F-5-27 (Refugee-Status Permanent Resident (long-term stay)) Korea Visa Guide | 2026

1. What F-5-27 Is

F-5-27 is the last (27th) entry in the manual's sequential list of Permanent Residency (F-5) subtype eligibility categories, covering a person who has held Refugee (난민) residence status and continuously stayed in Korea for a minimum required number of years (exact year count not recoverable from the extracted text). Like F-5-2/3, F-5-6, F-5-7, and F-5-14, this category is explicitly excluded from the manual's standard eligibility-requirements list and its accompanying document-requirements table, because it is governed by a separate guideline document ('별도 지침') that is not reproduced in either manual reviewed.

2. Eligibility Checklist

• F-5-27 is never written directly adjacent to '난민' anywhere in either manual — the code is only named once, in the exception-list disclaimer at visa-3.txt:14991, alongside F-5-2/3, F-5-6, F-5-7, F-5-14.
• It is the 27th and final item in the sequential 영주자격 세부약호 list (visa-3.txt:14976-15024), directly following the F-5-26 (외국인투자기업 연구개발 인력) entry.
• Positional mapping was cross-validated against two independent tables: a document-requirements-by-code table (visa-3.txt:15534-15577) and explicit code-name pairs in the sister manual (visa-2.txt:13442-13443, e.g. '고액 투자자(F-5-5)', '특정분야 능력소유자(F-5-11)', '특별공로자(F-5-12)', '일반분야 박사(F-5-15)') — all 26 checkable positions matched with zero contradictions.
• Because it falls under 별도 지침, F-5-27 (like F-5-2/3, F-5-6, F-5-7, F-5-14) is absent from the document-requirements table that covers F-5-1 through F-5-26 — an absence that is itself consistent with the exception note.
• The required minimum years of residence cannot be quoted — the digit is missing from the extracted text ('...년 이상 대한민국에 체류하고 있는 사람').

3. Criteria Summary

• F-5-27 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