New rules for F-6 visa South Korea

On February 4th, the Ministry of Justice announced new rules for the F-6 visa in South Korea. The rules will take effect on April 1st and it will affect those who are applying for the visa. There are two new requirements: one is that the foreign spouse should pass the TOPIK test and second, the inviting Korean spouse should earn annually the equivalent to 120% of the minimum cost of living. There are exemptions to the rules mentioned.
Exemption to the TOPIK test:
– if the couple can communicate in a common language, i.e. English
– if the couple already has a child
– if the foreign spouse has lived in Korea for a year
– if the foreign spouse has majored in Korean language at a university
– if the foreign spouse has taken a Korean language course abroad in a government-approved institution
Exemption to the income requirement:
– if the foreign spouse meets the income requirement
– if a family member living with the Korean spouse meets the income requirement
Exemption to both requirements:
– if the couple already has a child
The income requirement is currently at 14.8 million won per year, but this could change depending on the cost of living.
Source: Yonhap
UPDATE: March 4, 2014
The family income of the Korean spouse should meet the following amount in the previous year. This income includes earned income, business income, interest income, rental income, pension income and dividend income:
2 people/household – 14,794,804 won
3 people/household – 19,139,299 won
4 people/household – 23,483,808 won
5 people/household – 27,828,316 won
6 people/household – 32,172,811 won
If the income is less than what’s written above, the property of the sponsor (Korean spouse) will also be evaluated up to 5% of the value of the property.
For example, in a 2 people household, the Korean sponsor earns 12,000,000 won. This is below the required income, but if the sponsor has a property worth at least 60,000,000 won then 5% of this will be considered (60,000,000 x 5% = 3,000,000) and this will total 15,000,000 won. However, debts would be deducted from the net worth and the property should be in the Korean sponsor’s possession for at least six months.
Also, motel, vinyl house and 고시원 will not be considered as safe residences for the family.