- What it is: F-2-7 is the points-based long-term residency status for skilled foreign talent within the F-2 (residence) category.
- Pass mark: at least 80 points. The scale recognizes up to 170 points (130 common items plus up to 40 bonus points), and deductions apply.
- Categories: you must also fit an applicant category, such as a listed-company or promising-industry employee, a professional with 3 years of lawful stay, or a graduate of a Korean master's program or higher.
- Filing: mainly a change of status inside Korea; prospective employees of listed or promising-industry companies can use a visa-issuance certificate from abroad.
- Government fee: KRW 100,000 for a change of status and KRW 60,000 for an extension (Enforcement Rule of the Immigration Act, Art. 72).
An F-2 visa in Korea is a residence status for people who intend to stay long term, and a single grant can run for up to 5 years. F-2 has several sub-codes; the one most foreign professionals and graduates ask about is F-2-7, which is granted on a points basis (at least 80 points) plus an applicant category, rather than for one specific job or investment. Applicants who are already in Korea in another status, such as a work visa, normally file a change of residence status, and the guide to raising your F-2-7 score explains how the points can be improved. In short, getting an F-2-7 visa means fitting an applicant category, reaching at least 80 points on your filing date, passing the screening rules and then filing with the immigration office, as set out in sections 2 to 6 below.
The F-2-7 visa lets skilled foreign residents settle in Korea long term on the strength of a score rather than a specific job type or investment. This page is the service overview: who can apply, how the score fits in, what screening applies, which documents to prepare and how the procedure works. The full item-by-item scoring tables are in our F-2-7 points table guide, which is the deeper companion to this page.
1. What Is the F-2-7 Visa?
F-2-7 is the points-based sub-category of the F-2 (residence) status under Korea's Immigration Act. The F-2 category is for people who intend to stay in Korea long term with a view to obtaining permanent residency, and a single grant can run for up to 5 years. The F-2-7 sub-category covers foreign nationals whose age, education, income and similar factors meet the standard set by Ministry of Justice notice.
| Item | What the rule says |
|---|---|
| Status | F-2-7, points-based residency for skilled talent (Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act, Annex 1-2, item 24, sub-item "ja") |
| Pass mark | 80 points or more, on a scale that recognizes up to 170 points |
| Maximum stay per grant (F-2) | 5 years |
| Main filing route | Change of status at the immigration office (you must be in Korea when you file) |
| Overseas route | Certificate of visa issuance for prospective employees of listed or promising-industry companies |
| Family | F-2-71 (spouse and minor children) or F-3-18 depending on the main holder's income |
| Long-term path | F-5-16 after 3 or more years of continuous F-2-7 stay |
Rules are revised from time to time. The Ministry of Justice amended the F-2-7 guidelines on April 14, 2026 (volunteer bonus, top-university criteria and other scoring standards). Always confirm the current text before you file.
2. Who Can Apply: Applicant Categories
Reaching 80 points is not enough by itself. The first question is whether you belong to one of these groups.
| Category | What is required |
|---|---|
| Listed-company employees | Working for a company listed on KOSPI or KOSDAQ, or having signed an employment contract that confirms the job. Employees in a manager, professional or related-worker occupation under Statistics Korea's Korean Standard Classification of Occupations also qualify. |
| Promising-industry employees | Working in an advanced-technology field listed in Notice No. 2020-40 on the scope of advanced technologies and products (IT, technology management, nano, digital electronics, bio, transport and machinery, new materials, environment and energy), or having a confirmed job there. Previous-year income must be at least 1.5 times GNI per capita (prospective employees use the contract salary). |
| Professionals | Registered foreigners in a status from E-1 (Professor) through E-7-1 (Professional) or from D-5 (Journalism) through D-9 (Trade and Management), excluding E-6-2 and E-7-2 to E-7-4. You need 3 or more years of continuous lawful stay in such statuses. The 3-year rule is waived if your annual income on the tax office certificate is KRW 40 million or more, or if you are recommended by a central agency head under a recognized science and engineering talent program. |
| Study talent | A legal resident who earned a regular-course master's degree or higher in Korea (D-2 status not required) and has a job, or a confirmed job, in a qualifying status within 5 years of the degree date. |
| Korean War veteran-country talent | A person from a Korean War veteran country with a regular Korean bachelor's degree or higher and a central agency recommendation. The bonus is 40 points (20 plus 20) and a 3-year stay is granted at the change of status even without a confirmed job. |
| Potential talent (F-2-7S) | A holder (or expected holder) of a master's or doctorate from a designated science and technology university or research institute who has the university president's recommendation. The point requirement may be waived, and a separate stay-period rule applies. |
Special route for E-7-S holders
If you have stayed in Korea for at least 1 year in the negative-list professional status E-7-S and currently work, the F-2-7 points requirement can be waived when you meet the E-7-S2 points requirement (60 points; E-7-S1 holders are checked on income only) and have completed or been assigned to KIIP stage 3 or higher. Conduct rules and the restricted-sector rule still apply.
3. The 80-Point Requirement and Score Calculator
The score is calculated as of your filing date. Four common items add up to 130 points, bonus points add up to 40 more, and deductions can lower the total. This section is a summary of where the score fits in your application; the complete F-2 point system, with every scoring band and worked examples, is explained in the F-2-7 points table guide.
| Item | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Age (per passport birth date) | 25 |
| Education | 25 |
| Korean ability (TOPIK or KIIP) | 20 |
| Annual income | 60 |
| Bonus points | +40 |
| Deductions | up to -70 (detailed table) |
The scoring bands for every item, the bonus rules and worked examples are in the F-2-7 points table guide. The calculator below applies those bands so you can get a quick estimate.
4. Screening Rules and Disqualifiers
Even a high score does not help if a screening rule is not met. The following are checked.
- Conduct: you are not eligible if, within 5 years before filing, you were sentenced to imprisonment or a heavier penalty (including a suspended sentence, and including foreign sentences); if, within 3 years, you committed 3 or more Immigration Act violations with notification fines totaling KRW 5 million or more; if, within 3 years, you received a fine of KRW 3 million or more under Korean law; if you submitted false documents at filing or in the last 3 years; or if an entry-ban ground or a risk to national security or public order applies.
- Foreign convictions: sentences abroad for specified serious crimes, threats, extortion, fraud, voice phishing, drug or sexual crimes are disqualifying, and other foreign sentences of imprisonment count until 5 years have passed since the sentence ended.
- Restricted sectors: no employment in a restricted sector within 3 years before filing, and no work in an occupation that could harm the domestic labor market or social order within the last 6 months (case by case).
- Public health: tuberculosis screening under the Ministry's guideline, and no drug addiction or other public-health risk.
- Law-abiding citizen education: F-2 applicants with a confirmed violation of Korean law must complete a 3-hour program. The exemption covers people with one violation or fewer and a fine or penalty of KRW 1 million or less imposed more than 10 years earlier (5 years for extensions).
5. Required Documents
| Group | Documents | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Application form, passport, alien registration card, photo, fee, proof of residence, overseas criminal record certificate, employment contract | The office may add or waive documents. |
| Points evaluation | Your completed points table and documents proving each item you claim (Attachment 3) | Degree certificates count only when the issuing institution can confirm issuance; certificates of completion without a degree do not. |
| Additional, if applicable | Family-relationship documents (including birth certificates), tuberculosis screening confirmation, degree or expected-degree certificate, university president's recommendation (F-2-7S), certificate of employment, business registration, corporate registry, income certificate from the tax office | Prospective listed-company employees who cannot obtain an income certificate may use the salary in the contract in the visa route. |
Documents issued abroad
Foreign-issued documents need an apostille or consular confirmation from a Korean mission, with a Korean or English translation attached, and are valid for 3 months from the issue date. They can be omitted if you already submitted them in another permit application and the officer can view them in the internal system.
Overseas criminal record certificate
The certificate is not required if you were born in Korea and have not spent 6 consecutive months or more abroad, or if you submitted one earlier and have not spent 6 consecutive months or more abroad since. If you applied for the change within 3 months after submitting one at visa issuance it can also be omitted. After 6 months or more abroad, submit a certificate from the country of residence for that period.
6. Application Procedure
Route A: change of status in Korea
- Confirm your applicant category (Section 2) and estimate your score (Section 3).
- Collect documents and arrange apostilles or consular confirmations and translations for anything issued abroad.
- File at the immigration office with jurisdiction over your address. Check HiKorea for visit reservations and the e-filing options available for your case.
- Pay the government fee. Review fees are not refunded once the application is accepted.
- Answer any request for supplementary documents. Officers may ask for additional evidence, and you must remain in Korea because leaving after filing can lead to rejection.
Route B: visa-issuance certificate from abroad
For prospective employees of listed companies or promising-industry companies, a certificate of visa issuance is available. It is filed at the immigration office covering the workplace address or online through the Korea Visa Portal, and the certificate is then used to obtain the visa at a Korean mission abroad. Documents include the application, passport, photo, tuberculosis certificate (where required), employment contract, certificate of employment, business registration and corporate registry of the employer, income certificate or degree certificates as applicable, the points table with supporting evidence, and proof of residence.
There is no fixed processing time. It varies with the case and with requests for supplementary documents.
7. Government Fees, Stay Period and Extension
| Application | Government fee |
|---|---|
| Change of status (for example to F-2-7) | KRW 100,000 |
| Extension of stay | KRW 60,000 |
Amounts are from the rule text in force from September 15, 2026. Costs for issuing certificates, apostilles and translations are separate and not covered here.
Stay period. One F-2 grant can run up to 5 years. Korean War veteran-country talent receive 3 years at the change of status. At extension, the stay period is graded by your total score or income score (from 1 to 5 years); the grading table is in the points table guide.
Extension safeguards. If you score below 80 but are currently employed at or above the minimum wage, a 1-year grace period can be granted. If you are unemployed or your income is at or below the minimum wage, the office takes a written pledge and can extend twice for 6 months each; if the shortfall continues at the third extension, the extension is refused and a change to the D-10 job-seeker status (up to 1 year, not extendable) is allowed. Pregnancy, childbirth or parental leave can also earn a 1-year grace period.
8. Family Members
The spouse or minor children of an F-2-7 holder in the listed-company, promising-industry, professional, study-talent or potential-talent groups can be included. The spouse must be a legal spouse in a genuine marriage (common-law marriages are not recognized), and the main holder must have parental authority and custody of any minor child.
- F-2-71: available when the main holder's annual income is at least the previous year's GNI per capita announced by the Bank of Korea. Employment is possible after F-2-71 is granted, limited to the activities listed in Article 23 of the Enforcement Decree.
- F-3-18: if the income is below that level, family members can stay in an accompanying status but may not work or engage in income-generating activity. They can be reviewed for F-2-71 later if the income condition is met.
- For a child born in Korea to an F-2-7 holder, there is a separate track based on the parents' status.
9. Route to F-5 Permanent Residency
Points-based permanent residency (F-5-16) is available to people who have stayed in Korea in the F-2 residence category for 3 years or more. The applicant must have stayed continuously in F-2-7 from 3 years before the filing date through the filing date, must have no record of working in or running an entertainment-service business contrary to good morals from 3 years before filing until the decision, and must show livelihood ability through income of at least 2 times the previous year's GNI per capita or net assets of at least 1.5 times the average net assets figure.
10. Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is an F-2 visa in Korea, and is it the same as F-2-7?
Q. What score do I need for the F-2-7 visa?
Q. Where does the 80-point score fit in an F-2-7 application?
Q. Can I apply for F-2-7 from outside Korea?
Q. How long must I have lived in Korea before applying?
Q. Is there a minimum income requirement?
Q. How much is the government fee?
Q. Can my spouse and children come with me?
Q. Does F-2-7 lead to permanent residency?
Q. How do I get an F-2 visa in Korea?
Our Specialists
Vision Administrative Office · VISAS KOREA — An administrative agent can prepare and file the application on your authorization.
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11. Related Services and Next Steps
Vision Administrative Office (VISAS KOREA) offers a consultation to review your applicant category, estimate your score and check your document list. We are an administrative scrivener office, and this page gives procedural information rather than legal advice. Request a consultation or call +82-2-363-2251 (Mon-Fri 09:30-17:30 KST).