Blog, Korea Visa

Looking to gain permanent residency in Korea? The F5 visa is the best way to do so, but there are numerous steps and requirements to get there. Please read the following information carefully in order to secure all the necessary details for obtaining the F5 visa. 

What Is A Korean F5 Visa?

The F5 visa is a permanent residency visa for South Korea. There are numerous benefits to acquiring an F5 visa: 

• You can live permanently in Korea, as long as you renew your visa every 10 years.
• It is easier to acquire Korean citizenship if you want.
• You will not be deported unless you commit a serious crime, such as murder, rape, robbery, child abduction, illegal drugs, etc.
• You can get health insurance benefits, and join the national pension service in Korea.
• You can have limited voting rights, such as in local elections.

After obtaining the F5 visa, all visa holders are required to visit Korea once every two years in order to maintain their residency status. You are also required to renew the visa every 10 years. 

Types of F5 Visa

There are numerous ways to obtain an F5 visa.

• F-5-1 A person who has been living in Korea for at least 5 years (“general permanent resident”)
• F-5-2 A spouse of a Korean, who has been living in Korea for at least 2 years with an F6 visa
• F-5-3 Underage Child of Korean, who has been living in Korea for at least 2 years with an F-2-2 visa
• F-5-4 Spouse or underage child of the holder of permanent residence, who has been living in Korea for at least 2 years with an F-2-3 visa
• F-5-5 A person who invested more than USD 500,000 and employed at least five Koreans (“high-value investor”)
• F-5-6 An Overseas Korean has been living in Korea for at least 2 years with an F4 visa
• F-5-7 A Korean with a foreign nationality, who meets the requirements to acquire Korean nationality
• F-5-8 Overseas Chinese(화교) who was born in Korea and holds an F2 visa
• F-5-9 A person who holds a Ph. D. in the high-tech industry and is employed by a domestic company (“high-tech doctor”)
• F-5-10 A person who holds a bachelor’s degree in the high-tech industry, master’s degree in the general field or higher, or a technical certificate, and is employed by a domestic company (“bachelor, master, or certificate holder”)
• F-5-11 A person with outstanding ability in specific fields such as science, management, education, culture and arts, sports, etc. (“competent person in a specific field”)
• F-5-12 A person who made a special contribution to Korea (“special contributor”)
• F-5-13 A person who is at least 60 years old and receiving pensions from another country (“Pension beneficiary”)
• F-5-14 A person who is working in manufacturing industries for at least 4 years
• F-5-15 A person who is employed by a domestic company after earning a Ph.D. in a graduate school in Korea (“general doctor”)
• F-5-16 A person who has stayed for at least 3 years as a resident of the point system (“point permanent resident”)
• F-5-17 A person who has continuously invested for at least 5 years as a resident or real estate investment (“real estate investor”)
• F-5-18 Spouse or underage child of a point permanent resident (F-5-16)
• F-5-19 Spouse or unmarried child of a real estate investor (F-5-17)
• F-5-20 Korean-born child of a permanent resident (F-5-18)
• F-5-21 A person who has continuously invested for at least 5 years as a resident for public service investment (“general investor in public service”)
• F-5-22 Spouse or unmarried child of a general investor in public service (F-5-21) or a retired investor in public service (F-5-23)
• F-5-23 Retired immigrant who has invested in public service for at least 5 years and has domestic assets of at least 300 million won (“retired investor in public service”)
• F-5-24 Person who attracted at least 300 million won of investment and hired at least two Koreans as a technology start-up (“technology start-up investor”)
• F-5-25 Person who has pledged to invest at least 1.5 billion won for at least 5 years (“conditional large-scale investor”)
• F-5-26 A person who has worked for at least 3 years as an essential specialist in an R&D facility invested by a foreigner (“R&D personnel of foreign-invested company”)
• F-5-27 A person who has been living in Korea for at least 2 years as a refugee

Basic Requirements For F5 Visa

The basic requirements to obtain an F5 visa can be divided into four categories: residence, income/assets, basic knowledge, and good conduct.

Residence: You should have been living in Korea for at least 5 years.

• This requirement is mitigated to 2 years if you are a spouse of Korean(F-5-2), underage child of Korean(F-5-3), a spouse or underage child of the holder of permanent residence(F-5-4), or an Overseas Korean(F-5-6).
• This requirement is mitigated to 4 years if you are a person who is working in manufacturing industries(F-5-14).

Income/Assets: You should be able to make a living, relying on the income and assets of you and your family.

• Your family includes your spouse, underage children, and your parents, who have been living with you for the past one year.
• If you are a pension beneficiary(F-5-13) or a point permanent resident(F-5-16), then only your own income and assets would be evaluated, not your family.
• The income is evaluated by comparing your domestic income to GNI (Gross National Income) per capita of the previous year announced by the Bank of Korea. Your annual income should be above GNI.
• The assets include all real estate and real estate under your name (and your family’s name), but only net assets excluding debt. Your assets should be same or more than average assets announced annually by the National Statistical Office.
• You are exempted from this requirement if you are a high-value investor(F-5-5), competent person in a specific field(F-5-11), special contributor(F-5-12), real estate investor(F-5-17), spouse or unmarried child of a real estate investor(F-5-19), Korean-born child of a permanent resident(F-5-20), general investor in public service(F-5-21), retired investor in public service(F-5-23), spouse or unmarried child of a general investor in public service or a retired investor in public service(F-5-22), technology start-up investor(F-5-24), conditional large-scale investor(F-5-25).
• This requirement is mitigated to 80%, if you have an F6 visa and you are pregnant with a child of Korean, or raising a child of Korean, or have been living with your Korean spouse’s parents for at least 1 year, or over 60 years old.

Basic Knowledge: You should have the basic knowledge necessary to continuously live as a national of Korea, such as Korean language capability and the understanding of Korean society and culture.

• You should either complete level 5 of the Korea Immigration & Integration Program (KIIP) or score at least 60 points out of 100 points on the Korean Immigration Permanent Resident Qualification Test (KIPRAT).
• Before 2019, you had to obtain level 4 in the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) too, but that requirement was abolished.
• You are exempted from this requirement if you are a high-value investor(F-5-5), Overseas Chinese who was born in Korea(F-5-8), high-tech doctor(F-5-9), competent person in a specific field(F-5-11), special contributor(F-5-12), pension beneficiary(F-5-13), general doctor(F-5-15), real estate investor(F-5-17), spouse or unmarried child of a real estate investor(F-5-19), Korean-born child of a permanent resident(F-5-20), general investor in public service(F-5-21), retired investor in public service(F-5-23), spouse or unmarried child of a general investor in public service or a retired investor in public service(F-5-22), technology start-up investor(F-5-24), conditional large-scale investor(F-5-25), R&D personnel of foreign-invested company(F-5-26), a child under 15 years old, or if you earned a Ph.D. in a graduate school in Korea.
• This requirement is mitigated if you have an intellectual disability, mental disorder, autism, or other serious diseases such as cancer.
• This requirement is mitigated if you have an F6 visa and raising your child alone due to the death or disappearance of your Korean spouse, or raising more than 3 children of your Korean spouse, or raising a child with a disability, or have been living in Korea for more than 10 years.

Good Conduct: You should obey the law of Korea. If you fall under one of the following categories, you are not eligible to apply for the F5 visa.

• You have been sentenced to imprisonment or higher in violation of the laws of Korea and not more than five years from the date of which the execution of the sentence is terminated or not to be executed.
• You have been sentenced to a fine and violated the laws of Korea for not more than three years from the date on which they paid the fine.
• You have violated the Immigration Control Act three or more times in the five years prior to the application date.
• You have not been living outside of Korea for seven years or more after receiving an order of forced eviction under Article 59 (2) of the Immigration Control Act, or those who have not been living outside of Korea for five years or more after receiving an order for departure under Article 68 of the act.
• You have been sentenced with an offense from a foreign country under Article 2 of the Special Act on the Punishment of Special Offenses.

Common Documents Required 

The following documents are required to apply for an F5 visa. The submission of your application is at the discretion of the immigration officer and additional documents may be requested depending on your case.

1. Application for integration (including import receipt)
2. Valid passport (valid within 6 months)
3. Alien Registration Card
   *If you do not have an ARC, you are required to bring one passport photo taken within the last 6 months and an additional fee will be added.
4. Documents verifying your place of stay that are valid within the date of application (i. e. property lease agreements, a certificate for registration details, etc.)
5. Foreign criminal record certificate

• You don’t have to submit this if i) you are a criminal minor as of the application date, ii) you have not stayed abroad for more than 6 consecutive months after being born in Korea, iii) you have already submitted a criminal record from your own country and you haven’t stayed abroad for more than 6 months consecutively and have stayed in Korea for more than five years as of the date of application.
• If you have stayed abroad for more than 6 months, you should submit a criminal record certificate issued by the government of the country you stayed.
  

6. ID Card

• You are exempted from this requirement if you are a real estate investor(F-5-17), spouse or unmarried child of a real estate investor(F-5-19), general investor in public service(F-5-21), retired investor in public service(F-5-23), spouse or unmarried child of a general investor in public service or a retired investor in public service(F-5-22), or if you have been living in Korea since before 1948 and hold an F2 visa.

7. Documents relating to sustainable living (annual income) (i. e. official documents related to tax payment, earned income tax withholding, evidence of account received, business and applicant information)
8. Proof of Basic Knowledge (excluding submission of exemption)

• One of the following should be submitted: Certificate of Korean Immigration Permanent Eligibility Test, Certificate of Korean Immigration Naturalization Qualification Test, Certificate of Social Integration Program, Certificate of Korean Language Proficiency Test Grades 4-6.

9. International Criminal History Certificates (with Apostille)

• If your country is not part of the Apostille Convention, documents must be confirmed by the consulate of the Korean mission in the country where the criminal record is issued. The apostille must be issued within 6 months of the application for permanent residence. 

Remember that these are only basic documents. You would need more specific documents based on the type of F5 visa you apply.

Immigrant Investment Scheme for Public Businesses

The Immigrant Investment Scheme(투자이민제) is a Korean government program that gives F2 residential status to a foreigner who has invested under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice. After five years of investing, the foreigner can apply for their F5 visa to get permanent residency. As an investor in a public business, there will be more leniency when determining your eligibility for a permanent resident visa.

If you invest 500 million KRW (450,000 USD) or more (300 million KRW if you are age 55 or older and have financial assets worth 300 million KRW) in public investment products of the Ministry of Justice, you are eligible to obtain F2 residential status. Obtaining this status offers more economic freedom and is the pathway to obtaining an F5 visa after five years as an F2 resident.

There are various options for investment plans. Please refer to the following information.

1. Real Estate Investor (F-5-17)

The Real Estate Investor is a type of F5 visa that requires the applicant to have invested for more than five years as a real estate investor at the time of application.

If the investment requirement is lost, the period of maintaining the investment status is calculated by adding up the previous holding period from the point when the investment requirement was recovered.

The spouse or unmarried children of a Real Estate Investor is also eligible to apply but must have been the spouse or unmarried child for five years or more and must also already be a permanent resident. In the case of an unmarried child, the applicant’s parent must be a permanent resident in order to apply.

2. Public Business Risk-Based Investment option (F-5-21)

There are numerous options for a risk-based investment plan when applying for the F5 visa. Foreign investors are expected to make an investment in projects carried out in less developed regions as designated by the Ministry of Justice. As this is a risk-based investment, the investor may either make or lose profits.

Development promotion regions in underdeveloped areas fall under the Special Act on the Promotion of Development Investments in Underdeveloped Areas. These regions include Yeongju, Andong, and Yecheon.

Tourism-Leisure Style Enterprise Cities fall under the Special Act on the Development of Enterprise Cities. These cities include Taean, Yeongam, and Haenam.

3. Public Business Guaranteed Investment option (F-5-21)

The Public Business Immigrant Investor Fund, also referred to as the Public Fund, is one type of investment scheme to help secure your F5 visa. Foreign investors deposit funding in which the Korea Development Bank operates and the investment principal is returned after five years. Despite the fund having the potential to not make any profit, it offers zero risk as it protects your principal investment amount with a guaranteed return. 

Immigration Lawyer

We understand that applying for a visa in Korea can be a long and stressful journey. While the Immigration Office is there to help, the lack of personal interaction provided can make the process more convoluted than it needs to be. This is where our lawyers come in. The Seoul Law Group always promises to give both you and your visa application the proper care to guarantee the success of your application. Visa rejection due to missing documents is a waste of valuable time. Seoul Law Group’s lawyers will easily guide you through the process and minimize any room for error.