Checklist for a short trip to Nepal (E-9: while working, while looking for a job, or while getting treatment)

When does this apply to you?

• You are working and you go to Nepal using annual leave or unpaid leave
• You are looking for a new job after a workplace change (3 months), and something urgent happens at home
• You are sick and want to get treatment or rest in Nepal
• Family events such as a wedding or a funeral

This guide is not for people whose stay period or job-seeking period has already ended. In that case, see Leaving and returning to Korea.

Checklist before you leave (for everyone)

1. Check your stay expiry date. You can see it on your 외국인등록증 and on 하이코리아 (HiKorea, the government immigration website). Buy your return ticket for a date 2 to 4 weeks before the expiry date. This is because tasks like extension applications and workplace change applications tend to pile up just before the expiry date.
2. You do not need to apply for a re-entry permit. Under Article 44-2 of the Enforcement Rules of the Immigration Act, registered foreigners, including E-9 holders, do not need a re-entry permit if they come back within 1 year from the day they leave (or within their remaining stay period, if it is shorter than 1 year). People who have an entry ban or visa issuance restrictions are not exempt. If this may apply to you, check with the 출입국·외국인관서 (Immigration Office) before you leave.
3. Take your 외국인등록증 with you. If the officer asks for your card at departure inspection, say "temporary departure, I will re-enter." People who plan to re-enter do not need to return it (Immigration Act Article 37(1) proviso). If you return it, your registration is cancelled (Enforcement Decree Article 47(1)), and when you come back you must register again from the beginning.
4. Do not claim 출국만기보험 or 귀국비용보험 (return cost insurance). These two insurances are money you get when you leave Korea. If you claim them, the 고용센터 and the insurance company may treat you as "leaving for good." Departure guarantee insurance and return cost insurance
5. Tell your company and the 고용센터 your dates. Send a text message with your departure date, return date, and contact number in Nepal. If you are looking for a job, you must tell your 고용센터 officer.
6. Things to bring to the airport: passport (check that it is valid well beyond your return date), 외국인등록증, round-trip ticket, a copy of your 근로계약서 (employment contract) (if you are looking for a job, a copy of your 구직등록필증 (job-seeker registration certificate)), and a 진단서 (medical certificate) if you are getting treatment.
7. Keep your phone and bank account open. Leave your automatic phone bill payment and your salary account as they are. If you cancel them, you must open them again when you come back.

What is different in each situation

While working (vacation)

• The basic rule is to use your annual leave. First, count how many days you have left. How to calculate annual leave
• If you want to stay longer than your annual leave, agree on unpaid leave with your employer in writing. A text message or KakaoTalk message is fine. If you only agree by talking and then leave, it counts as absence without permission. If it goes on for a long time, your employer may report you as having left your job.
• If you go during a holiday season, the holiday pay calculation changes. Working on Chuseok and Seollal, and holiday pay

While looking for a job (workplace change)

• You are told that the 3-month job-seeking period does not stop even if you leave Korea. Before you leave, ask the 고용센터 directly: "Does my job-seeking period keep running if I leave Korea?" It is good to get the answer by text message.
• While you are abroad, you cannot answer job-matching calls. You lose those chances. Keep the trip short, and save your officer's phone number.
• If you cannot look for a job because you are sick, submit a 진단서 and apply to have the period recalculated (Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers Article 25(3) proviso). When the grace period ends, sometimes only a few job-seeking days are left. So write down both the end date of the grace period and the number of job-seeking days left. Workplace change

While getting treatment

• Bring copies of your 진단서 from the Korean hospital, your medical records in English, and your prescription. If you get treatment in Nepal, get your medical records in English there too. You will use them after you come back to prove an industrial accident (work injury) or a reason for workplace change. Applying for industrial accident compensation
• If your health gets worse and you think you cannot come back in time, contact the 주네팔 대한민국대사관 (Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nepal) before your deadline ends and ask about extending your re-entry permit period (Immigration Act Article 30(3) and (4)). Ask the embassy and the 출입국·외국인관서 whether you can stay past your stay expiry date.
• If you are getting treatment for a work injury, tell your 근로복지공단 (Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service) officer before you leave. Check whether the trip affects your treatment period and your 휴업급여 (sick leave benefit for work injury).

When you come back from Nepal

1. Check which items you must declare for quarantine. Meat and meat products (ham, sausage, jerky, sundae (Korean blood sausage)), eggs, dairy products such as cheese and butter, fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, young plants, and soil must be declared to the 농림축산검역본부 (Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency) in the arrival hall. If you are not sure, do not bring it.
2. Fines for not declaring animal products: For pork or products containing pork from countries with African swine fever, the fine is 5,000,000원 for the 1st time, 7,500,000원 for the 2nd time, and 10,000,000원 for the 3rd time. For other animal products, it is 1,000,000원 for the 1st time, 3,000,000원 for the 2nd time, and 5,000,000원 for the 3rd time (Act on the Prevention of Contagious Animal Diseases Enforcement Decree, Annex 3). The Quarantine Agency publishes the list of affected countries. Check whether Nepal is on the list.
3. Plants not declared: If you bring in fruit, seeds, or similar items for your own use without quarantine inspection, the fine is 100,000원 for the 1st time, 500,000원 for the 2nd time, and 1,000,000원 for the 3rd time (Plant Protection Act Enforcement Decree, Annex 2).
4. At entry inspection, show your passport and 외국인등록증 together.
5. After you come back, tell your company and the 고용센터 that you are back. If your address has changed, report the change of residence within 15 days. Reissuing your registration card and changing your address

Be careful

• Returning your card = cancelling your registration. If you return it, your visa itself is not deleted, but your registration is. Even when you come back, you must register again, and in the meantime your bank, phone, and insurance will all have problems.
• Claiming 출국만기보험 = a sign that you are leaving for good. Do not claim it for a short trip.
• You cannot come back after your stay period expires. If your expiry date comes before the 1-year exemption period ends, your expiry date is the limit.
• If you are looking for a job, tell the 고용센터 before you leave. If you do not tell them, you may be taken off the job-matching list.
• If you lose your registration card in Nepal, apply for a new one within 14 days after you come back.

Frequently asked questions

Q. 1345 told me, "If you have a visa, you can re-enter." Is that all I need? A. No. 1345 only answers immigration questions. Immigration allowing you to re-enter and the 고용센터 accepting your job-seeking period are two different things. Check your job-seeking period, the end date of your sickness grace period, and the dates when job matching is possible separately with the 고용센터.

Q. Do I need to apply for a re-entry permit? A. E-9 registered foreigners are exempt if they re-enter within 1 year from the day they leave (or within their remaining stay period, if it is shorter). There is nothing to apply for.

Q. I need to stay longer in Nepal, but my deadline is close. A. Before your deadline ends, contact the embassy and ask about extending your re-entry permit period. If your stay expiry date comes first, an extension will not solve the problem, so also check with the 출입국·외국인관서.

Q. At the airport, they are asking me to hand in my registration card. A. Say "I will re-enter" and do not return it. People who plan to re-enter do not have to return it.

Q. What happens to my salary while I am away? A. Annual leave is paid. Unpaid leave is not paid. Ask your company in advance how your insurance payments will be settled.

Where to get help

• 외국인종합안내센터 (Immigration Contact Center) 1345 – immigration and re-entry
• 고용센터 (the number on your 구직등록필증) – job-seeking period and job matching
• 외국인력상담센터 (Foreign Workforce Counseling Center) 1577-0071 – interpreter connection with the 고용센터
• 주네팔 대한민국대사관 – extending your re-entry permit period
• 농림축산검역본부 – items you cannot bring in
• Full list: All help contacts