Chinese comprise 90% of foreign investors granted resident visas: data

Nearly 9 in 10 foreign nationals who secured long-term residency in South Korea via financial investments over the past five years are Chinese nationals, according to data.

Data from the Ministry of Justice, obtained and released Monday by the Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Jeon Hyun-heui, shows that of 116 foreign investors granted an F-2 residency permit between 2019 and 2023, 89.7 percent, or 104 individuals, were Chinese nationals.

Of these Chinese investors, 79.2 percent, or 92, were based on the southern island of Jeju. Their combined investment in Jeju reached 79.5 billion won, making up 87.3 percent of the total 91 billion won invested nationwide in line with the F-2 residency program.

Introduced in 2010 to attract foreign investment, the Immigrant Investor Scheme for Public Business allows foreigners to obtain an F-2 resident visa by depositing a minimum of 1.5 billion won ($1.1 million) into a public fund managed by the Korea Development Bank or into specific development projects across designated areas.

Should the investment be maintained for five years, the visa can be upgraded to an F-5 permanent resident visa. Last year, the Justice Ministry increased the minimum investment requirement from 500 million won to 1.5 billion won.

The data indicates that, during this period, 340 foreign nationals, including 116 investors and their spouses and minor children, received F-2 residency permits, while 1,476 foreign investors secured F-5 permanent residency permits after meeting the five-year requirement.