F-1-16 (Visit & Cohabitation – Spouse/Minor Child of a Recognized Refugee) Korea Visa Guide | 2026

1. What F-1-16 Is

A status-change category under 방문동거(F-1) for the spouse and minor children of a person who has been formally recognized as a refugee (난민인정자) in Korea. It lets the refugee's immediate family stay in Korea alongside them, bounded by the refugee's own permitted stay period.

2. Eligibility Checklist

• Eligible: spouse and minor children of a recognized refugee.
• Explicit exclusion: a minor child who already has their own spouse is excluded from this category ('단, 배우자가 있는 미성년자녀는 제외').
• Stay period granted is capped within the refugee's own remaining stay-period range, stated as up to a maximum number of years — the specific digit was not visible in the extracted text (dropped by PDF extraction), so no year count should be quoted.
• Required documents are specific to this relationship: the spouse's or their parent's 난민인정증명서 (refugee-recognition certificate) and proof of the family relationship to the refugee — distinguishing it from generic 방문동거 document requirements.

3. Criteria Summary

• F-1-16 is not a points-based category.
• The definition above is taken from the manual's own wording for this code.
• Numeric thresholds, stay periods and fees are set in the manual's tables and annexes and are deliberately not reproduced here — confirm the current figures before filing.
• Where a rule depends on another status, check that status's own criteria too; several of these codes take their conditions from a principal holder.

4. Salary and Contract Rules

• The manual does not attach a salary or contract framework to this code specifically.
• Where income or financial capacity is assessed, it is evidenced with the documents named under that requirement rather than against a published floor.
• If your circumstances involve employment, verify separately whether this status authorises it — several of these categories do not.
• Do not assume the salary rules of a neighbouring code apply; they are set per status.

5. Employer and Workplace Change Rules

• Employer sponsorship is not the organising basis of this code.
• Any economic activity must fall within what the status authorises; where it does not, activity-outside-status permission is the mechanism.
• Report changes of circumstance that bear on the ground for the status.
• Keep the evidence that established eligibility available for extension reviews.

6. Required Documents

• Application form, passport, standard photograph and the fee.
• Evidence establishing the ground on which this status is claimed, as described above.
• Residence and identity documents as required at the counter.
• Any further documents the reviewing office considers necessary.

7. Fees and Processing

• Fees follow the published schedule for the application type rather than the subtype.
• Processing time varies by office workload and by how clearly the qualifying ground is evidenced.
• Where a principal holder's status governs the period granted, the principal's expiry date is the practical constraint.
• Apply with margin before any existing permission expires.

8. Common Rejection Reasons

• The qualifying ground for this specific code is not established by the evidence.
• The circumstances fit a neighbouring code better, making this a category mismatch.
• Supporting documents are incomplete, inconsistent, or out of date.
• An underlying condition the status depends on has ceased to apply.
• Unresolved immigration compliance history.

9. FAQ