By Jung Da-hyun
Korea plans to extend visa allowances to let international students work as caregivers for the elderly, addressing a shortage of long-term care workers for senior citizens.
The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced, Friday, a new policy to introduce a dedicated work visa category for foreign students graduating from domestic universities to work as caregivers.
This initiative is part of broader efforts to address the growing shortage of long-term caregivers as the nation becomes a super-aged society and as a growing number of younger Koreans shun so-called “3D” or dirty, dangerous and difficult jobs.
Starting in July, both current international students and graduates will be eligible to obtain caregiver qualifications. Graduates who secure jobs in nursing facilities will be able to obtain E-7 visas, which permit employment in 88 occupations designated by the justice minister.
Until now, caregiver employment for non-Korean nationals has only been allowed to those holding the following visas: F-2 (long-term residents), F-4 (overseas Koreans), F-5 (permanent residents), F-6 (marriage migrants) and H-2 (ethnic Koreans from seven designated countries).
The government will implement a pilot program, allowing up to 400 international students annually to obtain two-year visas to work as caregivers.
Furthermore, ethnic Koreans with H-2 visas who obtain caregiver qualifications will be eligible to switch to F-4 visas for extended stays.
The health and welfare ministry also announced a plan to gradually reduce the number of recipients each nursing care worker is responsible for, aiming to enhance the quality of long-term care services.
The ratio of residents to caregivers in nursing facilities will be reduced from the current 2.3 to 2.1 starting in 2025.
Considering the potential staffing shortages, the ministry will allow the existing standard of 2.3 residents per caregiver to remain in place until the end of 2026.
With a potential shortage of caregivers looming due to the new staffing criteria and the fact that the average age of current caregivers reached 61.7 years as of December last year, the government is actively encouraging international students to enter the caregiving field.
Meanwhile, the government also plans to bring in approximately 100 caregivers from the Philippines to Seoul for a six-month pilot program, aiming to ease the child care burden on young working parents and address the declining birthrate.
Based on the program’s performance, the initiative may be expanded to 1,200 caregivers in the first half of next year.
However, there are concerns over a lack of clarity in the job descriptions for these caregivers, raising fears that the program may not sufficiently protect and ensure the welfare of migrant workers.
