Korea's tourism-facility investment immigration: KRW 1B buys F-2 residence and PR in five years — check the window and the overhaul review before the price
Identity-board score: 3.5
Threshold: Renamed and repriced by the Ministry of Justice in May 2023: the threshold rose from KRW 500M to KRW 1B (roughly US$700k). Invest at least KRW 1B of overseas-remitted own funds in a MOJ-designated tourism/leisure facility (resort condominiums, resort memberships, tourist pensions) in one of eight designated regions (Yeosu Hwayang, Pyeongchang Alpensia, Incheon FEZ Songdo/Yeongjong/Cheongna, Jeju, Yeosu Gyeongdo, Busan Osiria, Pyeongchang Yongpyong and one further Gangwon site) for F-2-8 residence; hold for 5 years to convert to F-5-17 permanent residence. Windows differ by region: the Incheon FEZ window runs to 31 Dec 2026; the Jeju/general window was extended to 31 Dec 2027.
This is Korea's only property-linked status channel, renamed by the Ministry of Justice in May 2023 from Real Estate Investment Immigration to Tourism & Leisure Facility Investment Immigration, with the threshold raised at the same time from KRW 500M to KRW 1B (about US$700k). The rules: invest at least KRW 1B of overseas-remitted own funds in a MOJ-designated tourism/leisure facility (resort condominiums, resort memberships, tourist-pension facilities) in one of eight designated regions (the Incheon FEZ, Jeju, Pyeongchang, Yeosu, Busan Osiria and others) for F-2-8 residence; hold for five years and convert to F-5-17 permanent residence. On this site's buy track it scores 3.5, at the bottom: expensive (KRW 1B), slow (PR waits five years), poorly recoverable (a single project's resort asset in a thin resale market) and the track's worst policy stability — the MOJ commissioned a review of the scheme in March 2026 (diversification and replacement options; media call it the first full overhaul in 15 years), the current window runs to 31 December 2027 (the Incheon FEZ window closes earlier, on 31 Dec 2026), and renewal is undecided. Its difference from EB-5 is the destination: EB-5 leads toward a green card and a citizenship path; this ends at F-5 permanent residence, passport unchanged. A confusion must be cleared up: KRW 1.5B is the threshold of the separate public-interest investment immigration route (F-2 to F-5-21, whose KRW 3B principal-protected zero-interest type can receive F-5 immediately) — the two routes can be combined toward a KRW 1.5B F-2 threshold under MOJ Notice 2026-29, but calling KRW 1.5B this channel's threshold is wrong. The asset's cash return: none citable — designated facilities publish no audited per-unit distributions, so the KRW 1B is priced as the cost of a residence right plus a hard-to-sell asset.
Six factor grades & their basis
| Factor | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Countries you can enter | 3.5 | One of the few on this track that genuinely reaches permanent residence: F-2-8 converts to F-5-17 after 5 years — a tier above SRRV/MM2H's residence-only offers. But PR is not a passport, and the mobility itself stays limited. |
| Value for money | 2.5 | KRW 1B (about US$700k) buys an asset with no distribution record plus a residence right — identity value per unit of cost beats only the EB-5 line on this track, and clearly loses to Greece/Türkiye-style purchasable-asset routes. |
| Speed | 4.5 | Two-stage speed: residence (F-2-8) follows the investment fairly quickly; permanent residence waits the full 5 years. A fast ticket, a slow destination. |
| Getting your money back | 2.0 | The weakest factor: the asset is a single project's resort unit or membership, in a thin resale market at heavy discounts, and untouchable during the 5-year hold — assume recovery means exiting at a deep discount. |
| Do you have to live there | 6.0 | The binding burden is the capital lock (no withdrawal for 5 years), not physical presence — for someone not intending to live in Korea, the money lock weighs more than a stay requirement would. |
| How stable the rules are | 3.5 | The worst on this track right now: the scheme is under a MOJ-commissioned review, the window expires at the end of 2027, and public criticism ("reckless development", "hit-and-run investors") is on record — renewal and reform direction are both unclear. |
Why it is on the board
It is the only asset-linked piece of the Korean status puzzle: the D-8 corporate-investor route (at least KRW 100M plus at least 10% of voting shares) is a business channel unrelated to buying property or shares — the sole way to convert assets into Korean status is this one, and its destination is genuine permanent residence (unlike SRRV/MM2H's long stay).
Jeju's history identifies its real clientele: Jeju once accounted for about 98% of the programme's investment (a 2021 MOJ-commissioned study), with inflows peaking at KRW 406.7B in 2014 and recovering above KRW 20B in both 2023 and 2024 — a channel used mainly by Chinese buyers, rising and falling with policy and public mood; this site prints the arc for pricing context.
'The scheme is under review' is the most expensive information available right now: a window expiring at the end of 2027 plus a live overhaul study means today's entrant buys the old rules' last train — which can be an opportunity (locking in before tightening) or a risk (execution drift in a transition). This site states the facts and does not pick the reader's side.
How it works
- File through a Korean administrative agent (administrative scrivener) or immigration counsel: select the designated region and facility (check each region's window: Incheon to 31 Dec 2026, Jeju/general to 31 Dec 2027), remit at least KRW 1B of own funds from overseas and complete the investment, apply for F-2-8 residence, hold the investment for five full years, then apply for F-5-17 permanent residence. Proof of fund source and remittance path is the core of the review — prepare documents to the MOJ's current checklist.
Costs & where the money goes
Capital: High (KRW 1B, about US$700k, locked for 5 years)
Effort: Low burden (administrative agents/immigration counsel handle the filing)
- The five-year capital lock: the opportunity cost of KRW 1B is this channel's true price (no distribution or interest basis is citable for the period).
- The asset's holding costs (management fees, taxes) and exit discount: resort-facility resale markets are thin, so budget the exit at a deep discount and check each project's buyback/resale clauses individually.
Risks & counter-evidence
What we have not verified
The following key figures have not yet been verified; the reason is noted for each item.
- Each designated region's live acceptance status and any remaining quotas follow the MOJ and regional official windows: this page's window dates are research-date figures (the Incheon FEZ authority's page and February 2026 extension reporting).
- Individual facilities' rental/distribution arrangements vary by project with no audited disclosure: this page cites no project's return figure.
FAQ
- KRW 1B or KRW 1.5B — which is the threshold?
- KRW 1B is this channel's (tourism facilities). KRW 1.5B is the F-2 threshold of the separate public-interest investment immigration route (investing in public-interest funds/designated areas), whose KRW 3B principal-protected zero-interest type can receive F-5 directly. MOJ guidance allows the two routes to be combined toward a KRW 1.5B F-2 threshold — but an agent who calls KRW 1.5B the tourism channel's threshold, or claims KRW 1B here buys 'immediate permanent residence', is wrong on both counts: this channel starts at F-2 and converts to F-5 after five years.
- Can the Jeju resort unit be rented out to earn the money back?
- No citable figure exists: designated facilities' rental-pool/distribution arrangements are not published on an audited per-unit basis, and this site prices this channel at zero return. If a project shows you an 'expected return', that is seller material — the lowest tier of this site's evidence scale — and cannot ground a decision. The only decision basis here is whether the status itself is worth KRW 1B plus five years.
- The window closes at the end of 2027 — is there still time?
- On current terms, investments and applications completed inside the window are processed under the rules then in force (Jeju/general to 31 Dec 2027, Incheon to 31 Dec 2026); the real variable is how transitional provisions are written if the review lands inside the window, which nobody can preview. This site's only procedural advice: if you proceed, choose the region with the longer window, archive the acceptance receipts and the rule texts in force, and have Korean counsel opine in writing on reform transition.