Foreigners residing in Korea who wish to engage in activities corresponding to a different visa status while also engaging in activities corresponding to their current visa status must obtain an Activity Permit for Foreigners with Non-corresponding Visa Status from the Minister of Justice in advance. When the local immigration office receives an application for an Activity Permit for Foreigners with Non-corresponding Visa Status, they evaluate it and if the new activity is recognized as the main activity, the applicant is allowed to receive a visa change permit instead of an Activity Permit for Foreigners with Non-corresponding Visa Status.
According to the "2018 Guidelines for the Management of Residency," an Activity Permit for Foreigners with Non-corresponding Visa Status is only allowed if the previous activity and the new activity belong to different visa statuses. If the work hours are longer or the salary is higher than those of the original workplace, the Activity Permit for Foreigners with Non-corresponding Visa Status is not permitted. Additionally, if the residency status is deemed insufficiently stable or contrary to national interests, such as having multiple jobs, the Activity Permit for Foreigners with Non-corresponding Visa Status is not allowed. Occupations that can be filled by Koreans in the humanities and social sciences sectors and those holding short-term visas for 90 days or less are generally not permitted to engage in activities with an Activity Permit for Foreigners with Non-corresponding Visa Status, and those holding qualifications for technical training (D-3), non-professional employment (E-9), sailor employment (E-10), and visiting employment (H-2) are restricted from engaging in such activities. The domestic employment of family members of foreign diplomats in the embassy is allowed to engage in an Activity Permit for Foreigners with Non-corresponding Visa Status only for those recommended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs (the official in charge of the embassy in Korea) based on mutual goodwill.
On the other hand, if a foreigner residing in Korea wishes to engage in business that generates income or engage in an activity that involves receiving compensation for a certain period of time outside the scope of their visa status, they must obtain an Activity Permit for Foreigners with Non-corresponding Visa Status. "Business that generates income" refers to activities that generate income through continuous and repeated activities, including self-employment such as retail and manufacturing, as well as non-profit school management and religious group operations. "Activities that receive compensation" refer to receiving money or goods as compensation for labor, service provision, and administrative tasks, regardless of employment status. However, activities that receive incidental fees, prizes, and other compensation that are part of daily life and do not infringe upon the essential nature of activities according to their existing visa status do not require an Activity Permit for Foreigners with Non-corresponding Visa Status.



- Foreign professors, researchers, CEOs of foreign investment companies, etc., who receive honorariums for temporary lectures, speeches, discussions, etc. that are not professionally performed.
- Temporary compensation for activities such as advice and emotional support, event participation, temporary appearances in movies or broadcasting (one-time), and other similar activities that are not professionally performed.
- Stipends received by international students for internships related to credit acquisition or participation in university research projects, as well as stipends received by work-study students who participate as teaching assistants or library staff.
- Honorariums received for temporary daily household chores and office support that are not professionally performed, such as those for domestic helpers.
- Honorariums or temporary compensation received in daily life within the scope of social norms that do not exceed the activity range of the existing Residence Status.
- Volunteering without profit purposes, such as at public institutions, orphanages, nursing homes, free meal services, charity bazaars, international exhibitions, and international events, by non-registered foreigners (food and transportation expenses can be reimbursed).


Note that if you teach a foreign language at a language institute, you must obtain an activity permit for stay outside of your status (E-2) as a conversation instructor. Also, if you want to work in cultural activities such as acting in a movie or TV drama, you must obtain an activity permit for stay outside of your status (E-6). If you want to work as a foreign language-related profession such as a researcher or interpreter at a cultural research institute or media organization, or as a foreign teacher at a school, you must obtain an activity permit for stay outside of your status (E-7). If you are a qualified professor (E-1) or researcher (E-3) and want to work as a required professional employee for domestic recruitment of foreign investment companies, foreign company branches in Korea, or as a management consulting consultant for foreign companies, you must obtain an activity permit for stay outside of your status (E-7).