Emma’s Guide to the F2-99 Visa
I’ve been asked a lot over the past year about how I got my F2 visa. So I thought I would write everything down and post it for future reference. I did a short blog on it a year ago right after I got mine, but thought it might help to write a more thorough post.
I have the F2-99 visa, which is basically another way to get the F2 visa without going through the points system (F2-6). The main difference between the F2-99 and the F2-6, is that you have to continue working in the same field as your previous visa (i.e. if you were on an E2, then you have to teach English, if you were on an E7, you have to stay in that field).Â
However, as long as you are still working in your previous field, if you want to add other fields as part-time or supplementary work, you do not need to ask for permission or report this. You only need to apply to change your work field if you move into another field full-time and are only working in that field and not the field you were in on the previous visa.
Now, about my specific situation - I have lived in Korea consecutively since late 2007. While I came on an E2 visa, I have been on E7 visas (Journalism & PR) since 2008, which is just a general work visa. Which could be something to keep in mind - or it might mean nothing. (May just depend on who processes your visa.) I applied for the F2-99 visa in June 2017, so I’ve been on it for roughly a year, though I didn’t technically start freelancing until January 2018 (when I left my full-time job at Yonhap News).
Anyway, to the visa requirements…
To qualify for the F2-99, you have to have lived and worked in Korea (legally) for at least 5 years consecutively on any E visa (except E9 - this visa has a different set of requirements). It doesn’t have to be with the same company. And as long as you weren’t out of the country for longer than 1 month, you can apply. If you have had a combination of visas (i.e. student visa to work visa) or have been on other visas besides the E visa (i.e. any D visa) it’s at least 7 years.
You can check with immigration for your specific situation if you aren’t sure. And honestly, I only really looked up the case for me, so I’ve got no clue all the specifics on other visa types.
For me personally - I started out on an E2 visa, but then spent the next 9ish years on the E7 visa, though I changed companies and had spells of time in between some visas where I was on a 30-day or 60-day (after it was changed) tourist visa. I’ve read that with the E2 visa, you had to transfer your visa from company to company and not done visa runs in order to qualify - but these were all posts from before I applied. I didn’t interpret the guidelines to mean this, however… I haven’t been on an E2 visa in a long time, so it could be the case. For me, that wasn’t the case and I still was able to get approved. A more specific timeline is thus:
E2 Visa - Late Oct. 2007 to end of Sept. 2008
E7 Visa - Nov. 2008 to June 2009
E7 Visa - Aug. 2009 to Aug. 2011
E7 Visa - Sept. 2011 to Nov. 2014
E7 Visa - Dec. 2014 to June 2017 (when I applied for the F2-99 visa)
I did go on visa runs for every visa, however back in the day, E7 visa holders couldn’t transfer from company to company or I hadn’t found a new company before my visa was set to expire and there was no D-10 visa at the time. (The last visa, I voluntarily let it expire and left the country for a few days to come back on a tourist visa for reasons.) And this was all before the new thing that allows you to apply for an E7 visa without leaving the country (don’t ask me about that, I haven’t done it and vaguely understand how it works). So, I’m not sure if the “same visa” (i.e. transfer from company to company and no visa runs) is just for E2 visas or if that’s not a thing. Again, I didn’t interpret it that way, but could just be me.
Okay, so once you’ve passed that milestone, here are the other requirements:
- Clean criminal record.
- Scored at least Level 2 on the TOPIK I test or passed the social integration class.
- Make more than the GNI announced by the Bank of Korea - just more, no specific amount (for certain types of E7 visa-holders - namely those working in the service industry - it’s 1.5 times more than the GNI). At the time I applied in June 2017, the latest GNI announced was 31 million won annually.
- Have at least 30 million won in cash or assets (you or a member of your household if married).
Now, let’s break that down into the necessary documents that you should take into immigration with you.
As most of us in Korea who regularly deal with immigration are aware, a lot of situations can come down to the specific immigration worker you get that day - and usually no two workers will require the same documentation. So a good word of advice is to bring in as much documentation as you can to prove all of the above. That way it will save you time from having to go back multiple times because you didn’t have a document you may or may not need (sound advice from a friend who got the F6 marriage visa). I even brought in some of my career certificates (a form a Korean company gives you when you leave it to prove that you did work there for the period of time you say you did), even though they weren’t necessary. The worker didn’t even end up taking them.
Now, these are all the things I took with me to immigration and what requirement they were for. I brought in the originals and copies of EVERYTHING just in case. Some are just basic things that you need to bring for any visa that you apply for.
- Application
- Visa photo
- Passport
- ARC
- Valid lease contract
- Latest work contract with my monthly/annual salary listed (annual income)
- Income statement from the previous tax year (annual income)
- Bank Statement/ěť€í–‰ęł„ě˘Śěž”ęł ě¦ťëŞ…ě„ś (cash/assets)
- Key money receipt (cash/assets)
- TOPIK test results (TOPIK Level 2)
- FBI Background Check - Apostillized (Good Conduct)
- Korean Background Check/ë˛”ěŁ„ę˛˝ë ĄíšŚëł´ě„ś (Good Conduct)
If you have done the FBI/home country background check for a previous visa then you don’t need to bring this as it’s already in immigration records. I had to bring it since it’s not a requirement for E7 visas and wasn’t a requirement when I had my E2 visa (that was back in ancient times before you needed a health check, HIV check, interview at the consulate, etc., as well - yes, I know I’m fabulously aged). If you’ve done the FBI/home country check, all you need is a Korean background check, which is free and you can get at any large police station. I went to Gwangjin-gu Police Station and it took 5 minutes - no hassle. They even gave me two copies.
I first went to the Jongro Police Station (where I got my fingerprints for the FBI check), and they told me I didn’t need the Korean background check for the visa, thus refusing to even let me to the section of the station where I could get it done. So I then called immigration to double-check and the guy told me I didn’t need either Korean or FBI check. This was NOT true. YOU DO NEED THESE!
For cash and assets - key money on an apartment DOES count. For the bank statement, all I did was go into my bank on payday (when I had the most amount of money in my account) and asked for the form that shows how much money is in the account. (For the record, I got this about 20 minutes before my appointment at immigration.) It doesn’t have an itemized list. It doesn’t say where any of the money came from or how long it’s been in there. And the immigration worker accepted it. However, getting this form will freeze your bank account for 24 hours, so make sure to take precautions so you have money to last you during this time. (I didn’t know about the freeze, but thankfully had a credit card I could fall back on for a day.) Also, if you own property in Korea, be sure to bring in the necessary documents to show that in order for it to count for cash or assets.
The cost to switch to the F2-99 visa is 100,000 won (at least a year ago). The process was a bit more expensive for me, as I had to get an apostillized FBI check, but outside that, I paid 135,000 won total (including the TOPIK test).
And that’s about that. I started gathering all the documents in about April/May 2017 and by June 2017, I had had enough money saved up and all the documents ready to apply. This time will vary depending on what you have to get - I had to take the TOPIK and get the FBI check and save up money (ahem… and maybe borrow some from friends and family). The worker I got hadn’t processed an F2-99 before, but after about 10 minutes of going over the requirements in her computer and checking my documents, she approved me and told me to come back in 3 weeks to pick up my new ARC.
After that, I officially quit my office job in January 2018 and have been freelancing ever since.
Hope this is helpful to people. In my research about the visa, I noticed that not many had applied for it and there weren’t many up-to-date or in-depth sources on how to get it. I didn’t even know about it until one day when I was randomly checking immigration’s English guide to visas to see if anything had changed (this was apparently added/changed name/whatever in 2015).
It’s for three years (though my immigration worker gave me 2 years - bother). And it gives you a bit more freedom and security than a company-sponsored work visa. And for me, it was TONS easier than going through the point system since it would have taken me at least another year to get the points I needed - and that’s IF I went through and passed level 3-5 in the Korean government language classes. Which were near impossible for me to take as I worked (mostly) 9 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, with constantly changing weekend work schedules. And… I didn’t have to get married for it (not that marriage is bad… just if I went that route, I’d still be on a sponsored work visa…). As far as I’m aware, to renew, you just need to fill out an application, bring in a valid lease agreement and pay the fee. There is also something called a special reference letter, which I’m planning to look into once I figure out what it is.
So there you go. Emma’s Guide to the F2-99 Visa. Enjoy.Â
Updated on July 3 - I added to the section on differences between F2-6 and F2-99 visa as more information was available in terms of adding/changing work fields. This is a bit confusing in the foreigners’ guide, so hopefully I cleared it up a bit.