F-5-6R (Regional-Specialized Overseas Korean Permanent Residence) Korea Visa Guide | 2026

1. What F-5-6R Is

F-5-6R is the permanent-residence exit point of the overseas-Korean track of the 지역특화형 비자 program — granted to an F-4-R holder who has continuously maintained that status and residence in the recommended region for a set number of years. It runs on a relaxed version of the standard F-5 criteria rather than the general permanent-residence rules.

2. Eligibility Checklist

• Livelihood requirement is explicitly eased relative to standard F-5 routes: the income floor is set as a stated fraction of per-capita GNI (Gross National Income) rather than the full 1x multiple used elsewhere in the F-5 family — the exact fraction is present in the source table structure but the specific percentage digit dropped in PDF extraction; confirm the current fraction before relying on it.
• 품행단정 (good-conduct) requirement follows the separate 외국국적동포 업무처리지침 (Overseas-Korean Nationals Processing Guidelines), not the general F-5 conduct standard.
• 기본소양 (basic literacy/social-integration) requirement defaults to 사회통합프로그램 5단계 이상 이수 (or equivalent: KIPRAT permanent-residency comprehensive exam pass, or KINAT naturalization comprehensive exam pass) — but is WAIVED outright for: applicants under a stated minor age threshold; applicants above that age who have been enrolled a stated number of years at (or have graduated from) a recognized domestic middle-school-or-higher program; applicants who passed a middle-school-equivalency exam; applicants with a severe illness or severe disability (per the same severe-illness/disability definitions used in the F-5-2/F-5-3 permanent-residence stay-management guidelines); and any other applicant the local immigration office head decides to exempt with Ministry of Justice approval.
• This is the least-populated code in the program on this site's own research pass — the manual gives it comparatively thin treatment (a single numbered subsection versus the multi-page treatment for F-2-R/E-7-4R/F-4-R), so treat unstated numeric details (the exact years-in-status threshold, the GNI fraction) as confirm-before-filing rather than assume.

3. Criteria Summary

• F-5-6R is not a points-based category.
• NOTE ON SOURCING: the manual names this code only in passing rather than defining it in a subtype table, so the description above is drawn from the limited text available. Confirm the current treatment with the immigration office before relying on it.
• 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