Immigration Violation Review and Illegal Employment

An immigration offender (출입국사범) is a person found to have violated the penalty provisions of the Immigration Act. Common examples on the foreigner's side are overstaying, working or changing workplaces without permission, and failing to meet the alien registration duty. Companies and their representatives who hire foreigners not allowed to work are also immigration offenders.

These cases are investigated by the immigration office, not the police. Even if the police learn of a case first, they must hand it over to the office, and it cannot be prosecuted without a referral from the head of the office (Article 101). So the office's investigation and review effectively decide the direction of the case.

If needed for the investigation, the office will ask you to appear for questioning and record your statement in a statement record. The record must be read to you or shown to you, and you must be asked whether anything was written incorrectly. If you ask for additions or changes, those must also be recorded. If your Korean is limited, ask for an interpreter.

It is important to explain truthfully how the violation happened. If there were circumstances such as your company not giving you the extension documents, missing the deadline because you were hospitalized, or being misinformed about the procedure to change workplaces, bring messages, medical certificates or documents that show this.

If a violation is confirmed, the case may end with a notice to pay an immigration fine, you may receive a departure order after the notice (Article 68(1)(5)), or, if the violation is serious, it may lead to a deportation order or a criminal referral. If the case appears to warrant imprisonment without labor or a heavier sentence, the head of the office must refer it immediately.

If you pay the immigration fine, the case does not go to criminal trial, but the violation record may be considered in later reviews for extension of stay or change of status of stay. When you receive a notice to pay an immigration fine, you must decide within 15 days whether to pay or dispute the violation.

Hiring a person without a work-eligible status of stay is punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to KRW 30 million, and hiring a foreigner who has not obtained permission to change workplace is punishable by imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to KRW 10 million. A corporation can also be fined under the joint penalty provisions, but can avoid this if it exercised considerable care and supervision to prevent the violation (Article 99-3).

In the investigation, what matters is whether you knew the worker's status of stay, whether you checked their residence card, and how many people you hired for how long. If you are punished, you may be restricted from hiring foreign workers for 3 years, which can be a bigger burden than the fine itself. Organize your hiring documents, verification records and staffing agency contracts before giving your statement.

Before hiring, check the worker's status of stay, period of stay and permitted scope of activities using their residence card, and keep a record. In some cases, such as student (D-2) or job seeker (D-10) status, the person needs permission for activities outside their status of stay to work.

If a foreign employee is dismissed, resigns, dies or cannot be reached, or if important terms of the employment contract change, you must report it to the office within 15 days. Failing to do so can lead to an administrative fine (과태료) of up to KRW 2 million (Articles 19 and 100). You must not discriminate against workers because they are foreign, and if you provide a dormitory, you must give information such as its structure, location and size before signing the contract.