Refugee Applicants in Korea: Staying and Getting a Work Permit

After applying for refugee status, the first questions are usually "Can I stay here until the decision?" and "How do I cover living costs in the meantime?" The Refugee Act lets applicants stay until the decision becomes final and allows a work permit after a set period. There are limits on when and where you can work, though, and the deadlines for challenging a rejection are short, so managing dates matters.

Key points

• Refugee applicants may stay in Korea until the decision becomes final, or until an administrative appeal or lawsuit ends if one is pending.
• The status is Refugee Applicant (G-1-5), granted and extended for six months to one year at a time.
• Six months after applying, a work permit can be granted as permission for activities outside one's status, but some industries such as construction are restricted.
• After a rejection notice, an objection must be filed within 30 days, and a lawsuit within 90 days of learning of the decision.

1. You may stay until the decision becomes final

A foreigner in Korea applies by submitting a written refugee status application to a regional immigration office. You show your passport or residence card, or a written explanation if you cannot. A receipt is issued immediately, and it later serves as proof that you are an applicant when you apply for stay.

Applicants may stay until the decision on refugee status becomes final, and if an administrative appeal or lawsuit against a rejection is pending, until that procedure ends. Even after a rejection or the dismissal of an objection, you remain a refugee applicant while the period for filing an objection, administrative appeal or lawsuit is still running. Refugee applicants are also not forcibly returned against their will.

If you apply at an airport or seaport during entry inspection, you may be kept at a designated place in the port for up to seven days, and if no decision on referral to review is made within those seven days, entry must be permitted. For entry inspection in general, see airport entry inspection and conditional entry.

2. Status and extensions

Applicants receive Refugee Applicant (G-1-5) status, with a permitted period of six months to one year. Extensions are also granted for six months to one year at a time, and the period can be set flexibly within one year in light of expected litigation or humanitarian reasons.

To extend, submit the application, passport and residence card together with proof of residence. Besides a lease, an accommodation provision confirmation, utility receipts or dormitory receipts, residence confirmations from churches, refugee support facilities, human rights groups or UNHCR are accepted. The fee is the same as for other foreign residents. Under the Immigration Act an extension must be obtained before the period of stay ends; for what happens if you miss it, see missed extension of stay.

3. How the review works

The office conducts an interview and a fact-finding investigation. On request, an official of the same sex conducts the interview, and if you ask for the interview to be recorded, the request cannot be refused. A decision must be made within six months of receipt, extendable by up to six months when unavoidable, in which case you must be notified at least seven days before the original period ends.

Applicants must cooperate in good faith. If you fail to appear for interviews three or more times in a row, the review may be closed. Part of the procedure may be skipped if the application relied on false documents or statements, if a rejected applicant reapplies without a material change of circumstances, or if a foreigner who has stayed a year or more applies just before the period of stay expires or applies to delay deportation.

4. A work permit after six months

Six months after the application date, a work permit can be granted, issued as permission for activities outside one's status. Periods caused by the applicant, such as delays in submitting evidence, unknown whereabouts or detention, are not counted. Where it is recognized as especially necessary, for example because you must support a dependent unable to work due to disability, a permit may be granted earlier.

• Allowed scope: simple labor outside the restricted industries.
• Restricted industries: construction (no work if construction is the only business type on the registration; for mixed types such as construction and manufacturing, a permit is given on condition of "no construction work"), gambling businesses, work as an entertainer at karaoke bars or entertainment bars, businesses contrary to good morals, and private tutoring.
• Professional work: foreign-language conversation teaching and other professional work follow the same documents and procedure as for other foreign residents.
• Permit period: up to the end of the permitted stay.
• Documents: application, passport, residence card, employment contract, and workplace documents such as a copy of the business registration. The fee is the same as for other foreign residents.

The work permit must be obtained in advance. If your workplace (employer) changes you need a new permit, and working in a restricted industry is handled as a violation in the same way as for other foreign residents. For penalties and responses, see the foreigner illegal employment penalty guide.

5. Living costs, housing, medical support and their limits

The Refugee Act says support "may" be provided, so it is not automatic on applying.

• Living costs: may be provided for up to six months from the date the application was filed, extendable by up to six months in unavoidable cases such as serious illness or physical disability. Whether and how much is decided by the Minister of Justice, considering the length of stay in Korea, whether you work, use of refugee support facilities, dependents and living conditions.
• Housing: the period of use is set at up to six months and can be extended in light of health or dependents.
• Medical: health checkups may be arranged or their costs covered within the budget.
• Education: minors among applicants and their families can receive elementary and secondary education at the same level as Korean nationals.

However, people whose administrative appeal or lawsuit against a rejection is pending, who reapplied without a material change of circumstances, or who applied just before their stay expired or to delay deportation do not receive living cost, housing or medical support, unless it is recognized as especially necessary for urgent or humanitarian reasons.

6. If rejected: objection and lawsuit deadlines

The rejection notice states the reasons and the deadline and method for objecting.

1. Objection: file it with the Minister of Justice through the regional immigration office within 30 days of receiving the notice, attaching materials explaining your grounds. Once you object, you cannot file an administrative appeal.
2. Refugee Committee review: the objection is referred to the Refugee Committee, and a decision must be made within six months of receipt (extendable by up to six months when unavoidable).
3. Administrative lawsuit: under the Administrative Litigation Act, a revocation suit must be filed within 90 days of learning of the decision, and this is a fixed statutory period.

If a rejected applicant receives a humanitarian stay permit, a one-year period of stay is granted under Miscellaneous (G-1-6) status, with the same scope of work as applicants plus construction. Conversely, if refugee status turns out to have been obtained through false documents or statements, it can be revoked.

7. Steps you can take now

1. Keep your receipt and note the application date. Both the six-month work permit wait and the living cost support period start from it.
2. Mark your expiry date. Apply for an extension with proof of residence before it arrives.
3. Always attend interview summonses. Three consecutive absences can end the review.
4. After six months, get the permit before starting a job. Check that the job is not in a restricted industry and that you have the contract and business registration.
5. When you receive a rejection notice, note the date. Do not miss the 30-day objection or 90-day lawsuit deadline.

8. What an administrative scrivener can do

We organize extension documents and proof of residence, prepare applications for permission for activities outside status (the work permit) after six months, handle reapplications when your workplace changes, gather supporting materials for an objection and translate foreign documents. Criminal defense and representation in administrative lawsuits are outside the scope of an administrative scrivener and we do not handle them.

Missing a single date narrows your options, so bring your receipt and notices when you seek advice. Residence services are explained on HiKorea: https://www.hikorea.go.kr