Questions by situation
Each answer starts with the conclusion, then who it applies to, the documents and the timing. Jump here from “Choose your situation” above.
I only paid a deposit on a resort property and stayed on F-1 — does that time count toward the 5 years for F-5-17?
No. The F-5-17 five-year rule looks at the period you maintained the investment on tourism/leisure facility investment residence (F-2-8), so time spent on visiting-family (F-1) status does not meet that standard. F-1 is given to people who have paid at least USD 100,000 or KRW 100 million of their own funds as a deposit and interim payments, and you switch to F-2-8 once the full threshold investment is made. We therefore start from the date you obtained F-2-8 and the date of registration or membership to work out when you can apply.
Can I still get F-5-17 if I rent out my investment condo or take a mortgage on it?
Leasing or mortgaging the facility is treated as losing the investment conditions, so that period is hard to count as maintained investment. Under the F-2-8 review rules the facility must not be leased, mortgaged or seized and must not be used for profit-making, and F-5-17 requires 5+ years of investment without losing those conditions. If you lost the conditions and later restored them, the earlier holding period is added from the point of restoration, so we line up the dates of every change in the property register.
What happens if I sell my resort property or transfer my membership before I get F-5-17?
If you recover your investment before obtaining permanent residence — by selling, cancelling the contract or transferring a membership — the investment is no longer maintained, and the developer must report the recovery to the immigration office within 14 days. That makes the 'total of 5+ years of continuous investment' requirement hard to meet. If you plan to sell, time it against both your own permanent residence decision and your family's F-5-19 filing, because the family application also requires the investor to keep the investment.
How recent must the real estate register certificate be for an F-5-17 application?
It must be issued within the last 5 days before the application date. The register certificate is the main proof that the investment is still in place, and depending on how you invested, other documents showing the investment may be needed. A certificate outside that window has to be reissued, so we fix the filing date first and order the documents to match it.
What is the full list of documents for a Korea F-5-17 permanent residency application?
There are two sets. The common set is the integrated application form (with revenue stamp), passport, alien registration card, proof of residence such as a lease or full registry certificate valid on the filing date, an overseas criminal record certificate (unless exempt) and the F-5 applicant information form; on top of that comes proof that the investment is maintained, such as a real estate register certificate issued within 5 days before filing. The applicant information form is filled in by the applicant, and a false entry discovered after approval can lead to cancellation of permanent residence.
Do F-5-17 or F-5-19 applicants need a surety letter or an income certificate?
No. Tourism/leisure facility investors (F-5-17) and their spouse and children (F-5-19) are excluded from submitting a surety letter (신원보증서), and because the annual income test is waived, income documents such as the income amount certificate are not needed as proof of financial self-sufficiency. The proof of investment and the good-conduct review still apply, so we split the checklist into what is dropped and what remains.
Do I need KIIP completion or a KIPRAT pass certificate for F-5-17 permanent residency?
No. Tourism/leisure facility investors (F-5-17) and their spouse or unmarried children (F-5-19) are exempt from the basic-knowledge requirement, so no KIIP (Korea Immigration and Integration Program) certificate or comprehensive evaluation pass certificate is submitted. Some F-5 types, such as general permanent residence (F-5-1), do review basic knowledge, so switching to another type could make these certificates necessary.
I have lived in Korea for over 10 years — can I skip the overseas criminal record certificate for F-5-17?
Yes, if you have stayed lawfully and continuously in Korea for 10 years or more up to the application date. Others who are exempt include people under 14 on the filing date, people who submitted a certificate for their visa and apply for permanent residence within 3 months of visa issuance, and people who previously submitted a home-country certificate and have not stayed abroad for 6 months or more in a row since. Otherwise you submit a certificate from your country of nationality (and any third country where you lived 1+ year in a row in the last 5 years), issued within 6 months before filing, with an apostille or consular confirmation and a notarised translation.
I once paid an immigration fine in Korea — will it affect my F-5-17 permanent residency review?
It depends on the amount and timing. F-5-17 and F-5-19 applicants are still reviewed for good conduct, and a fine of KRW 5 million or more for an Immigration Act violation in the last 3 years, or fines totalling KRW 7 million or more, means the requirement is not met. A lighter violation of Korean law within the last 10 years can still make you subject to a law-abiding citizenship course before approval, while a single violation ending in non-prosecution or a fine or penalty of KRW 1 million or less can be approved without the course.
Can the adult child of a tourism facility investor still get F-5-19 permanent residency?
Yes, if unmarried. The F-5-19 child rule is based on being unmarried, not on being a minor: the child must have stayed in Korea continuously on residence (F-2-81) as the investor's unmarried child for 5+ years as of the filing date and remain unmarried until the final decision. Family relation documents and proof of unmarried status are submitted, and marrying during the review takes the child outside the requirement.
My partner is the resort investor but we never registered our marriage — can I apply for F-5-19 as a spouse?
That is difficult. An F-5-19 spouse must be legally married to the investor and living in Korea with them from 2 years before filing until the decision, and common-law marriage or divorce is not accepted. You must also have held residence (F-2-8) as the investor's spouse for 5+ years while staying in Korea, so we check the marriage registration date against the date you obtained F-2-8.
If the investor sells the property after getting F-5-17, can the family still apply for F-5-19?
It affects the family. For F-5-19 it is not enough that the spouse or parent holds F-5-17; that investor must also still be keeping an investment that meets the residence investment standard. If the family plans to apply later, the investor should stay able to provide proof of investment until the family's applications are decided.
If the investor, spouse and children apply together, which documents does each person submit?
Each person submits the common documents (integrated application form, passport, alien registration card, proof of residence, etc.); the spouse and children add family relation documents, and only unmarried children add proof of unmarried status. The proof of investment is prepared as evidence of the investor's investment. In a joint filing, if the investor's F-5-17 change is refused, the spouse's and children's applications are automatically refused too, so we check the investor's requirements first and then assemble the family files.
Key terms
- Tourism/leisure facility investor (F-5-17, 관광·휴양시설 투자자)
- The permanent residence type for people who have kept a tourism/leisure facility investment for a total of 5+ years on residence (F-2-8) status.
- Spouse or unmarried child of a tourism/leisure facility investor (F-5-19, 관광·휴양시설 투자자의 배우자 또는 미혼 자녀)
- The permanent residence type for the spouse or unmarried child of an F-5-17 holder who has held residence status for 5+ years.
- Tourism/leisure facility investment residence (F-2-8, 관광·휴양시설 투자 거주)
- Residence status for foreigners who invest at least the threshold amount of their own funds in a tourism/leisure facility designated by the Minister of Justice; the starting point for F-5-17.
- Residence (F-2-81, 거주)
- Residence status held by the unmarried child of a tourism/leisure facility investor; 5+ years on it is one part of the F-5-19 requirement.
- Conversion investment (전환투자)
- Adding together time invested under the tourism/leisure facility programme and the public-benefit project programme; a combined 5+ years counts for F-5-17.
- Proof of investment (투자 유지 입증서류)
- Documents such as a real estate register certificate showing the investment is still held, issued within 5 days before filing.
- Joint filing (동반신청)
- The investor and family applying for permanent residence together; if the investor's F-5-17 is refused, the family's applications are refused automatically.
- Law-abiding citizenship course (준법시민교육)
- A course taken before approval by permanent residence applicants found to have violated Korean law within the last 10 years.
About our office
- Office
- Vision Administrative Office (비전행정사사무소 · VISAS KOREA)
- Principal
- Alex Lee (이원중), licensed administrative agent (행정사)
- Licence
- Administrative agent (행정사) — preparing immigration and residence filings and submitting them on the client’s behalf with written authorization (위임장)
- Scope
- Korean visas (visa issuance certificate, change of status, extension), permanent residency (F-5), foreign-invested company, branch and liaison office setup, immigration violation review and entry-ban response
- Languages
- Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese
- Address
- 3F Sungwoo Bldg, 324 Toegye-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul 04614, Korea
- Hours
- Weekdays 09:30–17:30 (KST)
Who hires us for this
- Investors on residence (F-2-8) approaching 5 years of tourism/leisure facility investment
- Spouses applying for F-5-19 together with or after the investor
- Adult but unmarried children on residence (F-2-81)
- Investors who moved into public-benefit project investment and want the periods combined
- Investor families who travel often and want document timing handled for them
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