How to close an F-2-7 points gap

You have scored yourself, you are short, and you want to know what to do on Monday. This ranks the routes by return on effort. It assumes you have read how the scoring works — if not, run the calculator first.

The ranking

1. Check the bonus you may already have

Before anything else: was your university in the Times or QS world top 500? If so you already hold a bonus worth 15 points for a bachelor's, 20 for a master's, or 30 for a doctorate — and a great many applicants never claim it because nobody told them to check.

Ten minutes with the ranking archive for your graduation year can be worth thirty points. Do this before you plan anything else.

Also audit for:

• KIIP stages already completed. Stage 5 is worth 20 under the language item and another 10 as a bonus.
• Volunteer hours already logged on the 1365 system through a registered organisation.
• Korean War ally nationality — 20 points, and entirely a matter of which passport you hold.

Remember the bonus group is capped at 40, so once you are there, stop.

2. Income is the biggest lever on the table

This is the uncomfortable, accurate advice. Income is worth up to 60 points, and the bands are wide enough that a modest salary change can move you several points — or, at the bottom of the table, twenty.

The step from under ₩30 million to ₩30–40 million is the single largest movement available anywhere on the scoring table. It is worth more than going from no Korean to TOPIK 6. If you are earning ₩28 million, nothing else you can do this year comes close.

Practically:

• Raise it in a salary conversation. "This is a residency requirement" is a legitimate and surprisingly effective framing, and Korean employers who sponsor visas generally understand it.
• Consider a job move. Changing employer is often worth more than any qualification you could earn in the same period. On an E-7 this needs a change-of-workplace report and a sponsor who meets the employer conditions — see finding a job.
• Check what income figure is actually counted. It is the gross figure on your withholding receipt (원천징수영수증), which includes bonuses. If your annual bonus straddles the year end, the timing can move you a band.
• Watch the ₩40 million line. It is worth ten points and it waives the three-year residence requirement. That is the most valuable single threshold in the whole system.

3. KIIP, not TOPIK, if you have the time

Korean ability is worth up to 20 under the common items. But KIIP stage 5 scores 20 there and 10 as a bonus — thirty points from one programme, and it is free.

TOPIK is faster: a single exam date, results in a month. Moving from TOPIK 3 to TOPIK 4 is worth five points, and from 4 to 5 another five. Useful, but not transformative.

The decision rule is simple. If your timeline is under a year, sit TOPIK. If it is longer, do KIIP — it is worth more, it costs nothing, and it also satisfies the language and integration requirements for F-5 and naturalisation later, which TOPIK does not. See the full comparison.

4. Volunteering: seven points for persistence

Measured in years, not hours: one to two years scores 1, two to three years scores 5, and three years or more scores 7. The jump from one year to two is worth four points, so the second year is where the value is.

The mechanics matter more than the activity:

• Register on the 1365 volunteer portal (or VMS or DoVOL) against your registration number. Unrecorded hours do not exist.
• Volunteer through a registered organisation that reports to the system. Ask before you start.
• Start now regardless of your current gap — this is the one route where the clock only runs if you have started it.

5. Age: a reason to file sooner

Age is not actionable, but it is time-sensitive in a way people underestimate. The bands fall sharply: 35–39 is worth 20, 40–44 is worth 12, 45–50 is worth 8.

If you are 39 and sitting at 82 points, filing this year rather than next is worth eight points. If you are 44, it is worth four. Check your band before you decide to wait another year to strengthen an application — waiting can cost more than it gains.

6. What not to bother with

• Another degree for the common-item points. A doctorate is worth ten points more than a bachelor's under education. Four to six years for ten points is poor value unless you want the degree anyway — though note a top-500 or Korean degree also scores in the bonus group, which changes the maths.
• Chasing a ministry recommendation cold. Twenty points, but realistically available only to people in designated strategic sectors or on ministry-sponsored projects. If nobody has raised it with you, the expected value of pursuing it is close to zero.
• Any bonus once you are at the 40-point cap. The calculator flags this. Points above the cap are worth nothing at all.

A twelve-month plan for someone at 78

Three things not to do

• Do not file at exactly 80. The quota means 80 is a coin flip. One income band converts a gamble into a formality.
• Do not neglect the gates while optimising the score. Eligible status, three years of residence (or ₩40m income), minimum wage, and no disqualifying grounds are separate tests. A hundred and twenty points with a failed gate is a refusal.
• Do not let an address change go unreported. Three Immigration Act violations in three years totalling ₩5,000,000 is a disqualifying ground, not a deduction.