F-5 eligibility check

Permanent residence. Several routes, some scored.

Who it is for

• F-5-1 · Five years on a work or residence status The general route: an adult who has lived in Korea for five years or more on a status between D-7 (intra-company transfer) and E-7 (specific activities), or on F-2 residence.
• F-5-4 · Spouse or minor child of a Korean national or permanent resident Two years of residence in Korea is the threshold for this route, rather than five. Income requirement: at least the previous year's per-capita GNI, or the previous year's average household net assets.
• F-5-16 · Points-based residence held for three years If you hold F-2-7 points-based residence, three years of it opens permanent residence. The scoring happened at the F-2-7 stage: our F-2-7 calculator covers that step.
• F-5-9 · Doctorate earned outside Korea in an advanced field, employed here A doctorate earned OUTSIDE Korea in an advanced-technology field, plus current employment by a Korean company in a field related to that degree, for at least one year up to the day you apply...
• F-5-15 · Korean graduate-school doctorate, employed in Korea A doctorate earned in a REGULAR course at a Korean graduate school (a study visa such as D-2-4; a degree awarded without doing the course does not count), plus employment by a Korean company for at...
• F-5-24 · Technology-startup founder Technology-startup (D-8-4) status with 300 million won or more attracted and two or more Korean nationals employed (체류 p.431, 15-ho).
• F-5-25 · Conditional high-value investor A pledge to invest 3 billion won or more for at least 5 years, deposited through the Korea Development Bank. Withdrawing any part of the deposit early CANCELS permanent residence (체류 p.473).
• F-5-26 · Foreign-invested R&D specialist Essential professional staff of a designated R&D facility under a foreign-invested company, continuously employed for 3+ years...
• F-5-28 · Two years as a special contributor (F-2-16) For someone who holds special-contributor residence (F-2-16) and has stayed in Korea on it for two years or more, counted up to the day you apply.
• F-5-29 · Spouse or minor child of a special-contributor permanent resident For the spouse or minor child of someone who holds F-5-28, where you have stayed in Korea for two years or more as their family on special-contributor residence (F-2-16).
• F-5-10 · Designated degree or technical certificate, employed here A degree or technical certificate in a field designated by the Ministry, three years or more of residence, and employment at or above the salary the Ministry sets.
• F-5-5 · Investor: USD 500,000 and five Korean employees An investor under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act who has invested USD 500,000 and employs five or more Korean nationals. High-value investors are exempt from the basic competency requirement.

The check covers 5 more situations.

Also covered by this check

• F-5-2 / F-5-3 · Family of a Korean national: separate directive
• F-5-8 · Korea-born ethnic Chinese: office assessment
• F-5-18 · Family of a points-based permanent resident: office assessment
• F-5-19 · Family of a tourism-facility investor: office assessment
• F-5-20 · Korea-born child of a permanent resident
• F-5-21 · Public-business investor: office assessment
• F-5-22 · Family of a public-business investor: office assessment
• F-5-23 · Retiree-immigration investor: office assessment

What the check asks

The check asks 14 questions, for example: Where are you applying from, Do you already hold F-5 permanent residence, Which of these describes your situation, Are you employed by a Korean company. 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 and alien registration card
• Application form (annex form no. 34)
• One standard-format photo
• The registration fee
• Evidence of your place of residence
• Evidence for your current status (F-5-1)
• Family relationship evidence
• Birth certificate (or DNA test where unavoidable)
• Unmarried-child evidence
• Company and employment records for your investment

Source: 법무부 출입국·외국인정책본부「사증민원·체류민원 자격별 안내 매뉴얼」(2026. 7.), pages 체류 428-477 / 사증 322-327. An estimate. Immigration officers decide.