 10+ years. This means that between the 1990s and 2008, Japan had easier PR procedures than Korea.

When Lee Myung-bak took over, he called for immigration reform. Under Lee Myung-bak, permanent residency was made much, much, much easier (ironic that English teachers put the guy down so much)!

Korea's nearly-impossible requirements eased up in 2008 (with slightly more liberal policies on F-5 issuance), and especially, in 2010/2011 with the F-2-7 (which is a fast track to the F-5).

Whereas Japan was ahead of Korea on immigration for decades, Korea suddenly leapfrogged Japan, particularly in 2010/2011.

Some new streams to PR in Korea, now:

1. If you live in Korea for five consecutive years, and succeed in earning at least 2X the national GDP per capita, you can receive permanent residency.

2. The fast-track (faster than Japan's so-called "fast track") takes only four years to permanent residency. This is how it works:
Spend at least one year on a one-year E-series work visa Apply for and receive an F-2-7 After three years on the F-2-7, apply for permanent residency

Note that for Option 2, it is a requirement to score 70 points on Korea's point rubric. This may sound similar to Japan's point rubric (which also requires 70 points), but when you actually put the two rubrics side-by-side, it is quite apparent that Korea's is much more lenient. Whereas Japan only gives a measly 10 points for receiving a JLPT N1 test result, Korea gives 20 points for advanced-level Korean. Whereas Japan gives only 20 points for a master's degree, Korea gives 30 points.

What this basically boils down to is this:
- The theoretical minimum time for a foreign professional to get permanent residency in Korea is 4 years.
- In Japan, it's 5 years, except that the points rubric is so incredibly difficult, most professionals will still be on the slow 10-year track (since it is virtually impossible to score 70 points on Japan's point rubric).

So...I hope this answers your question. Japan used to be easier, but not since 2010. Lee Myung-bak, who is generally interested in free trade and internationalization, has reversed decades of extremely xenophobic, protectionist policies, and the result is a Korean immigration system that, at least in theory, has really gotten pretty easy over the last couple of years (at least on paper) provided that you're reasonably decent at Korean and reasonably well-educated.""

[orosee]