Trade and Business (D-9). Essential personnel dispatched by the ordering company, or by a specialist service company it designates, to take part in shipbuilding or the manufacture of industrial plant, and people dispatched to or invited by a company importing industrial plant (machinery) to provide the know-how needed to install, operate and maintain (service) that equipment, are D-9 applicants. These activities are for-profit and fall outside short-term statuses such as visa exemption or short-term visits.
This guide is for Korean shipyards and plant makers receiving supervisors from overseas shipowners or buyers, and for Korean companies that import equipment and receive installation and commissioning support from the maker's engineers. Problems often start with the idea that "it is only a few days or weeks, so entering without a visa will do", so we begin with the right status and documents.
Key Summary
- Shipbuilding and industrial plant manufacturing supervision: essential personnel such as executives, senior managers and specialist engineers dispatched by the ordering company or a specialist service company it designates
- Export equipment (machinery) installation, operation and maintenance: people dispatched to or invited by a company importing industrial plant to provide installation, operation and maintenance (service) know-how
- These activities are for-profit and fall outside short-term statuses (B1, B2, C3), so a Short-Term Employment (C-4) or Trade and Business (D-9) visa applies
- For installing imported machinery, the contract must include installation obligations, and the applicant must have the essential skills for them
- Korean missions abroad issue a single-entry visa with a stay of 1 year or less
- The maximum D-9 stay granted at one time is 2 years
- At extension, a personal tax payment certificate (Class B earned income withholding receipt or income amount certificate) is filed
1. Why not come without a visa or on a short-term visit?
Foreign nationals dispatched to public or private organizations in Korea to install or maintain imported machinery, or to manufacture or supervise ships and industrial plant, are regarded as engaging in for-profit activity outside the scope of short-term statuses (B1, B2, C3). A Short-Term Employment (C-4) or Trade and Business (D-9) visa is therefore issued.
When applying for a C-4 or D-9 visa to install imported machinery, the contract (purchase contract or service outsourcing contract) must include installation obligations, and the applicant must have the essential skills for those obligations. If the skills can be sourced in Korea, the Korean labor market is considered first. If the equipment purchase contract has no clause stating that the seller performs installation and commissioning, this requirement is hard to explain.
Whether C-4 or D-9 fits depends on the length of stay and the activity, so it needs to be checked case by case. This guide covers the D-9 route.
2. Who falls under D-9?
| Type | Who | Key contract |
|---|---|---|
| Shipbuilding and industrial plant manufacturing and supervision | Essential personnel dispatched to take part in shipbuilding or industrial plant manufacturing (executives, senior managers, specialist engineers, etc. dispatched by the ordering company or a specialist service company it designates) | Order contract (shipbuilding order contract) |
| Installation, operation and maintenance of export equipment (machinery) | People dispatched to or invited by a company importing industrial plant (machinery) to provide the know-how needed to install, operate and maintain (service) it | Equipment import contract or other proof of importing industrial plant |
For example, a European shipowner ordering a vessel from a Korean shipyard and sending its own technical superintendent to supervise construction is the first type. A Korean factory importing production equipment from an overseas maker, with the maker's engineers handling installation and commissioning, is the second type.
3. Which documents are needed for the visa?
Korean missions abroad can issue a single-entry visa with a stay of 1 year or less for both types.
| Document | Equipment installation, operation, maintenance | Shipbuilding and plant supervision |
|---|---|---|
| Visa application, passport, standard photo | Required | Required |
| Contract documents | Equipment import contract or proof of importing industrial plant | Copy of the order contract |
| Dispatch order | Required | Required |
| Inviting company's business registration copy or corporate registry certificate | Required | Required |
| Annual tax payment certificate | Required | Required |
When the inviting Korean company applies to the immigration office for a visa issuance certificate, a statement of reasons for the invitation is added, and an agent filing on its behalf also submits a power of attorney, the agent's certificate of employment and the agent's ID. Missions and immigration offices may add or remove attachments to check the purpose of entry and the genuineness of the invitation.
4. If the person already entered short-term, can the status be changed in Korea?
People of the two types above who entered with visa exemption (B-1) or a short-term visa for unavoidable reasons can apply for a change of status. The documents are:
- Application form, passport, standard photo
- Statement of reasons for the change of status
- Dispatch order or certificate of employment (issued by headquarters)
- Shipbuilding order contract or equipment import contract
- Copy of business registration
- Tax payment certificate (the company's is accepted if the foreign national has no personal tax record)
Because "unavoidable reasons" are required, whether a change will be accepted when supervision or installation work was planned from the start but the person entered short-term needs to be checked case by case.
5. At extension, how is salary paid by the overseas headquarters proved?
The maximum D-9 stay granted at one time is 2 years. To extend for shipbuilding or plant supervision or export equipment installation, operation and maintenance, the documents are the application, passport and alien registration card, the dispatch order or certificate of employment (issued by headquarters), the shipbuilding order contract or equipment import contract, a copy of the business registration, the foreign national's personal tax payment certificate, and proof of residence.
Even when a foreign national works at a Korean site and is paid by the overseas headquarters, the salary is subject to Class B earned income tax unless a tax treaty or similar provides otherwise. Tax payment is therefore proved with one of the following:
- If the person joined a Class B earned income tax association that withheld tax monthly and settled it at year-end: the Class B earned income withholding receipt issued by the head of the association
- If the person did not join an association and filed and paid global income tax: the income amount certificate issued by the head of the tax office for the person's address
A person with Class B earned income who does not join an association files global income tax in May of the following year; if the person joins, the association withholds income tax every month and pays it to the tax office by the 10th of the following month. If there is no tax record at extension time, prepare the reasons and alternative documents in advance.
6. What if the person moves to another site?
When holders of D-7 through D-9 move within the same affiliate group, it is handled as an alien registration change report. For people providing shipbuilding or plant supervision or export equipment installation, operation and maintenance know-how, the documents are the application, passport and alien registration card, the original dispatch order (issued by headquarters) or certificate of employment (issued by headquarters), and the shipbuilding order contract or equipment import contract. A move to a site of a company outside the affiliate group needs to be checked case by case.
7. Common problems
- Entering without a visa or on a short-term visit and working on installation or supervision
- No installation or commissioning obligation in the equipment purchase contract
- The project or period in the dispatch order does not match the contract
- No Class B earned income tax record at extension, so no personal tax payment certificate can be filed
- Applying for supervisors sent by a company that is neither the ordering company nor a service company it designated
8. How A-One Certified Administrative Agent can help
We check which type the dispatched staff fall under and whether the contract's installation or supervision clauses match the dispatch order, and organize the visa, change and extension documents and the order in which to prepare tax proof. We do not handle tax filing. The immigration office decides each case, so no result can be promised, and we do not handle litigation or court representation (outside the scope of an administrative scrivener).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a D-9 or C-4 needed even for a short commissioning job?
Being dispatched to a Korean organization to install or maintain imported machinery is for-profit activity outside short-term statuses (B1, B2, C3), so a C-4 or D-9 visa applies. Which one fits a short stay needs to be checked case by case.
Who must send the shipowner's supervisor?
Executives, senior managers, specialist engineers and similar staff dispatched by the ordering company or a specialist service company it designates.
What visa does a mission issue?
For both types, a single-entry visa with a stay of 1 year or less can be issued.
The salary is paid only by the overseas headquarters. Is tax due in Korea?
Unless a tax treaty or similar provides otherwise, it is subject to Class B earned income tax, and a Class B earned income withholding receipt or income amount certificate is filed at extension. Confirm the actual tax and filing with a tax professional.
After a long stay in this work, is there a sales requirement for general permanent residency?
For general permanent residency (F-5-1), the average annual export or sales standard applied to D-9 holders does not apply to export equipment installers, operators and maintainers or shipbuilding and plant supervisors. The other permanent residency requirements must still be met.
Related Guides
- Tax payment documents when salary is paid by the overseas headquarters
- When a re-entry permit is needed after leaving Korea
- Workplace changes and moves within the same affiliate group
Consultation
에이원 행정사사무소 (A-One Certified Administrative Agent) is an administrative office that supports document preparation and filing with the authorities. Fees vary by case and are explained during a consultation. Phone 02-309-3107 · Contact: https://investkorea.co.kr/en/contact