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Pathway

South Korea Public Investment Residence

South Korea Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

South Korea's Immigrant Investor Scheme for Public Business grants F-2 resident status to qualifying investors in an approved public fund or designated development project. The current official minimum is KRW 500 million, or KRW 300 million for a qualifying investor aged over 55 who also meets the separate asset rule.

Type
Investment residence
Investment fit
Investors making a qualifying investment in South Korea
Core requirements
Investment amount, source of funds, and required approvals
What to know
Meeting the listed requirements does not guarantee approval; the authority retains discretion
Minimum investment
KRW 500M; KRW 300M for qualifying investors over 55 plus KRW 300M other assets
Investment choices
Principal-guaranteed public fund or approved risk-based project

Summary

South Korea's Immigrant Investor Scheme for Public Business (IISPB) grants F-2 resident status to a foreign national who makes the required investment through an approved public-business option. The current official minimum is KRW 500 million. A qualifying investor over age 55 can use a reduced KRW 300 million investment, but the investor and spouse must also hold at least KRW 300 million in other assets in Korea or abroad.

The scheme has two investment types:

This is the current official Korea Immigration Service threshold. Older or unrelated materials referring to KRW 1.5 billion, KRW 3 billion, or a generic KRW 300 million minimum should not be used to describe the standard IISPB route.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

The standard applicant must be able to:

For the retiree option, the applicant must be over age 55, invest at least KRW 300 million, and show that the applicant and spouse together hold at least KRW 300 million in additional assets in Korea or abroad. The asset amount is separate from the investment.

The official scheme page identifies ineligibility for criminals, tax delinquents, and people who have violated the Immigration Act more than four times. A person who clears overdue taxes may become eligible under the published rule, but immigration still reviews the full case.

Applicants should expect detailed evidence of how the investment money was earned or obtained. Depending on the source, that may include tax returns, business-sale documents, property-sale records, inheritance or gift documents, audited accounts, employment income records, and bank statements showing the path of funds. A bare bank balance does not explain source.

Family documents are needed if the spouse or unmarried children will be included. Each family member remains subject to the applicable identity and admissibility review.

What This Route Allows

The qualifying investor receives F-2 resident status, which Korea Immigration Service describes as allowing free economic activity. The approved investor's spouse and unmarried children can also receive F-2 status under the scheme.

If the investor maintains the qualifying investment for at least five years, the investor may apply to change to F-5 permanent-resident status. The official page also extends the family benefit to the spouse and unmarried children, subject to the rules and review in force at the time.

Under the principal-guaranteed option, the Korea Development Bank returns the principal after five years but pays no interest. The economic cost therefore includes the lost use and purchasing power of the money, fees, currency risk, tax consequences, and professional costs. Under the risk-based option, principal is not guaranteed.

What This Route Is Not

IISPB is not a donation and is not an ordinary Korean company investment. A person who wants to establish or operate a private company should examine D-8 instead. Only an approved fund or designated project counts for this scheme.

F-2 is not permanent residence, and five years does not produce F-5 automatically. The investment must be maintained and the applicant must complete the separate change-of-status process and meet the current rules.

This is not a direct citizenship program. Naturalization has separate residence, status, conduct, livelihood, Korean-language, society, assessment, and nationality-renunciation rules.

Do not transfer money based only on a private promoter's claim. Verify the receiving institution and investment option directly through Korea Immigration Service and the Korea Development Bank process before sending funds.

Next Steps

  1. Decide whether the KRW 500 million standard option is affordable without relying on changing exchange rates.
  2. If using the over-55 option, document both the KRW 300 million investment and the separate KRW 300 million of investor-and-spouse assets.
  3. Choose between the principal-guaranteed interest-free fund and a designated risk-based project only after understanding return, loss, lock-up, fees, and tax treatment.
  4. Contact Korea Immigration Service at 1345 to confirm the current approved process, receiving institution, and family rules.
  5. Build a source-of-funds report that connects original earnings or transactions to the account from which the investment will be sent.
  6. Clear any overdue tax issue and review criminal and Korean immigration history before transferring funds.
  7. Gather passports, civil records, bank and tax documents, and authenticated criminal records required for the investor and accompanying family.
  8. Have independent Korean legal and tax advisers review the immigration filing and investment contract. Do not rely only on a seller or project promoter.
Compare your options

Similar investment pathways in other destinations.

Sources