— Living in South Korea —

Permanent Resident Visa (F5) in Korea without Korean Language Proficiency

December 7, 2018
Permanent Resident Visa, F5 visa

(published in Korea.net as “Acquiring Permanent Residency Without KOrean Proficiency”)

The Permanent Resident Visa or the F5 visa is a most sought-after visa here in Korea. The requirements are rigid, including Korean language proficiency. My husband’s continuous stay here in Korea for more than 10 years on the same E7 visa qualified him to apply for an F5 visa without proof of Korean language proficiency. He is now a permanent resident visa holder.

My husband had been on an E7 visa here in Seoul since he first arrived more than 12 years ago. We didn’t expect to live here this long. Almost every year, we contemplate on going home to the Philippines. In fact, last year we seriously planned on going home and has already arranged a school for the 2 boys. We were ready, kind of.

However, factors favorable to staying here in Seoul won. So, we made the final decision to stay and the boys were so happy that they get to stay in their school, Dwight School Seoul.  This made my husband think about applying for F5 or Permanent Resident visa. We have been here for so long, anyway.

Will my husband qualify for F5 or Permanent Resident visa?

My husband doesn’t speak fluent Korean. Will he qualify?

YES.

He has continuously stayed here in Korea for more than 10 years on the same E-7 visa. This qualified him to apply for an F5 visa without proof of Korean language proficiency.

Required Documents

What are the other documents he submitted?

  • application form (Integrated Application Form – Appendix Paper No. 34 here) – It is the very first form you see on the web page link.
  • employment certificate
  • salary information – must show he has the financial capability
  • tax return
  • bank statement
  • NBI clearance to prove your lack of criminal record –  this was apostilled by the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines and was authenticated by the Korean Embassy in the Philippines
  • house contract – the apartment we lived in was under contract between my husband’s company and the owner. He submitted the gas billing statement under his name to prove that we live in the apartment
  • transcript of records – husband submitted without apostille and authentication from the Philippines
  • letter of Guarantee (by a Korean)
  • recommendation letters – husband got 5 recommendation letters but there’s really no guideline as to how many recommendation letters you submit
  • 230,000 won fee

He was granted the F5 or permanent visa middle of this year.

While on an E7-visa, one is strictly under his company employment contract.

The F5 visa provides no restrictions on engaging in the prohibited activities for each visa type.

As an F5 visa-holder, my husband is also no longer required to pay the travel tax requirement whenever we fly out from the Philippines.

All is well.

Wait… what happens to the dependent’s visa of the spouse and the children? 

Remember, the children and I are holders of F-3 visa or the dependent’s visa. Our dependent’s visa is attached to his E-7 visa. Without his E-7 visa anymore, what do we do?

What happens to the F-3 visa of the minors (our children are ages 12 and 9) and the spouse?

Read here for How Do Minors of Permanent Resident Visa Holders Get the F-2-3 visa?

For Spouse Requirements for Visa Change from Dependent’s Visa to F-2 Visa

Here’s a more detailed discussion with my husband:

Rating: 1 out of 5.

30 thoughts on “Permanent Resident Visa (F5) in Korea without Korean Language Proficiency”

  3. Is 10 years on the same visa (E7 in your case) the minimum requirement to get the F5? Do you think being on the same visa 5-10 years would be enough? This is all great info since I’ve also been in Korea for a while now and don’t see myself changing my lifestyle any time soon. Thanks for the very informative post!

    1. 10 years is only for the exclusion of Korean language proficiency. But I am sure you can apply for permanent residency even if you have lived here less than 10 years if with compliance of other requirements (Korean language, financial capability, education, etc). Others go through the F-2 visa (temporary resident) route first then apply for F5 after a number of years.

  4. Great info!
    I’m surprised to see there wasn’t a monetary requirement for this (I though I heard you need 100,000,000 KRW in the bank, or something like that). I’ve lived in Korea for almost 10 years (same as you guys – I say every year this is my last year – though it never is!), but have had multiple visas. Glad to know this is an option though!

    1. There is a monetary requirement that’s why you are to send your bank statement, tax return, as well as salary statement (showing 2x higher salary than Korean per capita) that would show your financial capability.

  5. This is really good to know. Personally, I am trying to take the F-2 route because I just find it easier to get enough points with the language skill. It is so difficult to immigrate to Korea that it is always encouraging to see testimonies of people making it! Thank you 🙂

  6. I’m sure this is super useful for anyone who has stayed here ten years and wants to get a stable visa. That’s quite a long time to have lived here. Your kids must feel semi Korean, as I imagine they speak it fluently. Personally, I’d love to go live in the Philippines for a while… and perhaps will (or travel extensively) late next year 🙂

  7. Hi Wendy, This is an excellent initiative from your end for initiating this blog which will benefit all foreigners seeking F5 VISA. Can you please send me formats for ” * Letter of Guarantee (by a Korean) & * Recommendation letters, to my email ? This will help me to prepare the documents with confidence. And regarding *Transcript of records, all documents such as educational and experience certificates in English will be ok to submit ? Please advise on “list of records” to be submitted in the transcript of records section. Thanks a ton! John

    1. Hi John, I’m glad my post can help.

      The form “Letter of Guarantee (Reference Form)” is here: https://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/DownLoadTemplPopupR_en.pt It’s the first form on the upper right hand.

      Recommendation Letter has no particular format so you can create your own formal letter.

      Transcript of Records refer to your university or post-graduate transcripts. If you have other educational and experience certificates, I am sure that will add to your chances of getting a PR.

      Good luck!

      1. Hi Wendy, I heard that personal interviews happen for F5 visa. Was there any personal interview for your husband/you ? If so, what was the general queries asked and was all the queries in English or combined English & Hangeul ? Please update. Thanks ! John.

        1. Neither I nor my husband had an interview. Our visa was granted based on the documents we submitted.

          I do know that personal interviews do happen for other F5 applications but I have no idea what the questions were or how they were conducted or which language was used.

  8. Hello This is Dr. Kunal More (PhD) …..I am in Korea right now with F-2-7 visa….I am planning to apply F-5 visa. As you said PCC (Police Clearance certificate) is necessary . Do I need to take it from home country or PCC from my country consulate in Korea (Apostilled from home country) will work.

    Thank you

    1. In our case, we can take it in our own country or we can also have it processed from our embassy here in Seoul. Either way is accepted as long as the document is apostilled and authenticated. You might want to check with your embassy how it is done.

  9. Congratulations to you Wendy and your husband…

    I wanted to know…How long did you wait for the result after applying f5 visa?

  10. I thought F5 was only for spouses of Koreans who are on F6 first. It’s the same F5 visa? Do they have to be on E7 visa to apply, or just any work visa for a certain period of time? Thanks.

  11. Hi Wendy,
    It is very happy to see your post about the foreigner obtaining F-5 visa status without korean proficiency. BTW, I would like to know that from whom do I have to get the recommendation letter. So that I can able to pursue the person to get it.

    Thank you

  12. Hi ms. Wendy salamt sa useful info regarding sa f5 visa. Were also on e7 f3 my husband cant speak good korean. May salary required ba sa pag apply ng f5 visa?

    1. Hi Dhang, meron po.

      There is a monetary requirement that’s why you are to send your bank statement, tax return, as well as salary statement (showing 2x higher salary than Korean per capita) that would show your financial capability.

      1. Hello po. I just want to know if the proof of income you submitted are solely from the applicant (husband)? Is it possible to combine the financial statements of the couple in order to reach the 2x GNI?

  16. This was 2018 but I’m reading it just now. haha If you get a permanent resident visa, do you still need to apply for citizenship? Or, you just wait for the government to grant it to you?

    1. Great information Ms.Wendy.Very helpful po netong information nnyo sa lahat na gustong maging Korean citizen.Congrats to your husband po.Tagal nyo na po pala dyan sa Korea.

  17. Wow. Pwede pa din pala yun mommy. Yung kahit di pa sya totally Language proficiency ,makakakuha kana ng residency visa.
    So lucky ni hubby , actually kayo mommy kasi resident na kayo ng Korea. Ano kay feeling ng nasa korea na di ka isang tourist hehehe. Hanggang dream ko na lang siguro yun 😍🥰😁

  18. Very informative article, i didn’t know po na isa sa nga requirements para makakuha ng permanent resident visa ay ang pagiging fluent sa korean language, at as long as na matagal ka ng residence diyan sa korea pwede ng kumuha ng visa without language proficiency. Thanks for sharing this Ms. Wendy.

  19. It is interesting to know the permanent visa process in Korea and it seems quite easy. Thanks for sharing this with us. This is a good window of opportunity fr those who want to live in Korea on a long-term basis.

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