F-4 (Overseas Korean) Korea Visa Guide | 2026

1. What F-4 Is

F-4 (재외동포) is the status for foreign nationals of Korean descent. It is now THE overseas-Korean status: under the consolidation of overseas-Korean statuses, the previously separate working visit (H-2) track has stopped issuing new visas, and F-4 is granted on the same criteria to overseas Koreans of every country — including Chinese and CIS-region Koreans, who were previously routed to H-2.

2. Eligibility Checklist

• Is a foreign national of Korean descent within the meaning of the Act on the Immigration and Legal Status of Overseas Koreans.
• Can produce official documents from the country of nationality evidencing overseas-Korean status.
• The identity, lineage and nationality-history chain is verifiable and internally consistent.
• Is not seeking to work in an occupation on the Ministry of Justice's published F-4 employment-restriction notice — applicants sign a pledge not to take restricted work.
• No unresolved record inconsistencies remain.

3. Criteria Summary

• F-4 is not points-based.
• THE BIG STRUCTURAL CHANGE: new working visit (H-2) visas are no longer issued. The two overseas-Korean tracks were merged into F-4, applying one standard to all countries. If guidance you are reading still frames H-2 as the route for Chinese or CIS-region Koreans, it predates this.
• Existing H-2 holders are not cut off — on foreign registration they receive a stay period and can extend within the permitted range on meeting the conditions, and they may work in the permitted elementary-occupation sectors after completing employment training and filing a job-seeking application. Changing workplace requires only a report.
• F-4's own limit is occupational: employment is restricted by a published Ministry of Justice notice, and applicants sign a non-employment pledge covering those occupations.
• Unlike other work-capable statuses, F-4 holders are NOT required to enter an annual income amount when reporting occupation on the integrated application form.

4. Salary and Contract Rules

• F-4 is not reviewed with fixed salary-floor logic.
• Key issue is whether planned work stays within permitted scope.
• Role records should not conflict with restricted occupation rules.
• Scope mismatch can trigger refusal or sanctions.

5. Employer and Workplace Change Rules

• F-4 allows broad economic activity without employer sponsorship, but the permitted scope is bounded by the Ministry of Justice's published F-4 employment-restriction notice.
• Applicants sign a pledge not to work in the restricted occupations; taking such work is therefore a breach of an undertaking as well as of the status.
• The restriction notice is reissued periodically — check the current notice number rather than a cached list, since a superseded list is one of the routine causes of delay.
• Occupation must be reported to the immigration office with jurisdiction at foreign registration, on any status change or extension, and whenever the occupation itself changes.
• Overseas Koreans on the old H-2 track work under a different and narrower regime — the permitted elementary-occupation sectors, entered after employment training and a job-seeking application, with workplace changes needing only a report.
• Keep work and residence records consistent for renewals; non-compliant employment history can affect later applications, including permanent residence.

6. Required Documents

• Application form, passport, ARC (if applicable), photo, and fee proof.
• Pathway identity/lineage/nationality-history evidence.
• Required declarations and supporting forms.
• Case-specific work/support records where requested.
• Additional office-requested documents.

7. Fees and Processing

• Fees follow current issuance/change/extension schedules.
• Pathway verification complexity affects timeline.
• Supplement rounds are common for incomplete history chains.
• Use the latest forms and notice references at filing.

8. Common Rejection Reasons

• Pathway eligibility does not meet current F-4 criteria.
• Identity/history chain is incomplete or inconsistent.
• Required declarations/forms are incorrect or outdated.
• Planned/prior work conflicts with restriction notices.
• Review office cannot verify key pathway facts.

9. FAQ