KUALA LUMPUR - South Jeolla Province has announced plans to strengthen support for the settlement of foreign residents, providing comprehensive assistance from visa expansion to long-term living and employment in the region.

The province said the initiative will focus on enhancing regionally specialised and metropolitan visa programmes while attracting high-quality foreign talent aligned with local industry needs.

Building on last year’s full utilisation of its 558 regionally specialised skilled worker (E-7-4R) quota, South Jeolla plans to increase the quota significantly to 993 this year.

Applications will also open for the Training-type Professional Technical Department (E-7-M) programme, which allows international students to transition to employment and settlement after graduating from vocational schools.

Once candidates are selected in February, the province plans to expand settlement pathways for international students.

A regional visa pilot programme targeting 280 international students will be strengthened through closer cooperation with universities and tighter links between local employment and settlement.

Immigration and visa policy briefings for universities and companies will be expanded to better reflect on-the-ground needs.

South Jeolla also plans to pursue quota expansion and design a “Jeollanam-do-style immigration visa”, with official programme applications scheduled for the second half of the year.

Measures to protect the rights and welfare of foreign residents will also be reinforced.

The province will participate in the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s Foreign Worker Support Center competition to secure national funding for a regional hub.

A dedicated team for comprehensive foreign resident support will be fully operational, with an overarching plan to be formulated in the first half of the year.

The Integrated Support Call Center will expand its consultation coverage to about 22,000 cases, improving user convenience through enhanced multilingual services and one-stop coordination with related agencies.

Settlement support programmes will be expanded, with the number of operating organisations rising from six to 16.

This includes increased mobile on-site counselling and stronger field-based adaptation programmes such as workplace training and small business consultations.

In healthcare, the province plans to stabilise the operation of 75 Jeonnam Foreigner Safety Hospitals through a consignment model, the first of its kind nationwide, to improve access to medical services.

Two additional temporary shelters will also be established for foreign workers in vulnerable situations.

Efforts to promote social integration will include the creation of five new Korean language learning centres and the use of idle facilities across 22 cities and counties as local education spaces.

A pilot project for foreigner-specialised streets will be launched in areas with high foreign populations, alongside a new programme encouraging multicultural families to visit their hometowns.

Eligibility for multicultural understanding classes and youth growth camps will be expanded to include both residents and young people.

In April, the multicultural family support hub function will be transferred to the Jeonnam Women and Family Foundation, strengthening coordination with family centres across all 22 cities and counties.

“Jeonnam Province is reorganising its visa, job and living support systems to help local talent transition into long-term stays and family-based settlement.

“We will create a Jeonnam Province where both foreign residents and local residents feel safe and respect one another,” said Yoon Yeon-hwa, Director of the Population and Youth Immigration Bureau.

Last year, the province’s on-site support system, centred on the Jeonnam Immigration and Foreigner Support Center, handled 1,894 in-person consultations and 15,301 calls in nine languages through its integrated call centre.