Useful Info

The status of stay legally defines the activities that a foreigner can engage in while residing in a specific country. In simple terms, it can be said to indicate the status that determines under what qualification a foreigner can live in that country while doing certain work.
The types of stay periods are classified into three categories: short-term stay, long-term stay, and permanent residency. Although the Immigration Control Act does not stipulate the terms 'short-term stay' and 'long-term stay,' in practice, they are distinguished based on the 90-day criterion for foreigner registration.
According to Article 17 of the Immigration Control Act, 'A foreigner may stay in the Republic of Korea within the scope of the status of stay and the period of stay,' so the status of stay means the basic framework that governs the legal stay of foreigners. The status of stay is a categorization of the legal status that allows a foreigner to engage in certain activities while staying in the country, and the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Control Act provides a total of 40 types of status of stay, from A series to H series in English alphabet.
The status of stay is principally granted at the stage of visa issuance by the consul or entry screening by the immigration control officer. However, a foreigner born in the Republic of Korea must be granted a status of stay within 90 days from the date of birth, and a foreigner who stays without a status of stay due to reasons such as loss of Korean nationality or departure must be granted a status of stay within 30 days from the date the reason occurs. In addition, if a staying foreigner finishes activities corresponding to their existing status of stay and wishes to engage in activities corresponding to a different status of stay, they must obtain permission to change the status of stay. For example, if a student visa holder gets a job as a researcher after graduating from university, it changes from student status to researcher status, which is called a change of status of stay. If a staying foreigner wishes to engage in activities corresponding to a different status of stay while engaging in activities corresponding to the originally granted status of stay, they must obtain permission for activities outside the status of stay.
On the other hand, the historical development of the status of stay system is as follows. First, at the time of the enactment of the Immigration Control Act in March 1963, instead of the status of stay, provisions on entry qualifications were established, and visas were classified into three types—transit visa, tourist visa, and stay visa—according to the entry qualifications. Next, in December 1983, the Immigration Control Act was amended to abolish the three visa types and change the entry qualifications to status of stay. The 18 types of status of stay organized in 1983 were subdivided into 29 types in 1993, and have now increased to 36 types. In 1998, the Overseas Korean (F-4) status of stay was newly established; in 2002, the Permanent Residency (F-5) status of stay was newly established; in 2007, the Visit and Employment (H-2) status of stay was newly established; and in 2011, the Marriage Immigration (F-6) status of stay was newly established. In this way, examining the historical development of the status of stay and visa system, which can be called the flower of immigration affairs, allows us to see the history of immigration control.