Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to Increase 'E-9 Visa' Foreign Workers by 25%

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The government has allocated 8,000 foreign workers in the agricultural sector who can enter the country through the Employment Permit System (E-9 visa) this year, an increase of 25% compared to the previous year.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 20th that it will implement the "2022 Activation Plan for Foreign Workers in the Agricultural Sector," which includes this content.

Recently, the number of foreign workers entering with E-9 visas has been on the rise. Following 252 in November last year, 242 in December, and 398 in January this year, more than 400 are expected to enter this month.

In addition, the Ministry extended the employment activity period by one year from the expiration date for about 4,500 foreign workers in the agricultural sector whose stay and employment activity periods expire between January 1 and April 12 this year, in preparation for possible difficulties in entry and exit due to COVID-19. For those whose periods expire after that (April 13 to December 31, 2022), the extension will be additionally reviewed in March after examining the COVID-19 quarantine situation and conditions for introducing foreign labor.

Regarding foreign seasonal workers (C-4 and E-8 visas), about 10,000 have been applied for introduction by 53 local governments this year, and preliminary screening by immigration authorities is currently underway.

The Ministry also allowed small-scale poultry and pig farms to employ foreign workers. Specifically, previously, pig farms under 1,000㎡ and poultry farms under 2,000㎡ were not allowed to hire foreign workers, but now pig farms between 500 and 1,000㎡ and poultry farms between 1,000 and 2,000㎡ can each employ two foreign workers.

Additionally, for paprika crop farms, considering the trend of greenhouse enlargement, the allocation of foreign workers has been expanded from a maximum of 20 to 25.

Lee Deokmin, Director of Management Personnel at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "We are closely cooperating with related ministries to ensure no disruption in the introduction of foreign workers and are also thoroughly implementing quarantine measures, such as securing and operating additional quarantine facilities for foreign workers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.