How to Read Your 구직등록필증 (Job Seeker Registration Certificate): Your Visa Date and Your Job-Search Period Are Different

When do you get this paper?

After your employment contract ends, you apply for a workplace change at the 고용센터. When your application is accepted, you are also registered as a job seeker. At this time, the 고용센터 gives you the 구직등록필증. The reasons and steps for changing workplace are in Workplace change – reasons, steps, number of times. If you are changing because you are sick, see Workplace change for health reasons.

How to read the paper

The design of the certificate can be a little different at each 고용센터. Usually it has the boxes below.

Box	Meaning	What to check
입국일 (Entry date)	The day you first came to Korea	Used to count your work period (3 years, +1 year 10 months if re-employed)
체류자격 (Status of stay)	E-9, etc.	Check that it is the same as on your residence card
구직등록일 (Job seeker registration date)	The day you applied for a workplace change = the day your 3 months start	Count 3 months from this date
구직등록유효기간 (Job seeker registration validity period)	The time you have to find a new company	If you do not have the new company's employment permit and a workplace change permit by the end date, you must leave Korea
접수기관·담당자·전화번호 (Office, officer in charge, phone number)	The 고용센터 that gave you this paper, and the officer in charge	Ask questions here
Handwritten note	Conditions written by the officer (example: "Job referrals possible from month ○ day ○")	This is the day you can really start getting introduced to companies
Notice on the back	Rules to follow while looking for work	Read it carefully. If you do not understand, call 1577-0071 and ask for an interpreter

If the validity period is longer than 3 months, a deferral was added because of illness or a similar reason. In this case, your real remaining job-search time is from the "referrals possible" date in the handwritten note to the end date of the validity period.

Example of counting dates (based on a real case, with changes)

• Job seeker registration date 2026-04-29 → normally, 3 months until 2026-07-29.
• The worker got sick while looking for work and gave a medical certificate. The 고용센터 added a 6-month deferral.
• The validity period on the certificate changed to 2027-01-30. A handwritten note said "Referrals possible from 2027-01-25."
• So the worker can really get introduced to companies only from 2027-01-25 to 01-30, about 6 days.

A deferral pauses the days that were left when you got sick. When the deferral ends, counting starts again from those remaining days. The days you used before the deferral do not come back. Do not look only at the end date and think "I still have a few months."

What to do during a deferral

1. When you get better, go to the 고용센터 right away. Take a medical certificate that says your treatment is finished or that you can work. Tell the officer at your office, "I want to start getting job referrals now." The officer decides if you can start again before the deferral ends.
2. Look for a company before the deferral ends. If you found a company yourself, ask the officer if that company can apply for an employment permit at the 고용센터 before or right after your referral date. If you have only a few job-search days left, there is no time to wait for referrals.
3. If you are still sick, give a new medical certificate before the deferral ends. By law, the time is not counted while you cannot apply or get a permit because of a work injury, illness, pregnancy, childbirth, etc. Counting starts from the day that reason ends. Ask about a further deferral with a new medical certificate. If you go after the deferral ends, it is too late.
4. If you change your phone number, tell them right away. If you miss referral text messages and calls, your job-search days just pass.

Short trips abroad (visiting Nepal) during the job-search period

This is possible, but there are conditions.

1. You do not need a separate re-entry permit. People with foreigner registration (including E-9) do not need a re-entry permit if they come back within 1 year from the day they leave, and within their remaining period of stay. When 1345 says "If you have a visa, you can re-enter," this is what it means.
2. But your job-search period keeps getting shorter while you are abroad. Being able to re-enter and still having job-search time are two different things. If your validity period has passed when you come back, you must leave Korea.
3. Before you leave, tell the officer at the 고용센터 your travel dates. Decide when you leave, when you come back, and how you will receive referral contacts while you are away.
4. Do not give back your residence card at the airport. Say, "I will come back (short trip)." The immigration officer checks if you will come back within 1 year. If you give back your card, it is treated as leaving Korea for good, and your foreigner registration can be cancelled.
5. Do not claim 출국만기보험 (departure guarantee insurance) or 귀국비용보험 (return cost insurance). You get this money when you leave Korea for good. If you claim it for a short trip, it may look like you are leaving for good. For details, see Departure guarantee insurance and return cost insurance.
6. Come back well before the end of the validity period. Finding a company and getting a permit takes time. It is safe to have at least a few weeks extra. If you have little job-search time left, think again about whether to travel at all.
7. If you are going because you are sick, take a copy of your medical certificate, and keep records of any treatment in Nepal. When you come back and ask about a further deferral, you may need a new medical certificate from a Korean hospital.

Important points

• After the validity period ends, your status of stay does not continue. The law says a worker who does not get a workplace change permit within 3 months must leave Korea. The period of stay on your residence card was given on the condition that you work with E-9 status. When your job-search period ends, you must leave no matter what that period says. If you keep staying, you can be deported (forced to leave Korea). For what to do next, see Leaving and coming back to Korea.
• There is also a 1-month deadline. You must apply within 1 month from the day your employment contract ended to get the certificate.
• If you do not understand a date on the certificate, ask right away. Call your office's phone number, or call 1577-0071 and ask for an interpreter to check it together.
• If you lose the certificate, contact your office. If you take a photo of it, it is easy to check the dates.
• If you are in a re-employment or extension period, also check how much work period you have left. See E-9 re-employment and extension.

Frequently asked questions

Q. My residence card says I can stay until 2028. Why do I have to leave? A. That date is your period of stay. It is not your job-search period. If you do not get a permit for a new company within 3 months after applying for a workplace change (or within the remaining time after a deferral, if you had one), you must leave Korea by law. The date on your card does not change this.

Q. 1345 said I can re-enter. So can I go to Nepal to rest and come back? A. You can re-enter (within 1 year after leaving, and within your remaining period of stay). But your job-search period keeps getting shorter. If you have only a few job-search days left, they will end while you are away. Before you leave, first talk with the officer at the 고용센터 about whether a deferral is possible.

Q. If I get a deferral, do I get a new 3 months? A. No. A deferral pauses the remaining days while you are sick. The days you used before the deferral do not come back. Count your remaining days using the handwritten date and the end date of the validity period on your certificate.

Q. I got better during my deferral. Do I have to wait? A. Do not wait. Take your medical certificate to the 고용센터 and ask if you can start getting referrals again. If you have only a few job-search days left, it is important to get introduced to companies as early as possible, even one day earlier.

Q. My validity period has ended, and I still have not found a company. A. Talk to the 고용센터 and 1345 right away. Even if you have time left on your period of stay, this does not extend your job search. You may need to collect money owed to you (퇴직금 (severance pay), departure guarantee insurance, insurance payment settlement) and get ready to leave Korea. The steps are in Leaving and coming back to Korea.

Where to get help

• The officer's phone number at your office, written on your certificate (they know your dates best)
• 외국인력상담센터 (Foreign Worker Counseling Center) 1577-0071 (Employment Permit System, interpreters in many languages)
• 고용노동부 (Ministry of Employment and Labor) customer center 1350 (workplace change, job-search period)
• 외국인종합안내센터 (Immigration Contact Center) 1345 (stay, re-entry, many languages)
• 하이코리아 (HiKorea, the immigration website) www.hikorea.go.kr (re-entry permits, stay applications)
• More contacts: Help contacts list