75 points are enough for Korean F-2-7 visa

What are the F-2-7 and F-2-99 visas?

Today we are entering another mini-series of articles by Pureum Law Office. This time we will discuss two sub-types of F-2 visa: F-2-7 and F-2-99. First, we are going to shed some light on the F-2-7 visa, also known as the long-term residency point-based visa or simply point-based visa (one of them), and next time we will talk about the F-2-99 (‘others’) visa and in what ways it might be easier to get than the F-2-7.

What is so attractive about F-2 visa, compared to many others?

First of all, it is a long-term residency visa, which basically makes you a resident of Korea, not depending on any sponsor, be that your employer or spouse, which, in turn, means that you can change your workplace freely any time you want.

Second of all, it is easier to get than the F-5 visa, while providing about the same amount of freedom. Third of all, you can engage in a wide variety of activities, including establishing your own business without the minimum requirement of how much you are supposed to invest. Lastly (only in case of F-2-7), 3 years later you will be able to apply for permanent residency visa (F-5).

What are the requirements for the F-2-7 visa? As its name suggests, there is a point system that Immigration officials apply to your application to determine whether you can be granted with this sojourn status or not. Before counting the points, we should first consider two prerequisites for this visa: your current visa type and the period of stay in Korea. Thus, you have to stay for at least 1 year on one of the following visas before applying for F-2-7: E-1~E-7, D-2, D-5~D-10.

Now, let’s talk about the points. The points are calculated by an Immigration Officer on the spot when you submit your documents. Naturally, you would want to check the points before you start the preparation process, which is why for your reference we translated the latest version of the table used by the Immigration officials, you can find it below.

Age:

Education:

Korean language:

Annual income:

The income level is measured for the previous year, all in KRW (mil. = million). There are also additional points that can be given for completion of the KIIP, volunteering, etc. F-2-7 visa is considered to be one of the harder visas to get, which proves to be very true, as in many cases even a 1-point deficiency can lead to being rejected by an Immigration officer.

Therefore, we often recommend our clients to complete the KIIP program as it is one of the easiest ways to boost your points and chances to get the long-term residency visa (and some others).

If you have additional questions, you may contact our office by e-mail or phone number given in the Contacts section. Our next article will be about the F-2-99 visa, which is also a residency visa with a slightly different approach to evaluation. Stay tuned!

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12 thoughts on “What are the F-2-7 and F-2-99 visas?

  1. Ms. Shakhlo says:

    Hello. My name is Shakhlo i am E7 visa holder. And working at the same company over 4 year, In December will be 5 years^^. I am going to apply for E2~7 or E2-99. I have graduated Masters in Ajou UNIVERSITY. Do i have any chance to get one of those visas?

  2. Genki says:

    Dear sir/madam. My name is genki I’m a f2-6 holder if i want to extension my visa which requirements i have to prepare and and is it possible?

    • Mohammad Parvez Aman says:

      Dear Sir, I’m Mohammad Parvez Aman and my visa type is E7-4 . I want to know about bank statement .Is it necessary to change F2-7 from E7-4 ?

  3. kiran says:

    Hi
    I am currently having an E7 Visa. I have some questions regarding language points evaluation.
    I have completed the Korean language program until level3 at Kyungpook Language school.
    Inquiry: Do I need to write a Topik exam or my language school certificate is enough?

  4. kim says:

    Dear Ms/Mr,
    in 2020, I hold F2-7 visa and salary is lower than GNI, I have some question:
    – my spouse maybe only have F1-12, is it right? Or can receive F-15 visa?
    – is there any way change F1-12 visa to another visa with that my spouse can take a job?
    – that mean my spouse want to have job, is it possible to change F1-12 visa?
    ( my spouse is Morrocan and have 2 years diploma college major about tourism, he can not have a skilled job with E7 visa
    – how about if he change E4 visa , study Korean , after is he can find a job that chang E4 visa to another visa ?
    Thank you in advance

  5. Pingback: F-2-99 Visa

  6. Niki says:

    Hello,

    I currently have an E-2 Visa. If I switch to a D-10 visa while trying to find a new job, will my years spent on an E-2 Visa no longer count towards an F-2 Visa?

    Thank you for your time and understanding

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