D-8 to F-5 Permanent Residency in Korea — Three Routes in the MOJ Manual

Overview

Short answer: the route from D-8 to permanent residency (F-5) is set out in the Ministry of Justice Foreign Resident Stay Manual (Sept. 2026 edition). The routes that name D-8 itself are General permanent resident (F-5-1), Technology-startup investor (F-5-24) and R&D personnel of a foreign-invested company (F-5-26). Each requires a different stay period (5 years or 3 years) and different proof: sales, investment and hiring, or work in an R&D facility.

This article does not cover every permanent-residency requirement; it narrows the topic to the parts that apply to D-8 holders. Denial reasons and fixes are in the separate F-5 denial article, and keeping the status after approval is in another article. The manual is a supporting guide, approval is decided by examination, and nothing here promises a result.

At a Glance

Scope of Activity

• Stay periods, requirements and documents of F-5-1, F-5-24 and F-5-26, the permanent-residency sub-statuses for which the manual names D-8 directly
• The common requirements (living ability, basic knowledge, good conduct) as they relate to the D-8 routes, including which are waived
• Out of scope: judging the likelihood of approval, processing time and fees, routes that start from statuses other than D-8 such as the F-2 points route, and maintaining permanent residency after approval

Who Qualifies

• Investors and managers who have stayed close to 5 years under D-8 and are considering the general route (F-5-1)
• Founders running a company under technology startup (D-8-4) who want to check the investment and Korean-hiring requirements
• D-8 holders working as essential personnel at the R&D facility of a foreign-invested company
• Foreign nationals who moved from D-8 to E-7 or similar statuses and wonder whether their stay periods can be combined

Required Documents

• Common documents: integrated application form (with revenue stamp), passport, Alien Registration Card (ARC), proof of residence, foreign criminal record certificate (unless exempt), letter of identity guarantee (unless exempt), official proof of tax payment, and income-related documents such as the income certificate issued by the tax office
• Basic-knowledge proof (F-5-1): pass certificate of the permanent-residence comprehensive test or completion certificate of the Social Integration Program (permanent-residence course), among others. F-5-24 and F-5-26 are exempt from this requirement
• D-8 under general permanent residence (F-5-1): sales-record documents, calculated as average annual sales over the two years before the year of application (last year and the year before)
• Technology-startup investor (F-5-24): business registration certificate, corporate registry certificate, and proof of attracting investment of at least KRW 300 million or holding equivalent capital (financial statements, fund transfer statement, etc.)
• Proof of hiring Koreans for F-5-24: list of insured persons for the four social insurances at the workplace, income certificates of the Korean employees, employment contracts, regular-employment confirmation, etc.
• R&D personnel (F-5-26): copy of the R&D facility designation (official letter of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources), dispatch order or employment certificate, and income certificate
• If considering the high-amount investor route (F-5-5): foreign-invested company registration certificate, corporate registry certificate, business registration certificate, and proof of regular employment of Koreans (four-insurance list, income certificates, employment contracts)

Application Process

1. Check eligibility — confirm your current status, career, degree and contract type match the requirements.
2. Prepare documents — foreign public documents need a translator's certification plus an apostille (or consular confirmation for non-member states).
3. Book a visit — reserve a slot at your Immigration Office via HiKorea (www.hikorea.go.kr), or file online where e-Application is available.
4. File and pay — submit the Integrated Application Form (Form No. 34) and pay the screening fee.
5. Review — respond to any request for supplementary documents within the deadline.
6. Result — on approval, the period of stay and status are granted; reissue your ARC if required.

Key Points

• For general permanent residence (F-5-1), counting the stay period is the key. The manual requires 5 or more years of continuous stay as of the application date, and says that if you stayed continuously without fully leaving the country only in the eligible statuses (D-7 through E-7, and F-2), the separate stay periods can be added together. If you moved from D-8 to E-7 or similar, confirm with the office whether they combine. You must also be keeping the economic activity recognized for that status on the application date.
• For D-8 holders the general route carries a sales criterion: average annual sales of at least KRW 1 billion over the two years before the year of application (last year and the year before). Two applicants who file on different dates in the same year are measured over the same two years. In addition, the manual says applicants must not be multiple nationals holding Korean nationality, and must have no record of working in or running entertainment services (including similar businesses) from the required stay period up to the decision date.
• The 3 years for the technology-startup route (F-5-24) means 3 continuous years in technology startup (D-8-4) status counted back from the application date; earlier stay periods are excluded. D-8-4 refers to a corporate founder with an associate degree or higher in Korea, a bachelor's degree or higher abroad, or a recommendation from the head of a central administrative agency, who holds intellectual property rights or comparable technology. At the application date you must have employed at least 2 Korean nationals continuously for 6 months or more on full-time regular contracts. The living-ability requirement is waived for F-5-24.
• For R&D personnel (F-5-26), continuity of work is recognized if the total days of interruption caused by changes of workplace within the 3 years is 90 days or less. Besides these three routes, the manual also has a high-amount investor route (F-5-5) for those who invested at least USD 500,000 under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act and employ at least 5 Koreans on regular contracts for 6 months or more; but the manual does not name D-8 as its eligible status, so confirm with the office whether it applies to you.
• The manual is a supporting guide, and the head of the office may add or remove documents for examination. Processing time varies with the competent Immigration Office and is not stated here. Meeting a requirement does not guarantee approval on any route, so confirm the documents and reference dates with the competent office before filing.
• Documents issued in Korea must normally be dated within 3 months unless another validity period applies.
• Documents already on file in your alien registration record need not be resubmitted.
• Health certificates, drug test results and pre-employment medical reports must be submitted sealed by the issuing hospital (do not open).
• You must be in Korea when applying; leaving the country after filing may result in refusal.
• Screening fees are non-refundable once the application is accepted.
• The head of the Immigration Office may add or waive documents where necessary for review.

Frequently Asked Questions

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