In the points-based Residence visa (F-2-7), immigration violations and criminal fines can cost you up to 70 points. A notified penalty fine (통고처분) or a departure/deportation order can take off 30 points, and a criminal fine can take off 40. If both apply, they add up. With a pass mark of 80, that can decide the outcome by itself.
But the deduction table is not the whole story. Some dispositions knock you out before any scoring starts, and every visa type deducts in a different way. People are especially confused about whether administrative fines (과태료) count.
Key points
- F-2-7 deducts up to 30 points for Immigration Act violations and up to 40 points for criminal punishment, 70 points in total.
- Notified penalty fines count only if paid within 3 years before the application date; departure and deportation orders count only within 5 years. A criminal fine under 3 million won stays in the deduction table however old it is (as of October 2026, Ministry of Justice residence manual).
- The good-conduct (disqualification) rules are separate from points. If one applies, a score above 80 does not help.
- E-7-4 and E-7-4R, job seeker (D-10-1) and K-STAR permanent residence all deduct differently, so check each visa on its own.
1. What the F-2-7 deduction table looks like
F-2-7 adds up age, education, basic knowledge and annual income, then bonus and deduction items. You need 80 points or more. Bonus points go up to 40 and deductions up to 70 (as of October 2026, Ministry of Justice residence manual).
| Category | Range | Deduction |
|---|---|---|
| Immigration Act violation | Notified penalty fine of 3 million won or more, or a departure/deportation order | 30 points |
| Immigration Act violation | 1 million won or more, under 3 million won | 20 points |
| Immigration Act violation | 500,000 won or more, under 1 million won | 10 points |
| Criminal record | Criminal fine of 3 million won or more | 40 points |
| Criminal record | Criminal fine of 2 million won or more, under 3 million won | 30 points |
| Criminal record | Criminal fine under 2 million won | 20 points |
There is no row for a notified penalty fine under 500,000 won (as of October 2026, Ministry of Justice residence manual). How that range is handled is not written anywhere, so if it applies to you, ask the immigration office directly.
The look-back periods differ too. A notified penalty fine counts if you paid it within 3 years before the application date. A departure order or deportation order counts if it was issued within 5 years.
Criminal fines are stricter. A fine of 3 million won or more, or any heavier sentence (imprisonment, imprisonment without labor, loss or suspension of qualifications, suspended sentences included), means the change of status is refused if the sentence became final within 3 years, and costs 40 points once 3 years have passed. A fine under 3 million won is deducted regardless of when it became final (as of October 2026, Ministry of Justice residence manual).
2. Check disqualification before counting points
F-2-7 has its own good-conduct requirement. If any of the following applies, you are refused whatever your score is.
- You received a sentence of imprisonment or heavier within 5 years before the application date (suspended sentences and punishment abroad included).
- You violated the Immigration Act 3 or more times within 3 years before applying, and the notified penalty fines add up to 5 million won or more (as of October 2026, Ministry of Justice residence manual).
- You received a criminal fine of 3 million won or more within 3 years before applying (as of October 2026, Ministry of Justice residence manual).
- You submitted false documents with the application or within the last 3 years.
There are a few more, such as grounds for an entry ban or sentences handed down abroad. That is why "I'll just make up 30 points elsewhere" can be wasted effort if you start by calculating.
3. Notified penalty fines, administrative fines and criminal fines are different things
This is where people get mixed up. Under the Immigration Act, a notice (통고처분) is a procedure where the immigration office, once the offense is established after investigation, tells you to pay an amount equivalent to a fine, called a penalty fine (범칙금). An administrative fine (과태료) is a separate sanction imposed for things like failing a reporting duty. A criminal fine (벌금) sits on the criminal record side of the table, so it is calculated on a different line from a penalty fine.
The F-2-7 deduction table covers notified penalty fines, departure orders, deportation orders and criminal fines, and says nothing about administrative fines. By contrast, the tables for skilled workers (E-7-4), regional skilled workers (E-7-4R) and job seekers (D-10-1) state that administrative fines are excluded. So "I heard administrative fines are fine for other visas" does not carry over to F-2-7 as is.
One more thing. Residence (F-2) changes and extensions include a separate step called Law-Abiding Citizen Education (준법시민교육), and there administrative fines are treated as violation history. Some people are exempt, but if you are covered, you must complete the course before approval. The look-back runs from the date the case was closed (the non-prosecution date or the date the fine was paid): up to 10 years for a change of status and 5 years for an extension.
4. Each visa deducts in its own way
Here is how they compare (as of October 2026, Ministry of Justice residence manual).
| Visa | Pass mark | How deductions work | Look-back |
|---|---|---|---|
| F-2-7 | 80 points | Notified penalty fine/departure/deportation: 30, 20, 10 points; criminal fine: 40, 30, 20 points | Notified penalty fine 3 years; departure/deportation 5 years |
| Job seeker D-10-1 | 60 of 190 points (at least 20 in basic items) | Penalty fine 3 million won or more: 30, 1 million or more: 10, 500,000 or more: 5. Criminal fine 3 million or more: 30, 2 million or more: 10, under 2 million: 5. Maximum 60 | Total of dispositions within 5 years before the application date; administrative fines excluded |
| K-STAR permanent residence | 90 of 200 points | Notified penalty fine and criminal fine each 10, 7 or 5 points, 10 points at most combined | Notified penalty fine 5 years; criminal record counted for cases older than 3 years |
| E-7-4 / E-7-4R | 200 of 300 points | By count: 5 points once, 10 twice, 15 for three or more | 10 years before the application date; administrative fines excluded |
E-7-4 and E-7-4R look at the number of cases, not the amount. There are three deduction items: a criminal fine under 3 million won (up to 20 points), a past restriction on stay permission because of unpaid taxes (up to 15 points), and an administrative disposition under the Immigration Act (up to 15 points). The items add up to a maximum of 50 points (as of October 2026, Ministry of Justice residence manual).
E-7-4 also has cases where you cannot apply in the first place, rather than being deducted. Within 10 years, any one of a criminal fine of 3 million won or more, 4 or more Immigration Act violations, or an overstay of 3 months or more rules you out. People with unpaid taxes are excluded too, but can apply once the taxes are paid in full (as of October 2026, Ministry of Justice residence manual).
For D-10-1 and K-STAR permanent residence, as with F-2-7, certain grounds such as a criminal fine of 3 million won or more within 3 years can restrict eligibility or disqualify you regardless of score (as of October 2026, Ministry of Justice residence manual).
By the way, the potential top talent track (F-2-7S) lets science and engineering master's and doctoral graduates of designated schools be approved with a president's recommendation even when they fall short on points, so the deduction table is not used there.
5. If you already received a disposition, check in this order
- Decide which visa you will apply for. The same disposition can mean 0 points on one visa and 30 on another.
- Gather the paperwork. Find the penalty notice and payment receipt, the summary order or judgment with its finality date, and any departure or deportation order. Keep administrative fine notices in a separate pile.
- Sort the dispositions by type. Penalty fines, administrative fines, criminal fines, and departure/deportation orders each go in a different box. The names are similar and easy to mix up.
- Recount the dates from the application date. For a notified penalty fine use the payment date, for a departure or deportation order the date it was issued, for a criminal fine the date it became final. Fix a target application date and check whether 3, 5 or 10 years have passed.
- Screen for disqualification first. A criminal fine of 3 million won or more within 3 years, or 3 or more violations with notified penalty fines totaling 5 million won or more, may mean you need to reset the timing before calculating anything (as of October 2026, Ministry of Justice residence manual).
- Then add up the deductions and the total score. See how many points you are short of 80.
- Check whether Law-Abiding Citizen Education applies. If there is a violation within 10 years for a change of status or 5 years for an extension, you may need to complete it.
Sometimes the deduction disappears with a difference of a single day, so consider whether postponing the application date works in your favor.
6. What Sunshine Administrative Agent Office can do for you
Sunshine Administrative Agent Office (선샤인행정사사무소) prepares and submits residence applications, drafts written statements and opinions explaining how a violation happened, organizes disposition papers and supporting documents, and handles translation. Defense in investigations or criminal trials is not the work of an administrative agent, so we do not take it on.
If you are unsure how many points your disposition costs, gather the notice, the receipt and the judgment first and contact us. Consultation hours are weekdays 09:30~17:30. Call 02-309-3107 or email [email protected].