Hiring Foreign Maids,Nannies    

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Eligibility
In order to bring a foreign nanny / housekeeper into South Korea, both the nanny / housekeeper and the sponsor must meet certain eligibility requirements:

Nanny / Housekeeper:
1. age: 20 – 58 years
2. education: graduation from high school or above

Sponsor with a D7 or E7 visa:
1. The gross income of the sponsor for the previous year must be 3 times (or more) the Korean national average.  Currently (2011), the minimum yearly income for a D7 or E7 visa holder wishing to sponsor a nanny / housekeeper is KRW 75,000,000. (Note that the benchmark amount can fluctuate frequently and without notice.)
2. The sponsor must have at least one child under the age of 13 years (in the case of nanny sponsorship).

Sponsor with a D8 visa:
There are two investment amount-dependent sub-categories:
A. investment greater than or equal to USD 500,000
1. Executive status within the company
2. The sponsor’s gross yearly income must be 3 times (or more) the Korean national average.  Currently (2011), the minimum yearly income for a D8 visa holder wishing to sponsor a nanny / housekeeper is KRW 75,000,000*.
B. investment greater than USD 100,000, but less than USD 500,000
1. Executive status within the company
2. The company must be in the High-Tech field (i.e.: science-related)
3. The sponsor’s gross yearly income must be 3 times (or more) the Korean national average.  Currently (2011), the minimum yearly income for a D8 visa holder wishing to sponsor a nanny / housekeeper is KRW 75,000,000*.
*The benchmark amount may fluctuate without notice.

Procedure
1. Visa Issuance:  The sponsor must file a visa issuance application at their local immigration office (form is obtainable at the immigration office).  There will be a wait period of between 2 weeks to 1 month while the information provided on the application is investigated.

2. Upon approval, the visa issuance permission number is sent to the sponsor via regular mail.

3. The sponsor sends this visa issuance permission number to the nanny / housekeeper (in their country of residence) via regular mail.

4. The nanny / housekeeper then applies for their visa (using the visa issuance permission number) at the Korean Embassy / Consulate in their country of residence.  Because the Korean Embassy in each country requires slightly different information & supporting documents for visa applications, the visa applicant should call the embassy first to get exact details about what they will need to bring (in addition to their visa issuance permission number) when applying for their visa.

5. Upon visa issuance (the length of time depends upon the country and the number of applications –again, the applicant will need to ask about the wait time upon application), the applicant is eligible to relocate to Korea.

6. Within 90 days of arrival in Korea, the nanny / housekeeper must apply for their ARC (alien registration card) at their local immigration office. 

Immigration Information: You can contact the immigration 'helpline' at 1345 (press 3 and then * for English). No need to press area code even on cell phone.

K4E Editor: Korea4Expats.com tries to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and complete, so should you notice any errors or omissions in the content above contact us at info@korea4expats.com. Please note that government regulations and proceedures may have changed from what has been described above or may not apply in all situations/cases. K4E recommends that you check with the appropriate government office and/or officials prior to going forward.  The above information was correct as of December 2011.

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