F-2-16 residence status for people who made special contributions to Korea

This guide is for foreigners living in Korea whose contribution to the country has been formally recognized, for example with a government decoration or a ministry recommendation, and for their families. The rule in one line: the Minister of Justice can grant the residence status F-2-16 to a person found to have made a special contribution to Korea or to the public interest, and it is granted only as a change of status inside Korea. This guide follows the Ministry of Justice (법무부) stay manual of October 2026.

What F-2-16 is

F-2-16 is the code for item (ka) of the residence status F-2 (거주) in Annex 1-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act: a person the Minister of Justice recognizes as having made a special contribution to Korea or to the public interest. Item (ta) covers that person's spouse and the children who meet the Minister's conditions. You must be staying in Korea legally on the date you apply.

Who can qualify

The manual lists five fields. Most require a recommendation from a central government ministry, a metropolitan government or another named authority.

Conduct, basic knowledge and the law course

The office refuses applicants who, among other things:

• were sentenced in Korea to imprisonment (금고) or heavier, until 5 years after the sentence ended or was waived;
• were fined under Korean law, until 3 years after paying;
• broke the Immigration Act 3 or more times in the 5 years before applying (administrative fines not counted), or received penalty notices of ₩5,000,000 or more, or ₩7,000,000 in total, in the last 3 years;
• left under a deportation order less than 7 years ago, or under a departure order less than 5 years ago;
• were sentenced abroad for serious violent crimes, fraud, voice phishing, drugs or sexual crimes, or to imprisonment for other crimes ending less than 5 years ago.

Adults must also show basic knowledge of Korean language and society through one of: 3 years or more of legal stay in Korea, completion of level 2 or higher of the Korea Immigration and Integration Program (사회통합프로그램, KIIP), a KIIP pre-test score of 41 or more out of 100, graduation from a Korean school or university, or passing a Korean school qualification exam. If you do not meet it yet, the office can grant the change with up to 1 year of stay after you sign a promise to meet it by the next extension.

If you broke Korean law, you may also have to complete a law-abiding citizen course (준법시민교육) of 3 hours before the change or extension. Violations count for 10 years at a change and 5 years at an extension. A single violation that ended without charges or with a fine of ₩1,000,000 or less does not trigger the course.

Documents and fees

• Common documents: application form, passport, photo, fee, proof of your address and a criminal record certificate from abroad.
• Additional documents: proof of basic knowledge, proof of the contribution (decoration certificate, recommendation letter or other evidence) and anything else the office asks for, such as proof of family relationship.
• Fees under Article 72 of the Enforcement Rule of the Immigration Act: ₩100,000 for a change of status, ₩60,000 for an extension and ₩200,000 for a change to permanent residence. Online applications for a change or extension get 20% off (Article 74). Fees are examination fees and are not refunded once filed. The Minister of Justice can waive fees for national interest or humanitarian reasons (Article 74).

Stay, work and travel

• One grant of F-2 stay can be up to 5 years.
• Holders under items (ka) and (ta) can take any job without the status-based limits on work (Enforcement Decree, Article 23).
• A registered F-2 holder who leaves Korea and returns within 1 year, or within the remaining stay if that is shorter, needs no re-entry permit (Enforcement Rule, Article 44-2).
• Report a new address within 15 days of moving in (Immigration Act, Article 36), and apply for an extension before your stay ends (Article 25).

Permanent residence after 2 years

After 2 years or more of continuous stay as F-2-16, you can apply for permanent residence F-5-28 (Enforcement Decree, Annex 1-3, item 19). You need income of at least the previous year's per-capita gross national income (GNI), counting family members who live with you, or assets of at least the average household net assets; good conduct; and basic knowledge, meaning KIIP level 5 or a score of 60 or more in the permanent residence or naturalization test. Your spouse and minor children on F-2-16 can apply for F-5-29 after 2 years, once you have held F-5-28 for at least 2 years.

Cautions

• Forged papers and false statements are banned (Immigration Act, Article 26). The permit can be cancelled (Article 89), and the offence carries up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to ₩30,000,000 (Article 94).
• Release after a sentence of imprisonment or heavier is a ground for deportation (Article 46). Permits can also be cancelled for serious violations of the law.
• For questions, call the Immigration Contact Center at 1345 (weekdays 9:00~22:00).

Checklist

• Confirm that you stay in Korea legally and fit one of the five fields.
• Get the decoration certificate or the required recommendation.
• Check the conduct rules and choose how you will show basic knowledge.
• Prepare the form, passport, photo, fee, address proof and criminal record certificate.
• After approval, report moves within 15 days and extend before your stay ends.