F-2-7 점수제 거주비자 점수 항목 해설: 나이·학력·한국어·소득과 가점·감점

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The F-2-7 points-based residence visa: every scoring item explained

Last checked: 20 October 2026 · compared against 3 official sources opened that day

The visa usually called F-2-7 is the residence (F-2) status in item ja (자목) of the Immigration Act's Enforcement Decree. It scores your age, education, Korean and income, and if you reach the pass line you can move to a residence status designed for long-term settlement. We downloaded the governing text, Ministry of Justice Notice 2025-408 (in force since 24 October 2025), again on 20 October 2026 and checked every table against it.

Who can apply: five categories

A high score is not enough; Article 2 of the notice first requires you to fit one of five categories. Employees of companies listed on KOSPI or KOSDAQ working as managers, professionals or related workers. Workers in high-tech fields named by the trade ministry earning at least 1.5 times the previous year's gross national income per person. Professionals who have stayed lawfully for three consecutive years on E-1 to E-7 or D-5 to D-9 status (excluding E-6-2 and E-7-2 to E-7-4) and meet the extension requirements on the day they apply. Graduates with a master's degree or higher from a Korean university who have a confirmed job in those fields within five years of graduating. And holders of a master's or doctorate from the science and engineering universities and research institutes listed in Annex 1. The job-seeker visa (D-10) is not on the list, so plan conservatively and count your three years from your first work visa unless the immigration office tells you otherwise.

Pass line 80, maximum 170

You need at least 80 points. Common items give up to 130 (age 25, education 25, Korean 20, income 60), bonus items add up to 40, and penalties take away up to 70.

The common items

Age, counted from the birth date in your passport on the day you apply: 18–24 gives 23, 25–29 gives 25, 30–34 gives 23, 35–39 gives 20, 40–44 gives 12, 45–50 gives 8 and 51 or over gives 3. Education counts degree certificates only, not course completion, and the issuer must be able to confirm them: a doctorate gives 25 (science and engineering, or two or more degrees) or 20 (other fields), a master's 20 or 17, a bachelor's 17 or 15, and an associate degree 15 or 10. Korean uses your TOPIK level or KIIP level as recorded on socinet.go.kr: level 5 or above gives 20, level 4 gives 15, level 3 gives 10, level 2 gives 5 and level 1 gives 3.

Income is the taxable income on the latest income certificate issued by the tax office, not your contract salary: 100 million won or more gives 60, then 58, 56, 53, 50, 45, 40 and 30 for each 10-million-won band down to 30–40 million, and 10 points from the minimum wage up to 30 million. No documents, no job or income below the minimum wage gives 0. The notice does not say how the minimum wage is converted to a yearly figure, so check if you are near that line.

Bonus points (up to 40)

A recommendation as an outstanding talent from a Korean War participant country or from a central government agency gives 20 each. Completing KIIP level 5 gives 10. Degrees give 30, 20 or 15 for a doctorate, master's or bachelor's from a top university (top 500 in the QS ranking or top 200 in the THE ranking at least once in the last five years), or 10, 7 or 5 from a Korean university. Volunteering gives 7 for three years or more (18 sessions and 150 hours), 5 for under three years (12 sessions and 100 hours) and 1 for under two years (6 sessions and 50 hours). The notice does not say whether degree bonuses can be combined, so count only the highest one.

Penalties and disqualifications

Immigration Act violations cost 30 points for fines of 3 million won or more or for a departure order or deportation, 20 for 1 to 3 million and 10 for 0.5 to 1 million won, counting fines paid within three years and orders within five years. Criminal fines of 3 million won or heavier sentences cost 40 points, but if the sentence became final less than three years ago the application is refused outright; fines of 2 to 3 million cost 30 and smaller fines 20. Some cases are refused regardless of points, for example a sentence of imprisonment within five years, three or more immigration violations totalling 5 million won within three years, or false documents.

Worked examples

A 32-year-old with a Korean master's in a non-science field, TOPIK level 4 and 45 million won income scores 23 + 17 + 15 + 40 = 95, plus 7 for the Korean master's: 102. A 28-year-old with a non-science bachelor's, KIIP level 5 and 28 million won scores 25 + 15 + 20 + 10 = 70, plus 10 for KIIP level 5: exactly 80, so one missing document means failure. A 47-year-old with a science bachelor's, no Korean test and 62 million won scores 8 + 17 + 0 + 50 = 75, and three years of volunteering lifts that to 82.

The route to permanent residence

Item 13 of Annex 1-3 to the Enforcement Decree lists, among people eligible for permanent residence (F-5), those who have stayed three years or more in F-2 item ja status and whom the Minister recognises as needing to keep living in Korea. Detailed requirements are set in the ministry's manual, so confirm with HiKorea or the 1345 contact centre before you plan.

Things to remember

Korean is the fastest item to improve: moving from TOPIK level 3 to level 5 adds 10 points. Near the line, every document counts. Volunteering is judged on sessions and hours as well as years, so collect a certificate each time. The top-university bonus looks at rankings in the five years before you apply, so check the published tables yourself. If you ever paid an immigration fine or a criminal fine, check the payment and finality dates, because the three- and five-year windows decide between a penalty, a refusal and nothing at all; waiting a few months can change the outcome. And claims online that a certain income waives the three-year stay are not in the notice; do not rely on anything the notice does not say until the immigration office confirms it.