D-7 Intra-Company Transferee Visa Application — A Complete Guide to Assignment Eligibility, Documents, and Renewal
The key to a D-7 intra-company transferee visa application is simultaneously proving at least one year of employment at the head office and a legitimate business need for the assignment to a Korean branch or subsidiary.
The visa targets executives, managers, and specialized personnel who have worked at a foreign head office or parent company for at least one year and are being dispatched to a Korean branch, subsidiary, or liaison office.
This guide walks through eligibility requirements, company-side documents, applicant documents, review criteria, period-of-stay renewals, and the F-3 family accompanying visa from a practitioner's perspective.
What Is the D-7 Visa — The Starting Point for Eligibility
The D-7 is not a general employment visa. It is built on the premise of personnel transfers between a head office and its Korean affiliate.
It is used when opening a new branch in Korea or moving head office personnel into an already-operating Korean branch or subsidiary.
The first thing to examine is not the visa itself but the legal substance of the Korean entity.
Who Can Apply
The general rule is that the applicant must have worked continuously for at least one year at an overseas head office or parent company.
The position must be that of an executive, manager, or specialist with proprietary technology or know-how from the head office.
New hires, general clerical staff, and those with only a short tenure at the head office typically get blocked at this stage.
What Kind of Company Can Send a Dispatch
There must be a Korean entity registered as one of the following: a foreign-invested company, a domestic branch of a foreign company, or a liaison office.
A liaison office (non-commercial) is structured to engage in no commercial activity, so the number of dispatched personnel and the scope of their duties are limited.
According to Ministry of Justice HiKorea guidance, the capital relationship and control structure between the head office and the Korean entity must be visible on paper.
Caution: The most common source of complications is trying to file the D-7 while the Korean entity is still in the "planning" stage. The branch establishment report or foreign investment registration must be completed first.
Core D-7 Eligibility Requirements — What Reviewers Actually Look At
Having a complete document set is not enough to pass.
In practice, reviewers focus on three things: the continuity of head-office employment, job-duty alignment, and necessity of the assignment.
What "One Year of Employment" Really Means
A single employment certificate will not close the loop.
Pay stubs, social-insurance contribution records, and a job description must accompany it for the one-year tenure to be recognized.
One commonly overlooked issue is a mismatch between head-office duties and post-assignment duties.
If you were in sales at the head office but are coming to Korea as an R&D lead, you will be flagged immediately for inconsistent job duties.
How to Demonstrate Necessity of the Assignment
There must be a clear reason why the Korean entity needs to bring in head-office personnel rather than hire locally.
The crux is this: the role must be one that cannot be filled through local hiring in Korea.
Reasons such as proprietary head-office systems, group accounting standards, head-office technical support, or group-wide internal controls tend to be persuasive.
| Review Point | Problem if Weak | Direction for Strengthening |
|---|---|---|
| One year at head office | Gap in employment, refusal of credit | Prove continuity through payroll and insurance records |
| Job-duty alignment | Suspicion of post-assignment role change | Match head-office and Korean job descriptions |
| Assignment necessity | Judged replaceable by local hire | Explain dependence on head-office systems and technology |
| Substance of Korean entity | Suspected shell company | Evidence of office lease, employees, and paid-in capital |
D-7 Required Documents — Organized by Head Office, Korean Entity, and Applicant
Documents fall into three groups.
Head office documents, Korean entity documents, and the applicant's personal documents.
Even with a thick stack, a weak explanation of the head office–Korean entity relationship will still trigger a request for additional documents.
Head Office (Dispatching Company) Documents
- Head office business registration certificate or equivalent corporate registration
- Evidence of the control relationship between the head office and the Korean entity (shareholder register, ownership structure diagram)
- Dispatch order (specifying assignment period, position, and duties)
- Head office certificate of employment (confirming at least one year of continuous service)
- Head office pay stubs or tax filing records
Korean Entity (Inviting Company) Documents
- Corporate registration certificate, business registration certificate
- Foreign-invested company registration certificate or acceptance certificate for the branch establishment report of a foreign company
- Office lease agreement
- Letter of invitation (explaining why this specific person must come)
- Most recent year's financial statements, VAT returns, and other evidence of operating substance
Applicant's Personal Documents
- Passport, visa application form, standard-format photo
- Academic credentials (if relevant to the role)
- Career documentation (including prior experience outside the head office)
- Criminal record certificate (required depending on the country)
- Health certificate (required depending on country and intended stay)
Practical Tip: Head office documents often require home-country notarization plus apostille or Korean consular authentication. Half of the timeline is usually spent here.
Application Procedure and Processing Time — Where and How
The most common route for the D-7 is issuing a Certificate for Confirmation of Visa Issuance (CCVI) in advance, then collecting the visa at a Korean consulate in the home country.
If the applicant is already in Korea on a short-term stay, an in-country status change may be possible, but this depends on the specifics.
| Step | Location | Key Point |
|---|---|---|
| 1. CCVI application | Competent Immigration Office | Filed by the Korean entity on behalf of the applicant |
| 2. CCVI issuance | Competent Immigration Office | A request for additional documents will delay the schedule |
| 3. Visa application | Korean consulate in home country | Submit the CCVI number |
| 4. Entry into Korea | Incheon, etc. | Alien registration within 90 days |
| 5. Alien Registration Card issuance | Competent Immigration Office | Confirms the status of stay |
Processing times vary significantly between immigration offices.
High-volume offices like Seoul, Suwon, and Incheon move at a different pace than smaller offices, so it pays to check the office with jurisdiction over your case first.
A free consultation is the fastest path forward. Tell us three things — your head office tenure, the form of the Korean entity, and the assignment role — and we will give you an initial assessment of D-7 feasibility. Phone 02-363-2251 / KakaoTalk alexkorea Fees vary case by case and will be explained precisely during the free consultation.
Extending and Changing the Period of Stay — Where Renewals Get Stuck
The D-7 is generally granted in 1- to 3-year increments, with renewal applications accepted starting four months before expiration.
The most common sticking point in renewals is the Korean entity's operating performance and the applicant's salary reporting.
What Reviewers Actually Look At During Renewal
- Whether the Korean entity has revenue and is filing VAT returns properly
- The applicant's income tax withholding and payment history
- Enrollment in and timely payment of the four major insurances
- Whether the head office–Korean entity relationship remains intact
If the salary is paid only by the head office and never reported in Korea, you will run into problems immediately at the renewal stage.
The income-reporting threshold can shift each year as operational guidelines are updated, so the current year's standard for your situation should be confirmed through a consultation.
Pathway to F-2 and F-5
After holding D-7 status for a qualifying period and meeting income and points-system requirements, you can transition to Residence (F-2) and eventually Permanent Residence (F-5).
The points-system criteria and income thresholds have been revised several times recently, so whether your situation qualifies should be confirmed with a specialist.
The full legal text is available at the National Law Information Center law.go.kr under the Immigration Control Act and its Enforcement Decree.
Bringing Family and the D-3 Question — What Reviewers Check
A D-7 holder can apply for the F-3 accompanying visa for a spouse and minor children.
Some applicants confuse this with the D-3 (industrial trainee) category, but D-3 is a separate category for industrial trainees and has nothing to do with dispatched-employee families.
The most common snag with family accompaniment is matching the marriage documentation with the family list on the head office's dispatch order.
- Marriage certificate (issued in the home country, with apostille or consular authentication)
- Birth certificates for children
- Head office dispatch order that explicitly names accompanying family members
- Korean residence (housing lease)
How the D-7 Compares to Similar Visas — Which Status Fits
| Visa | Target | Difference from D-7 |
|---|---|---|
| D-7 | Personnel dispatched after one year of head office service | Personnel transfer between head office and Korean affiliate |
| D-8 | Management or specialized personnel of a foreign-invested company | Applicant directly invests or holds equity |
| D-9 | Trade management | Foreign nationals running trade businesses |
| E-7 | Designated activities (specialized personnel) | Direct hire by a Korean company |
If your case involves a foreign-invested company funded by the head office, the question becomes whether D-7 or D-8 is the right fit for your specific situation.
This is where the line is drawn. The starting question is: is this a dispatch, or is it investment and management?
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Can I apply for the D-7 if I have not yet completed one year at the head office? As a rule, no. That said, in special circumstances such as a head office merger or succession, it is worth reviewing on a case-by-case basis whether prior service can be aggregated.
Q2. The Korean entity is still being set up — can I start the D-7 process now? Generally not. The correct order is to complete the foreign investment registration or branch establishment report first, and then move on to the D-7 application. Mixing entity formation with the visa process tends to drag out the timeline.
Q3. Does the head office need to own 100% of the Korean entity? What matters is verifiable control. Even a joint venture can work if the head office holds meaningful equity and personnel authority. The ownership structure for your specific case needs to be reviewed.
Q4. Should the salary be paid by the head office or by the Korean entity? It depends on the structure. Looking at renewal and tax implications together, a structure in which part or all of the salary is reported by the Korean entity tends to be the most stable.
Q5. Can I change companies during the D-7 period of stay granted to me? In principle, this visa is premised on personnel transfers within the same corporate group, so moving to a different Korean employer requires a status change or a new visa.
Q6. How long is the initial period of stay? It varies by case and is granted in shorter or longer terms based on the size of the head office and the performance of the Korean entity. The exact length is decided during the immigration office's review.
Need a Specialist Consultation?
For the D-7 intra-company transferee visa, what determines approval is not the number of documents but the explanation of the head office–Korean entity relationship.
If continuity of head office service, job-duty alignment, or necessity of the assignment is weak, requests for additional documents will stretch the timeline.
Vision Administrative Agent Office handles the entire process, from D-7 CCVI through alien registration, extensions, and conversion to F-2.
Fees vary case by case and will be explained precisely during the free consultation.
Vision Administrative Agent Office Service Information
- Phone: 02-363-2251
- Email: 5000meter@gmail.com
- KakaoTalk: alexkorea
- Address: (04614) 3F Sungwoo Building, 324 Toegye-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
Official references are available from the Ministry of Justice HiKorea, the Korea Immigration Service, and the National Law Information Center.
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