You may be receiving treatment after an injury at work, in a dispute with your employer over wages, or in the middle of a lawsuit, while the end of your permitted stay draws near. If your current status no longer lets you stay, Miscellaneous (G-1) status may be an option. G-1 is a temporary status that lasts until the situation is resolved, so eligibility, periods and whether you can work differ by type.
Key points
- G-1 is granted to people who do not fit another status and are recognized by the Minister of Justice. The maximum period at one time is 1 year.
- Industrial accident and illness treatment are granted within 1 year; lawsuits and unpaid wage mediation within 6 months.
- The industrial accident, treatment, lawsuit and unpaid wage types are not among those eligible for work permission in the manual. Working without permission is a violation.
- Apply before your current period of stay ends.
1. Who can get G-1
The residence manual defines the scope of G-1 as activities that do not fall under Diplomat (A-1) through Marriage Migrant (F-6), Working Holiday (H-1) or Visiting Employment (H-2), and lists the people the Minister of Justice recognizes as:
- People claiming or being treated for industrial accidents, and their families (G-1-1)
- People being treated for illness or accidents, and their families (G-1-2)
- People involved in lawsuits (G-1-3)
- People in mediation at a labor office over unpaid wages (G-1-4)
- Refugee applicants (G-1-5) and rejected applicants granted humanitarian stay (G-1-6)
- People who need humanitarian consideration such as pregnancy or childbirth (G-1-9)
- Foreign patients (G-1-10) and people needing humanitarian consideration such as victims of sexual violence (G-1-11)
- Families of people who died in accidents, families of humanitarian stay holders, and other cases
2. Eligibility and periods by type
Industrial accident (G-1-1): People with a pending claim or re-examination for industrial accident compensation, people hospitalized for an industrial accident or receiving care approved by the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, people treating after-effects, and their spouses and lineal family. Stay is granted within 1 year until hospital treatment and compensation are complete; extensions are in principle within 6 months (within 1 year for serious cases).
Illness or accident treatment (G-1-2): Registered foreigners who need long-term treatment for illness or an accident and cannot keep their existing status, and short-term visa holders who had an accident and need long-term treatment. Stay is granted within 1 year, with extensions of up to 6 months at a time. A person who came on a short-term visa for a health check or treatment and then needs long-term care changes to Foreign Patient (G-1-10) instead.
Lawsuit (G-1-3): People pursuing civil suits such as damages for an industrial accident or return of a lease deposit, people in criminal trials while not detained (for example after bail or cancellation of detention), and people in family or administrative suits. Stay is granted within 6 months, and each extension is also within 6 months.
Unpaid wages (G-1-4): People whose unpaid wage complaint to the Ministry of Employment and Labor is in mediation, or who filed a complaint that was not resolved and are now in a civil suit. Stay is granted within 6 months, with extensions within 6 months.
3. Documents
Common items are the application form, passport, one standard photo and the fee, plus documents proving the reason for each type.
- Industrial accident: compensation review claim or re-examination claim, medical certificate for the industrial accident, proof of relationship for family members, and a livelihood capacity review form
- Illness or accident: medical opinion or other proof of the need for treatment, proof of ability to pay for treatment and stay, and a letter of guarantee
- Lawsuit: copy of the complaint, certificate of filing, copy of a legal aid decision or other proof of the claim, and a letter of guarantee
- Unpaid wages: copy of the complaint filed with the labor ministry, the ministry's certificate of unpaid wages, and a letter of guarantee
For extensions, a G-1 status review form and proof of residence (lease, accommodation confirmation and so on) are added. Documents may be added or removed during intake.
4. Can you work?
G-1 covers activities outside other statuses, so to work you need separate permission for activities outside your status. The manual allows work permission for these types:
- Families of people who died in accidents, victims of sexual violence and similar, and other cases: simple labor outside restricted fields, up to 1 year
- Refugee applicants: those 6 months past their application and other cases, simple labor outside restricted industries such as construction
- Humanitarian stay holders and their families: the same scope as refugee applicants, but construction is allowed
The industrial accident, treatment, lawsuit and unpaid wage types are not on this list. Working without permission is a violation of the rules on activities outside your status; see the guide to sanctions for unauthorized activities. If your workplace changes, you need new permission.
5. Timing and cautions
- Apply before expiry. Under the Immigration Act you must obtain a change of status in advance before engaging in another status's activities, and staying past your period is itself a violation. If you have already missed it, see the overstay fine guide first. The general change procedure is in the change of status guide.
- The period ends when the reason ends. The period is based on how long treatment or the lawsuit continues, so keep collecting documents that show progress.
- Changing to other statuses may be restricted. The manual restricts G-1 holders (other than humanitarian stay holders and some others) from changing to Student (D-2), and in principle bars in-country change to Marriage Migrant (F-6) for people who received G-1 while overstaying or in similar situations.
- Employment permit workers have a restoration route. Foreign workers who switched to G-1 for industrial accident treatment and still have time left under their stay limit can follow the procedure to restore Non-professional Employment (E-9) status.
6. What an administrative agent can do
We check whether G-1 applies, prepare change and extension applications, organize proof such as medical certificates, labor complaints and court documents, draft statements explaining your situation, and translate foreign documents. Litigation representation and criminal defense are outside the scope of an administrative agent and we do not handle them.
If your expiry date is close, start gathering treatment or court documents and prepare early.
You can find residence service information on HiKorea.