"Visa sponsor companies" are decided in paperwork, not in job posts — Job channels and verification by visa status (2026 edition)

Korea has no system where companies register in advance as "visa sponsors." What exists in the Immigration Act (enforced Jan. 23, 2026; Act No. 20992) is only the procedure for an inviter to apply on behalf of the applicant for a Certificate of Visa Issuance (Article 9, paragraphs 1 and 2), and whether it's issued is decided by the Minister of Justice after reviewing the company's documents. Even if a job post says "visa sponsorship available," that's the company's statement of intent, not the result of a government review.

Job channels differ by visa status from the start. For E-9 and H-2, employers choose from candidate rosters provided by employment service agencies (Article 8, paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Act on Foreign Workers Employment, current as of 2026), so there is no channel for workers to apply through job postings. If you apply through a general job site without understanding this, nothing will happen.

First, separate them — are you applying, or being connected?

Even though they're both called "foreign worker job matching," the procedures are completely different. If you start down the wrong path here, the verification methods that follow won't help.

Confirm which side you're on first. Whether your status allows employment activity or requires permission for activity outside your status is set out, article by article, in Work permissions by visa status.

If you're E-9 or H-2, there's only one channel

The Employment Permit System (EPS) is not a system workers apply to; it's a system employers apply to. Procedures and required documents are in EPS employment procedures; here we'll only look at the channel issue.

• Private placement is prohibited. Anyone other than an employment service agency may not engage in selection, placement, or any other involvement in the hiring of foreign workers (Act on Foreign Workers Employment, Article 8, paragraph 6, as of 2026). Violations are subject to imprisonment for up to one year or a criminal fine of up to 10 million KRW (same Act, Article 29, item 1).
• The contract form is fixed by law. Employers must use a standard employment contract specified by ordinance of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (Article 9, paragraph 1), and may have HRD Korea (Human Resources Development Service of Korea) proxy the contract execution (Article 9, paragraph 2).
• Changing workplaces follows the same structure. Within one month of the end of the employment contract, apply to the head of the employment service agency; obtain change-of-workplace permission within three months of the application date. The number of changes is limited in principle to three times during the initial work period and twice during any extension period (Article 25, paragraphs 1, 3, and 4). Re-employment procedures apply Articles 6, 8, and 9 by reference (Article 25, paragraph 2).

For all other statuses, channels branch into four

There are only three things you can confirm about a platform — who runs it, the registration/reporting number shown in the footer, and which languages it offers. Even those are self-reported by each site, so the table below contains no rankings or recommendations.

The date on the list is there for a reason. KLiK, the foreign-worker hiring platform run by Jobkorea, shut down its service on June 8, 2026 (announced June 5, 2026). After shutdown, web and app access were blocked, data recovery became impossible, and users were told to contact companies separately for any hiring in progress.

There is no "visa sponsor" system in Korea

The English-speaking job-hunt concept of a "visa sponsor" has no equivalent in Korea's system. So if you ask "Is this company registered as a sponsor?" the company won't know how to answer. What actually divides cases is two branches.

If you're entering Korea, the company applies on your behalf for a Certificate of Visa Issuance. The inviter submits an application to the chief, office director, or branch director with jurisdiction over the inviter's address; the jurisdictional office confirms the issuance criteria and forwards it to the Minister of Justice; if the Minister approves, the Ministry sends an electronic copy of the certificate to the head of the overseas mission and notifies the inviter of the visa-issuance certificate number (Immigration Act Enforcement Rule, Article 17). You then write that number on your visa application form and apply for the visa at the overseas mission (same Enforcement Rule, Article 17-2, paragraph 1).

The list of eligible categories includes everything from Culture & Arts (D-1) through Marriage Migrant (F-6), plus Working Visit (H-2), Other (G-1), and Permanent Residence (F-5) (Enforcement Rule, Article 17, paragraph 1). But being on the eligible list and actually being issued are two different things. We haven't confirmed processing times or fees from primary sources; check with ☎1345.

If you're already in Korea, it splits into change of status or change of workplace permission. Either way, the review is based on the documents the company submits. So instead of parsing job-post wording, ask the company two things — "What status and occupation do you plan to apply for me under?" and "Have you ever applied for a Certificate of Visa Issuance before?" If you're aiming for E-7, the company faces its own requirements; wage criteria and citizen-employment ratios are laid out with Ministry of Justice announcement references in E-7 job codes and requirements.

What you can cross-check against the law when you open a posting

Job-information providers must report to the Minister of Employment and Labor (Employment Security Act, Article 23, paragraph 1), and six compliance items are set out in the Enforcement Decree (same Act, Article 25; Enforcement Decree, Article 28, as of 2026). These are things you can check on the spot with the posting open.

• Ads with unverifiable identity are prohibited. This catches ads where the company name or individual name cannot be confirmed, where a business registration certificate is not verifiable, or where contact information is shown only as a P.O. box (item 1).
• Contact details must be the employer's. Listing the job-information provider's address or phone number in the ad is prohibited (item 2).
• Phrases like "(free) job counseling," "job referral," "job support" may not be used in ad copy (item 3).
• Proxy résumé-sending and job-referral-letter issuance are also prohibited (item 4).
• Registration or reporting numbers must be displayed legibly (item 5).
• Job postings below minimum wage and ads for businesses engaged in acts prohibited by Article 4 of the Act on Punishment of Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts may not be posted (item 6).

There's one more in Act Article 25, item 1. If the employer is a wage-delinquent employer whose name is currently publicly disclosed under Article 43-2 of the Labor Standards Act, that fact must be posted so job seekers can see it. The minimum-wage baseline itself can be checked at Minimum wage for foreign workers.

False ads are handled by two different laws. Lump them together and you'll apply the wrong law to small-business postings.

The scope of "false job ads" is defined in four items by Employment Security Act Enforcement Decree Article 34 — ads for product sales, course enrollment, side-job placement, or fundraising disguised as job offers (item 1); ads that do not disclose the employer's identity (item 2); ads where the job title, employment type, or working conditions differ markedly from what was stated when applicants applied (item 3); and other ads with important content that differs from the facts (item 4). If conditions change at the interview, item 3 is your comparison standard.

Fair Hiring Procedures Act Article 4-3 prohibits employers from requiring or collecting information on appearance, height, weight, region of origin, marital status, property, or the education, occupation, or property of lineal ascendants/descendants and siblings (violations: administrative fine of up to 5 million KRW, Article 17, paragraph 2). But this also applies only to workplaces with 30 or more regular employees.

Two ways you can look up the company yourself

Both are Korean-language screens, but they work without login, and you only need to know which field to fill in and what value comes out.

National Tax Service Hometax/Sontax business-registration-status lookup — Enter the ten-digit business registration number and you'll see whether it's a continuing business, on leave, or closed, and the tax type. The same function is available as an open API on the Public Data Portal. What doesn't appear is also clear. Wage-delinquency history and foreign-worker hiring restrictions do not show up here. "Continuing business" doesn't mean "good company"; it means the business registration is active.

National Pension enrolled-workplace public data — You can see the workplace name, location, and number of subscribers. Coverage is limited to corporate workplaces with three or more subscribers and individual businesses with ten or more (as of the July 2025 standard), so smaller companies won't appear at all. Not appearing doesn't mean the company doesn't exist.

If money is demanded, stop there

When you meet a demand involving money — introduction fees, proxy fees, deposits, training fees — don't try to judge legality yourself; record it first. The legal basis splits by status.

• E-9 / H-2 — No one except an authorized proxy may receive money or goods in exchange for proxying employment-contract execution or employment-related work (Act on Foreign Workers Employment, Article 27, paragraph 4). Violations are punishable by imprisonment for up to one year or a criminal fine of up to 10 million KRW (Article 29, item 5).
• All other statuses — Recruiters may not receive money or goods, or any benefit, from applicants under any pretext (Employment Security Act, Article 32, main clause). Violations are punishable by imprisonment for up to five years or a criminal fine of up to 50 million KRW (Article 47, item 5).
• Paid job placement — No money or goods may be received other than fees determined and announced by the Minister of Employment and Labor; only when introducing high-level or professional personnel may fees agreed upon by the parties be received from the employer (Employment Security Act, Article 19, paragraph 3). We haven't confirmed the current announced amounts, so leave amount judgments to ☎1350.
• Unregistered placement — Operating a paid job-placement business without registration is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years or a criminal fine of up to 50 million KRW (Article 47, item 1); operating a business that places or solicits employment for foreigners without work-authorized status is punishable by imprisonment for up to three years or a criminal fine of up to 30 million KRW (Immigration Act, Article 94, item 10).

If someone calls themselves a "visa proxy," check their qualifications first. Only agencies registered with the Ministry of Justice may proxy immigration applications and reports (Immigration Act, Article 79-2), and registration status can be looked up under "Immigration Proxy Service Provider Information" on Hi Korea. Anyone who is not an administrative agent but carries out administrative-agent work as a business is subject to imprisonment for up to three years or a criminal fine of up to 30 million KRW (Administrative Agents Act, Article 3, paragraph 1; Article 36, paragraph 1, item 1).

Getting hired isn't the end

The final checks are the contract and reporting obligations. Employers must specify wages, prescribed working hours, holidays, annual paid leave, and more, and must deliver to the worker in writing the components, calculation method, and payment method of wages, plus prescribed working hours, holidays, and annual leave (Labor Standards Act, Article 17, paragraphs 1 and 2). Violations are subject to a criminal fine of up to 5 million KRW (Article 114, item 1). It's an obligation regardless of nationality or visa status.

Companies have reporting obligations, too. Anyone who employs a foreigner with work-authorized status must report to the head of the regional immigration office within 15 days if that worker is fired, resigns, dies, becomes whereabouts-unknown, or experiences a significant change in the employment contract (Immigration Act, Article 19, paragraph 1). If you ask in the interview, "Have you ever hired a foreigner? Have you ever filed an Article 19 report?" you can gauge the company's experience level.

If you're unsure which window to use for what, see Complete list of official foreign-worker consultation channels first.

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Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Q1. I'm on E-9 — can I apply through job posts I see on hiring sites? E-9 hiring works by the employer applying for an employment permit; the head of the employment service agency recommends eligible candidates from the foreign job-seeker roster; and the employer selects from that list (Act on Foreign Workers Employment, Article 8, paragraphs 1, 3, and 4). There is no procedure in the system for workers to apply through job posts, so even if you submit an application, you won't be connected through that channel. On top of that, anyone other than an employment service agency is prohibited from engaging in selection or placement under the same Act, Article 8, paragraph 6, and violators face imprisonment for up to one year or a criminal fine of up to 10 million KRW under Article 29, item 1. For procedures, see EPS employment procedures, and confirm your own case with ☎1577-0071.

Q2. If a posting says "visa sponsorship available," will I get a visa? No. Korea has no system where companies register as sponsors in advance. What exists is the procedure for an inviter to apply on behalf of the applicant for a Certificate of Visa Issuance (Immigration Act, Article 9, paragraphs 1 and 2), and if you're already in Korea, change-of-status or change-of-workplace permission. Either way, the decision is made by reviewing the documents the company submits, so the posting wording is just the company's statement of intent. Ask the company "What status and occupation do you plan to apply for me under?" and get a probability judgment from ☎1345.

Q3. How can I confirm the company actually exists? Enter the ten-digit business registration number into the National Tax Service Hometax or Sontax system and you can see without login whether it's a continuing business, on leave, or closed, plus the tax type. National Pension enrolled-workplace public data shows the workplace name, location, and number of subscribers, but only for corporate workplaces with three or more subscribers and individual businesses with ten or more (as of the July 2025 standard), so smaller companies won't be listed. Neither lookup shows wage-delinquency history or foreign-worker hiring restrictions, so ask ☎1350 about those.

Q4. They're asking for a "visa proxy fee." Should I pay? Don't judge legality yourself; first record the date and content of the demand. For E-9/H-2, no one except an authorized proxy may receive money in exchange for proxy work (Act on Foreign Workers Employment, Article 27, paragraph 4; penalty in Article 29, item 5); for all other statuses, recruiters are prohibited from receiving money from applicants (Employment Security Act, Article 32; penalty in Article 47, item 5). Immigration-application proxying may only be done by agencies registered with the Ministry of Justice (Immigration Act, Article 79-2), so first check registration status under "Immigration Proxy Service Provider Information" on Hi Korea, then leave the judgment to ☎1350 or ☎1345.

Q5. The hiring platform I was using suddenly disappeared. It happens. Jobkorea's foreign-worker hiring platform KLiK shut down its service on June 8, 2026, and the announcement said that after shutdown, web and app access would be blocked, data recovery would be impossible, and users would need to contact companies separately for any hiring in progress (announced June 5, 2026). That's why it's safer to save your application history and contact names/numbers outside the platform from the start. The public channel work24.go.kr lets you search regional job listings without login, so use it as an alternate route from the beginning.