Winning the chance to stay in a foreign country with a residence visa bears numerous nightmares and disturbing stories — some are forced unwanted journeys back and forth to their home countries several times, and yet still get rejected after an extended amount of revision time.

Speaking of which, getting a residence visa in Korea — the notorious F-2 visa — is hard. Imagine signing up for it through endless document preparation and asking for recommendation letters here and there. However, if you have no option but to navigate Korea's residence visa for an ultimate settlement, Jandi is here to help! 

The following information is based on general searching results and conditions may differ depending on the policy and the applicant’s background status. Please refer to the immigration office and the official agencies for professional advice.

What is F-2?

Easily put, F-2 is a residence visa in Korea. It has a few variations as the following:

F-2-1 applies to the spouse of a Korean citizen.

F-2-2 is for underaged children of Korean nationals holding foreign citizenship. The child should have a birth certificate and proof of the parent's citizenship to be eligible for this visa, which grants up to 90 days to stay in Korea.

F-2-3 is a single-entry visa valid for up to one year and issued to spouses of F-5 permanent resident visa holders.

F-2-4 is a visa for refugees.

F-2-7 is the visa on a point-based system, which requires visa applicants to attain 80 points or higher from the assessment.

An interesting part of the assessment is that the time you're allowed to stay in Korea depends on how high you score in the point system.

For example, you get within a year of stay if your total score is somewhere between 80 and 99. If it's higher and placed between 100 and 129 points, you get between a year and three years. Lastly, if you get a high score that is over 130 points, you get three to five years of stay granted in Korea.

F-2-7S is for those in the STEM field, either in science and engineering universities or government-funded research institutes.

The F-2-R visa applies to those in regional areas of Korea and enables foreigners to reside in Korea for five years, mandating their residence and employment within areas designated by the government.

Last but not least, F-2-99 is for those who have been a holder of an E-2 visa (foreign language instructor) for five years.

In this review, we will be looking closely at the F-2-7 visa, which is one of the most commonly sought types of F-2 visas for Kampers here!

What are the benefits of F-2?

The best part about F-2, as mentioned above, is that those who hold this visa can work freely in South Korea without needing a separate work visa. This saves a lot of hassle if you are jumping between jobs, or in the job preparation state.

Also, this is a visa that's usually prior to obtaining a permanent residency visa, or F-5. If you have been holding an F-2 visa for three years, you qualify for applying for the F-5 visa. 

F-2 holders can also access public services like health care and support from the government.

Eligibility 

First, not all visa holders can apply for F-2-7 in the first place. Only those holding the following visas are eligible to apply. 

👉E-1 visa, E-2 visa, E-3 visa, E-4 visa, E-5 visa, E-6-1 visa, E-6-3 visa, E-7-1 visa, D-5 visa, D-6 visa, D-7 visa, D-8 visa, D-9 visa

(If you are a holder of an E-6-2 visa or E-7-4 visa you cannot apply for this one, unfortunately.)

What's more, you should be planning to stay over three years in Korea starting from the time of your visa application.

However, you are exempt from the three-year condition if you fall under one of these three categories: 

1) You have a yearly income of over 40 million won ($29,654)

2) You were recommended by relevant Ministries

3) You are a registered foreigner with a Master's degree in Korea while legally residing for more than three consecutive years with a D-2 visa or D-10-1 visa.

Breaking down the point system for F-2-7

F-2-7, also known as the points-based visa, assesses candidates based on numerous criteria, such as the following (170 points in total).

📍 The age group (25 points)

- 25 points (full points) for those between 25-29 years old

- 23 points for those between 18-24 years of age & 30-34 years old

- 20 points for those between 35-39 years old

- 12 points for those between 40-44 years old

- 8 points for those between 45-50 years old

and if you're 51 or older, you get 3 points.

📍 Education level (25 points): the higher your degree, the more points you get to coin. You can get from 10 to 25 points in total for this section.