Chef Work Permits in Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea

According to a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries survey, there were about 181,000 Japanese restaurants overseas in 2025, of which about 112,000 were in Asia. By country, South Korea had 19,800, Taiwan 7,100 and Thailand 5,920, so Asia is home to several major clusters of Japanese restaurants. Yet the work permit systems for hiring a Japanese chef differ completely from country to country, and there is little consolidated information in Japanese.

This article covers five markets, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea, and summarises the work permit rules for hiring a Japanese chef, based on official government information in each market and the system guides published by JETRO (the Japan External Trade Organization). Points we could not confirm from official information are listed in the final section.

1. The five markets at a glance

2. Hong Kong: the General Employment Policy (GEP)

Hong Kong has no list of private-sector occupations closed to foreign nationals. A Japanese chef applies for an employment visa under the Immigration Department's General Employment Policy (GEP) (confirmed on the Immigration Department page updated 16 April 2026).

• Education and skills: as a rule, a bachelor's degree in a relevant field. In special cases, however, good technical qualifications, proven professional abilities and relevant experience are also accepted. A chef without a degree makes the case on this "experience" basis.
• The job: it must relate to the person's education or work experience and cannot readily be filled by the local workforce.
• Pay: broadly in line with market rates for professionals.
• Stay: on entry, normally 36 months or the length of the employment contract, whichever is shorter.
• Processing: usually 4 weeks once all documents and the fee have been received.

The employer submits the employment contract, business registration certificate, documents showing its financial position and material describing the business. A company set up within the past 12 months also needs a detailed business plan. Hong Kong's statutory minimum wage is HK$43.1 an hour from 1 May 2026. Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) membership is not required if the permitted stay is 13 months or less, or if the person belongs to a retirement scheme outside Hong Kong.

3. Thailand: capital and local hiring requirements

In Thailand, under a legal amendment effective 20 June 2020, 27 occupations are closed to foreign nationals. They include hairdressing and beauty, Thai massage, tour guiding, street vending and secretarial work, but cooking is not on the list of prohibited occupations. "Unskilled labour" and "shop assistant" are limited to foreign nationals who entered under intergovernmental memoranda of understanding (MOUs).

Requirements for ordinary companies (Japanese restaurants without BOI promotion)

• Paid-up capital of 2 million baht for each foreign worker's work permit
• Extending a Non-Immigrant visa requires at least 4 Thai employees per foreign worker
• The income requirement for extending a stay is at least 50,000 baht a month for Japanese nationals (2014 Royal Thai Police order)
• Work permits are generally capped at 10 (unless conditions such as tax paid or employing 100 or more Thai staff are met)

The process

1. Obtain a Non-Immigrant B (work) visa at a Thai embassy abroad
2. Receive 90 days' permission to stay on entry
3. Within that period, apply for a work permit to the Department of Employment at the Ministry of Labour (the medical certificate must be issued by a doctor in Thailand)
4. Once the work permit is issued, extend the visa one year at a time, with the work permit extended in step

For a single-site Japanese restaurant, 2 million baht of capital and 4 Thai employees per Japanese chef are the real constraints. If you station several Japanese staff, you need that capital and local headcount for each one.

4. Vietnam: the new decree of August 2025

In Vietnam, Decree 219/2025/ND-CP was issued and took effect on 7 August 2025, replacing the provisions of the previous Decree 152/2020/ND-CP on foreign workers. As a rule, foreign nationals working in Vietnam need a work permit.

For a chef without a degree, the "technician" category (at least 3 years' relevant practical experience, for example) appears to be the one to consider. For a head chef running the whole restaurant, "executive" is another candidate.

The new decree merges into a single procedure the explanation of the need to employ foreign workers and the work permit application. When hiring under an employment contract, you must announce recruitment for Vietnamese workers at least 5 days before submitting the application, and submit the application no more than 60 days and at least 10 days before the planned start date. Temporary residence cards for workers (LD1 and LD2) are valid for up to 2 years.

5. Taiwan: work permits and the "professional or technical" hurdle

To work in Taiwan, paid or unpaid, a foreign national generally needs a work permit from the Ministry of Labor, and the permitted types of work are limited by Article 46 of the Employment Service Act. The categories that might apply to chefs are "specialised or technical work" and "supervisor" at a foreign-invested business.

Looking at the qualification and review standards for "specialised or technical work" (as amended 1 August 2024), they cover 15 fields, including architecture, transport, finance, culture, sport and leisure, manufacturing and wholesale. The qualification requirements are any one of the following:

• Holding a professional qualification or licence
• A master's degree or higher, or a bachelor's degree and at least 2 years' relevant experience
• At least 1 year with a multinational company and being sent to Taiwan by it
• At least 5 years' relevant experience gained through specialised training or self-study, with original ideas and special achievements

The only explicit mention of cooking is under tourism within the transport field, covering work in "food and beverage cooking techniques in short supply domestically" at tourist hotels and hotels. In the provisions we checked, we found no explicit category covering chefs at stand-alone restaurants. The standards also say pay must not fall below the amount announced by the central competent authority.

A Japanese-owned restaurant can put someone in charge of the restaurant as a supervisor of a foreign-invested business (B00). Taiwan and Japan have a working holiday agreement with 10,000 places a year, which is the realistic option for hiring younger staff.

6. South Korea: choosing a status of stay

To work in South Korea, a foreign national needs a status of stay that permits employment, under Article 18 of the Immigration Act. The main options and their maximum periods of stay are as follows (JETRO, updated 30 November 2025).

Employers must report the dismissal, resignation, death or disappearance of a foreign employee, or any significant change to their employment contract, to the immigration office within 15 days of learning of it (Article 19 of the Immigration Act).

7. What we could not verify

As of September 2026, we could not confirm the following points from primary government sources in each market. If they affect your hiring plans, check directly with the relevant authorities or a professional.

• South Korea: whether cooks are among the occupations eligible for E-7 and, if so, the requirements (years of experience, restaurant conditions, salary level and so on).
• Taiwan: whether there is any category under which a stand-alone Japanese restaurant can obtain a work permit for a Japanese chef, and the latest announced minimum salary.
• Vietnam: the maximum validity of a work permit, and in practice what documents prove that a chef qualifies as a "technician" under the new decree.
• Thailand: whether the capital and hiring ratio requirements have changed since JETRO's guide (updated 30 October 2025).
• Hong Kong: a rough guide to the years of experience needed for a chef to be accepted under the GEP (no official numerical standard has been published).

For major markets outside Asia, see our comparison of overseas work visas for cooks, and for Singapore and Malaysia, Singapore EP and S Pass and Malaysia's 2026 EP changes. Trends in the number of Japanese restaurants by country are covered in data on Japanese restaurants overseas. There are also separate English-language guides for Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam.

This article is general information prepared after checking public government information and legislation in each market, and JETRO's system guides, as of 22 September 2026. It is not legal or immigration advice. Work permit practice in Asian markets changes often, and outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Consult the local authorities or a professional before applying.