F-1 eligibility check

Long-term stay to join or care for family, to live in Korea without local employment, or to work remotely for a foreign employer on the F-1-D workation route.

Who it is for

• F-1-12 · Spouse or minor child of a points-based (F-2-7) resident Recorded under visiting/cohabitation while in Korea.
• F-1-13 · Parent accompanying a foreign student at high school or below For a self-funded student who has been admitted to or is enrolled at the school. One accompanying person is allowed per student, and they must be a relative within the second degree of kinship.
• F-1-15 · Parents of a professional, investor or graduate student For the parents of the inviter or of their spouse, up to two people in Korea at a time, on a 90-day single-entry visa.
• F-1-5 · Parent or close family of a marriage migrant, for childcare support For the mother or father of a marriage migrant, on a 90-day single-entry visa, to help raise a child.
• F-1-16 · Spouse or unmarried minor child of a recognised refugee Available to the spouse and minor children of someone already recognised as a refugee. A minor child who is married is excluded.
• F-1-52 · Marriage migrant's child from an earlier marriage For a minor child of a marriage migrant whose marriage to a Korean national is still subsisting, where the child was born of an earlier marriage and has not been adopted by the Korean spouse.
• Marriage to a Korean ended, staying to settle affairs A separate basis from F-6-3. Where a marriage to a Korean national has ended but you do not qualify as a 혼인단절자 under F-6, and staying is unavoidable in order to divide property or settle affairs, a...
• F-1-4 · Raising a Korean national's child born outside marriage A distinct basis for the person actually raising the child. Holders of this sub-code may be granted permission for simple work, excluding gambling, public-morals and similar restricted fields.
• F-1-3 · Living with a diplomatic or agreement status holder For someone living with an A-1 to A-3 holder who is not part of their household.
• F-1-51 · Child being adopted into Korea For a child habitually resident abroad whose adoption into Korea is under way or completed. Issued for one year while the process runs; once the adoption completes, the F-2 or F-5 rules take over.
• Domestic helper for a diplomat, investor or senior professional Several separate arrangements sit here rather than one.
• Another long-term stay without employment The chapter ends with a catch-all for someone who, for unavoidable reasons, must stay in Korea long-term without taking work.

The check covers 6 more situations.

What the check asks

The check asks 12 questions, for example: Where are you applying from, Why do you need to stay in Korea, Which describes the person inviting you, Do you meet the remote-work conditions. Your answers are never stored.

Documents a result can list

The result lists the documents for your route. Depending on your answers, they include:

• Application form, passport, a standard photo and the fee
• Application form (No. 34), passport and residence card, and the fee (extension filing)
• Your Korean relative's resident registration extract
• Identity guarantee (extension filing)
• Proof of where you live (extension filing)
• Application form (No. 34), passport (original), one standard photo, and the fee (registration filing)
• Proof of where you live (registration filing)
• Documents proving the family relationship
• Translation, plus apostille or consular confirmation
• Letter of guarantee (신원보증서)

Source: 법무부 출입국·외국인정책본부「사증민원·체류민원 자격별 안내 매뉴얼」(2026. 7.), pages 사증 299-311 / 체류 339-361. An estimate. Immigration officers decide.