Your Contract Ended. Three Things Just Changed.
Your occupation, your industry and your income bracket — the exact three things you report to immigration. A five-minute filing on HiKorea puts the record straight.
We place teachers, so we see what happens after a contract ends. People leave, or move schools, or spend a few weeks interviewing — and the record immigration holds about their job quietly stops matching reality. Most of the time nothing comes of it. Sometimes it turns into a fine conversation nobody needed to have.
That conversation is avoidable, and avoiding it takes about five minutes online. This page is the short version: two paths depending on whether you have a new job, the seven screens you will actually see, and the one thing this filing does not cover.
Why a contract ending is reportable at all
The published rule does not say “report when your contract ends.” What it lists is narrower and more precise: you report a change to your occupation, your industry, or your annual income bracket. Ending a contract moves all three at once — which is what brings you inside the rule. The form is built for it: there is a 무직 value for occupation and industry, and a No Income bracket.
That distinction matters in the other direction too. If you moved straight into a similar job at a similar salary, none of the three moved and there is nothing to report. Our full guide to the rule works through where the brackets fall.
Written & Verified By
Korvia Editorial Team — EPIK official recruiting partner
Based on the HiKorea notice of 19 December 2025 and its official FAQ. Published .
Which situation are you in?
What you owe depends on one thing: whether you have already started work somewhere else. Both paths use the same seven screens, so the walkthrough below applies either way. The difference is what you type into them, and whether a second filing — the one that still needs an in-person visit — is waiting for you afterwards.
Path A
No job yet
Between contracts, interviewing, or waiting for the next intake. Tick the unemployed box so the record matches reality. It costs nothing and takes five minutes.
Separately — if you intend to stay in Korea and keep looking, the status for that is D-10. This filing does not change or extend your visa. See our contract-completion guide for how D-10 compares with renewing or transferring.
Path B
Already started somewhere new
Do not tick the unemployed box. Enter your new occupation, industry and income bracket — but only if one of the three actually changed. Same job, same salary band means nothing to report.
This is not your only filing. Changing employers is a separate workplace change report under Article 21, it carries a higher ceiling (₩2,000,000), and it cannot be done online — it has to be done in person.
Prefer slides?
We put the same walkthrough into a deck you can flip through or send to a colleague.
Open the slide deck →How do you file it, screen by screen?
Seven screens, no fee, no appointment, and nothing to upload. The only step people get stuck on is the fourth: the entry you need sits below the fold in a long list of civil petitions, so keep scrolling until you see Employment Information (Change) Report rather than assuming it is missing.
- 1
How do you log in to HiKorea?
Go to hikorea.go.kr and sign in. If you have never created an account, do that first — the report cannot be filed as a guest.
Tap the screenshot to open it full size.
- 2
Enter your ID and password
Use the Find ID and Find password links if you set the account up at arrival and have not touched it since.
Tap the screenshot to open it full size.
- 3
Petition Application → e-Application
From the top menu, open Petition Application and click e-Application in the left column.
Tap the screenshot to open it full size.
- 4
Scroll to Employment Information (Change) Report
Leave Type on Apply (principal). The list is long and the entry you want sits below the visible area — scroll down until you find Employment Information (Change) Report, then select it.
Tap the screenshot to open it full size.
- 5
Check your details, add email and phone
Your name, nationality, residence card number and passport details are pre-filled from immigration records. Email and both phone fields are required and usually blank.
Tap the screenshot to open it full size.
- 6
What if you have no job right now?
The screen shows what immigration currently has on file — occupation, industry and income bracket. If you are between contracts, tick No Occupation or Income Amount (If Unemployed). If you have already started somewhere new, leave it unticked and enter the new values instead.
Tap the screenshot to open it full size.
- 7
Submit and save the confirmation
Ticking the box fills the occupation and industry fields with 무직 and income with No Income. Click Report, then save or print the confirmation. It is your evidence that you filed on time.
Tap the screenshot to open it full size.
What does this filing not cover?
Finishing this report is genuinely five minutes of work, which is exactly why it is easy to assume everything is handled. Three things are not: your visa status, which this filing never touches; the separate workplace change report if you moved employers; and your school's own filing, which does not discharge yours.
Your visa status
This updates a record. It does not extend your stay, change your status, or authorise you to work anywhere. If you are staying on to job-hunt, that is D-10 territory.
Moving to a new employer
The workplace change report is a different filing under a different article, with a ₩2,000,000 ceiling, and it has to be done in person. On HiKorea's e-Application menu the workplace change permit is listed for E-9 only.
Anything your school files
Your employer has its own obligation — the employment change report under Article 19, due within 15 days of the day they learn you have left. Yours does not discharge theirs, and theirs does not discharge yours.
The full rule — who is in scope, how the income brackets work, which occupation and industry entries English teachers should pick — is in our employment information report guide.
What do teachers ask us most?
My contract ended and I already have a new job. Is this the same process?
The screens are the same, but you do not tick the unemployed box — you enter your new occupation, industry and income bracket instead. And this report is not the only thing you owe: moving to a new employer is a separate workplace change report under Article 21 of the Immigration Act, which cannot be filed online and has to be done in person.
Nothing about my job actually changed. Do I still file?
No. The reportable events are a change to your occupation, your industry, or your annual income bracket. If you moved to a similar role at a similar salary, none of the three may have moved. When the screen shows your existing values and offers With Changes or No Changes, No Changes is the accurate answer.
How much is the fine, and is it automatic?
Up to ₩1,000,000 under Article 100(2) of the Immigration Act. It is an administrative fine, not a criminal penalty, and it is not automatic — the official FAQ says the head of the competent immigration office decides after weighing the circumstances, including whether the failure was repeated or deliberate. Filing late is far better than not filing.
Can I still do this on paper?
No. Paper filing was accepted alongside online only during the pilot period from January to June 2026. From the second half of 2026 the Ministry of Justice accepts online reporting only — and people attending an immigration office without a reservation, including those using a registered immigration service agency, must file online before they go.
I want to stay in Korea and look for another teaching job. What about my visa?
That is a separate question from this report, and it is the more urgent one. D-10 is the job-seeking status used by teachers between contracts. Our contract-completion guide covers what it requires and how it compares with renewing or transferring an E-2. Filing your employment information does not change or extend your visa.
General guidance, not legal advice
This reflects Korvia's reading of published government sources and is provided for general reference. Requirements change and depend on your circumstances. Confirm your own case with the Immigration Contact Center (1345) or your local immigration office.
Sources
- HiKorea notice on the expanded online employment information report (19 December 2025) — the 15-day rule, the income brackets, the pilot period and its fine waiver, and the official FAQ attachment.
- Ministry of Justice, Implementation of the Advanced Online Reporting System (English) — online-only filing from the second half of 2026.
- Immigration Act, Articles 19, 21, 35 and 100 — the three filings and their fine ceilings.
- Screens captured from HiKorea by Korvia Consulting, August 2026.