Hello, business owners! 🙌🏻
This is Vijob, a platform specialized in hiring foreign workers.
If you have been employing foreign students as part-time workers for a long time, situations like this can happen.
“A student who had been working at our store on a D-2 visa has now graduated.”
“They changed their visa to D-10 to prepare for employment, but can they keep working at the same store?”
The good news is that a visa change does not necessarily mean they must stop working.
However, since the part-time work permit they received under D-2 does not automatically carry over to D-10, they can continue working if they recheck the part-time work requirements under their D-10 status and obtain a new permit.
Simply put, here is how to understand it.
D-2 part-time work permit
→ After graduation, status change to D-10
→ Check whether part-time work is allowed under D-10
→ Apply for a new permission for activities outside the status of residence
→ Continue working after approval
Today, Vijob will make it easy for business owners who want to keep working with their existing foreign student employees! 💙
✅ Check 1. First, confirm the detailed D-10 category
D-10 is a status of residence widely used by foreigners preparing for employment.
The type that business owners most commonly encounter is D-10-1 General Job-Seeking.
As of 2026, holders of D-10-1 General Job-Seeking who graduated from a domestic university and meet certain requirements can continue part-time work after obtaining a separate part-time work permit.
Typically, the following conditions are checked together.
✔ D-10-1 General Job-Seeking status of residence
✔ Earned an associate degree or higher from a domestic university
✔ Within a certain period after graduation
✔ Meets Korean language requirements such as TOPIK or the Korea Immigration and Integration Program (KIIP) (사회통합프로그램)
Because the applicable conditions can differ depending on the foreigner’s educational background and past residence or employment history, if an employee has changed to D-10, please first check the detailed status of residence.
✅ Check 2. If it’s the same store, why do they need to get permission again?
This is the part business owners are most curious about.
For example, let’s say Vietnamese student A
While attending university → D-2 visa
Received part-time work permission at our restaurant → worked part-time for 1 year
After graduation, to prepare for employment → changed to D-10-1.
The store is the same, the owner is the same, and the work is the same.
So you might think, “We already reported it before, so can’t they just keep working?”
Because D-2 and D-10 are different residence statuses, part-time work permission is also checked again based on the residence status you currently hold.
In other words, even if the workplace is the same, rather than continuing the permission you received under D-2, you can apply for a new permission for activities outside your status based on D-10.
If you adjust the procedure again, it is fully possible to keep working with the existing employee.
✅ Check 3. When can work resume?
If the change of status to D-10 has been completed, it is best to check the new part-time work permission under D-10 before continuing work.
So it is easiest to think of the process like this.
D-10 change approval --> D-10 part-time work eligibility check --> Apply for permission for activities outside the status at the current workplace --> Permission completed --> Continue working at the existing workplace
In other words, there is no need to end work immediately when the employee graduates; you can prepare the new permission procedure in line with the visa change timing.
If you want to keep a good employee, it is also a good idea to check in advance when the change from D-2 to D-10 will take place.
✅ Check 4. How many hours can you work under D-10?
D-10-1 part-time work has a working-hours standard that is allowed when certain requirements are met.
Under the current guidance, the basic range is up to 25 hours per week,
and the allowed weekly hours may be expanded if certain conditions are met, such as completion of Level 5 or higher in the Korea Immigration and Integration Program (KIIP) (사회통합프로그램).
What is important here is that the working hours approved under D-2 do not carry over unchanged to D-10. For example, if you worked 20 hours per week under D-2,
after changing to D-10, they will be checked again according to D-10 standards.
✔ Possible working hours
✔ Workplace
✔ Working period
Therefore, as the business owner, you should ultimately adjust the work schedule based on the newly approved working conditions.
✅ Check 5. What documents do you need to prepare when applying again?
When preparing D-10 part-time work permission, the following are generally checked.
✔ Employment contract
✔ Business registration certificate
✔ Workplace-related supporting documents
From the employer’s perspective, it is best to first prepare a new employment contract that matches the current working conditions.
Rather than using the contract that was written under D-2 as is, current hourly wage / workdays / working hours / working period / duties should be organized to match the actual conditions after the D-10 change, which will make the later procedure much easier.
📌 Boss, here’s how to proceed!
If your foreign employee has changed from D-2 student → graduated → D-10, don’t overthink it.
① Check approval for the D-10 change
② Check the detailed stay status and part-time work requirements for D-10-1
③ Prepare a new employment contract
④ Apply for permission to engage in activities outside the status of stay based on the current workplace
⑤ Check the approved working hours and conditions
⑥ Keep working with the existing employee 💙
In other words, a visa change does not mean you have to hire a new employee.
As the status of stay has changed, if you go through the employment permission process once more, you can continue working with a good employee.
💡 You can keep a good foreign employee with you even after graduation
If you have already worked together for a long time, the employee knows the job well, and you work well together, there is no need to look for someone new as soon as they graduate.
If the employee has changed their status of stay to D-10, check whether part-time work is allowed under the current visa → obtain the necessary permit again → continue employing them.
Even if a foreign employee’s visa changes, there are still ways to keep working with a good employee. 😊💙
💙 Hiring foreign workers, start with Vijob from the beginning!
At Vijob, global talent with a variety of visas and experience is waiting for you, boss.
If a foreign employee’s visa has changed, or if you want to hire a new foreign worker, don’t worry about it alone.
Vijob will help you with everything from recruiting foreign workers to connecting you with global talent.
At Vijob, we support you all at once. Boss, just tell us what talent you need.
Meet global talent that fits your store better, faster at Vijob! 😊💙
✔ Register and promote foreign job postings
✔ Guidance on hiring eligibility by visa type
✔ Networking with foreign talent by country
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