KR
South Korea · 재외동포(F-4) · Ancestry · apply embassy, in country · processing 14–21 days
Residence for a foreigner who once held Korean nationality, or who is a lineal descendant of such a person, including people who left before the Republic of Korea was established. It is a multiple-entry visa. Work is allowed outside a list of restricted simple-labor and service jobs. It is not citizenship and it does not restore a lost Korean nationality.
The Washington embassy instruction of 27 May 2026 calls the visa a five-year multiple-entry visa. With Korean-language evidence the stay printed on the visa is up to two years. Without that evidence the stay is up to one year. The Ministry of Justice press release of 11 February 2026, in force from 12 February 2026, describes the sojourn granted in Korea as three years when language evidence is accepted, and says the visa itself remains two years. Until 31 December 2026 the language bar is Social Integration Program level 1, or an accepted substitute: a pre-assessment of 21 points, completion of level 1, TOPIK level 1, or Sejong Institute beginner 1B. From 1 January 2027 through 31 December 2028 the bar rises to level 2, and from 1 January 2029 to level 3. Someone who does not show language ability and is enrolled in the program can receive up to two years. Someone who is not enrolled can receive up to one year. Former Korean nationals, people aged 60 or older, and people aged 13 or younger are among those exempt from the language documents. There is no generation cap. A 2019 amendment of the enforcement decree treats lineal descendants as overseas Koreans, which brought in the fourth generation and later generations. A spouse or minor child who is not themselves an overseas Korean can receive visiting-family status (F-1), not F-4. Parents qualify for that family status only when the child is enrolled in a Korean elementary, middle or high school. The F-1 grant is up to two years and cannot outlast the F-4 holder's stay. From 12 February 2026, H-2 is no longer issued to new applicants. People already on H-2 may change to F-4, and that change-of-status fee is waived through 31 December 2027. The residence-card fee is still charged. Ten previously barred simple-labor jobs are now allowed, including construction labor, manual packing and loading. Other simple-labor and certain service jobs stay barred. Permanent residence for an F-4 holder is available after two continuous years in Korea, with a livelihood test the Ministry describes as at least the previous year's GNI per capita, plus conduct and basic attainment. Korean ability at Social Integration Program level 5, or listed equivalents, lowers that income test to 70 percent of GNI, and to 60 percent if the person also has the volunteer record. The volunteer record alone lowers it to 80 percent. General naturalization still needs five continuous years of address in Korea, permanent residence, and Korean attainment. A person whose father or mother was a Korean national can use the three-year simplified naturalization route instead. Naturalization requires giving up the other nationality, with statutory exceptions that are not part of this visa. The statutory unlimited multiple-entry visa fee is USD 90 per person. A mission may charge a different fee by reciprocity.
South Korea also offers a digital nomad visa for remote workers
Last verified Oct 9, 2026 Last changed Oct 10, 2026 Source
processing set to 14-21 days from the embassy's two-to-three-week norm. Health insurance marked required because arrears can block an extension (overseas.mofa.go.kr).
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