Korean visa rules: what changed in September 2026

The Ministry of Justice (법무부) updates its visa guidance manuals about once a month. Every time it does, we compare every page with the last edition and update the Waegook Visa Finder to match. Here is what changed in the September 2026 edition, in plain words.

1. Permanent residence opens to special contributors and their families

Two new permanent residence categories were added.

• F-5-28, special contributor. If you hold special-contributor residence (F-2-16) and have lived in Korea on it for 2 years or more, you can apply for permanent residence. The income standard is lower than the usual one: yearly income of at least one times the previous year's per-person GNI (국민총소득, the average income per person), or assets of at least the average household net assets. Income or assets of family members who live with you can be added together. You also need good conduct and the basic competency requirement (KIIP level 5, or 60 points on the comprehensive test).
• F-5-29, their spouse or minor child. If you are the spouse or minor child of an F-5-28 holder and have lived in Korea on F-2-16 for 2 years or more, you can apply too, with the same income standard and no competency test. There are timing rules: the F-5-28 holder must have held it for 2 years before you apply, and a spouse must have been married and living together for 2 years.

One honest note: the manual's own tables about who takes the competency test were not updated for the new codes yet. Confirm that point with your immigration office before you apply.

2. Digital nomad visa (F-1-D): clear rules for the criminal record certificate

The manual now says exactly what your criminal record certificate must look like, for both the visa and a change of status to F-1-D:

• It must cover your country of nationality, and any other country where you lived for one continuous year or more in the last five years.
• It must be issued within 6 months of your application.
• It needs an apostille, or confirmation by the Korean embassy or consulate if your country does not use apostilles.
• Submit the original plus a notarised translation.
• People under 14, people born in Korea or who arrived before 14 and never spent six months abroad since, and people who already gave a certificate for the visa and apply for the change within 3 months, do not need to submit one.

3. Skilled worker points visa (E-7-4): new income floor and employer quota

• The yearly income floor rose from 25,000,000 won to 25,890,000 won.
• The number of E-7-4 workers an employer may hold is now 30 percent of its Korean regular workers (50 percent in designated sectors), instead of 20 percent of all regular workers.
• Unpaid customs duties now count against you like other unpaid taxes.

Check where you stand

The Visa Finder already knows all of this. Answer a few questions and it tells you which visa fits, what documents you need, and which page of the manual it comes from.

Find the right visa for you

Already thinking about permanent residence? Go straight to the F-5 check. And the full log of every change we track is on the visa changes page.

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Checked in September 2026 against the Ministry of Justice 사증민원 and 체류민원 자격별 안내 매뉴얼 (2026-09-01 edition). Rules can change. Confirm on HiKorea or call 1345 before you apply.

Tags: #KoreaVisa #PermanentResidence #F5 #DigitalNomadKorea #E74 #VisaFinder #WaegookGuide