F-2-16 (Residence – Special Contributor to Korea / Public Interest) Korea Visa Guide | 2026

1. What F-2-16 Is

A 거주(F-2) status-change category for a foreign national recognized by the Minister of Justice as having made a special contribution to the Republic of Korea, or as having contributed to the promotion of the public interest, plus that person's spouse and children (children only if they meet Justice-Ministry-set requirements). Eligibility spans several enumerated contribution categories rather than a single test.

2. Eligibility Checklist

• Recognized contribution categories include: (1) national independence/development — e.g. recipients of a Korean government order/commendation for independence or national-development contribution, or long-serving (multi-year) government/local-government committee members recommended by a central-agency or metropolitan-government head; (2) international relations — diplomats/consular staff, international-organization officials, long-serving overseas-mission staff, and science/economy/culture/sports international-exchange contributors, each requiring a recommendation from a relevant agency head; (3) social welfare/employment — long-term volunteers in social welfare recommended by a central or metropolitan authority; (4) national security/public order — providers of intelligence protecting national security, or people who helped crack international crime rings (trafficking, drug smuggling, passport forgery), recommended by the relevant intelligence/investigative agency head (e.g. NIS Director, Prosecutor General, Police Commissioner); and (5) other public-safety contributions (protecting life/property from crime, disaster, or accidents).
• Corresponds to items '카' (the contributor themself) and '타' (their spouse/children, children only if Justice-Ministry requirements are met) in the general statutory 거주(F-2) eligibility list found elsewhere in the manual.
• Applicant must be lawfully residing in Korea at the time of application ('신청일 기준 국내 합법 체류 중인 외국인').
• Subject to the standard criminal-record disqualifiers (a Korean-law prison sentence within a stated recency window, etc.) — exact year thresholds were not visible in the extracted text.

3. Criteria Summary

• F-2-16 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