F-5-28 (Special Contributor Permanent Residence) Korea Visa Guide | 2026

1. What F-5-28 Is

F-5-28 is the permanent-residence (영주) upgrade for a 특별기여자 (special contributor) who already holds 거주(F-2) 카목 status — i.e. someone the Minister of Justice has recognized as having made a special contribution to the Republic of Korea, or contributed to the promotion of the public interest (per 출입국관리법 시행령 별표 1의3 제19호). The applicant must have held that F-2 카목 status and stayed continuously in Korea for at least 2 years. Site currently only covers the F-2 residence tier of this category (labeled F-2-16); F-5-28 is the separate, higher permanent-residence code the same person can move up to.

2. Eligibility Checklist

• Eligibility floor: continuous stay in Korea for 2+ years under the qualifying F-2 카목 (special-contributor) status as of the application date.
• Livelihood requirement (satisfy one): income — prior-year per-capita GNI (Gross National Income) x1 or more, aggregating income of the applicant, minor children, and parents (excluding the spouse's parents) who live together and share livelihood with the applicant during the income-calculation period; OR assets — prior-year average net assets per household or more, aggregated on the same household-member basis.
• 품행단정 (law-abiding character/good conduct) requirement applies, same as other F-5 permanent-residence routes.
• 기본소양 (basic literacy/social-integration) requirement: complete Step 5 of the 사회통합프로그램 (Social Integration Program), OR score 60 points or more on the comprehensive evaluation used for permanent-residency or naturalization applications.
• Manual date-stamped '26.9.1. per the HiKorea revision log ('특별기여자(F-5-28) 및 특별기여자(F-5-28)의 배우자 및 미성년 자녀(F-5-29) 내용 현행화') — this is a recently current-ized entry, not a legacy code.

3. Criteria Summary

• F-5-28 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