Gimcheon City Launches On-Site Visa Application for Foreign Seasonal Workers

On-Site Seasonal Worker Visa Application Service Visits Farms

Gimcheon City in North Gyeongsang Province announced that it will begin full-scale operation of the 'On-Site Application Service for Seasonal Worker Visas Visiting Farms' to reduce the burden on farms struggling with foreign seasonal worker visa applications.

'On-site Application Service for Seasonal Worker Visa Visiting Farms' in Operation / Photo by Lee Ihwan

The city successfully completed the first on-site application session at the Gaeryeong-myeon Administrative Welfare Center on February 27. Building on this, it plans to provide a total of three closely tailored on-site services in high-demand areas such as Daedeok-myeon and Joma-myeon through March 4, 2026.

This year, Gimcheon City plans to introduce 387 foreign seasonal workers to farms, representing an increase of approximately 38% compared to 281 workers in 2025. As a result, a significant rise in visa application requests is expected.

Previously, farmers had to visit the Gimcheon City Agricultural Technology Center in person with marriage immigrants to apply for visa issuance. Especially during February and March, the peak season for farming preparations, applications were concentrated, leading to longer waiting times. If there were deficiencies in the complex process of preparing as many as 20 different required documents, farmers were required to revisit the center.

To address these inconveniences, the city has implemented an approach where administrative workers proactively visit the sites. Centering on three high-demand areas—Gaeryeong-myeon Administrative Welfare Center, Daedeok-myeon Administrative Welfare Center, and Joma-myeon Administrative Welfare Center—staff from the Gimcheon City Rural Workforce Support Team personally visit sites to receive and review the documents for visa applications.

Kim Youngho, head of the Smart Agriculture Division, stated, "Through the on-site application session in Gaeryeong-myeon on February 27, we achieved meaningful results in substantially reducing travel and wait times for farmers." He added, "We will continue to minimize inconvenience for farms with proactive civil service and respond efficiently to the increasing demand for foreign workers."

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