KIIP Certificate: How to Get It and Where You Use It
The two KIIP completion certificates, completing versus attending a level, printing from Socinet, and where they count for F-5, naturalization and F-2-7.
When you finish the Korea Immigration and Integration Program (KIIP, 사회통합프로그램), you will often be told to "submit your completion certificate." But there is more than one certificate, and finishing the classes does not issue one by itself. This article explains what the KIIP certificate is, when you get it, where to print it and where it counts, based on Korean law and materials from the Ministry of Justice and the Korea Immigration Foundation.
There are two certificates
The KIIP completion certificate (사회통합프로그램 이수증) comes in two kinds, depending on the course you finished.
| Certificate | How you get it |
|---|---|
| Completion certificate, permanent residency course (한국이민영주적격과정) | Finish the Level 5 basic course (70 hours) and pass the permanent-residency comprehensive evaluation |
| Completion certificate, naturalization course (한국이민귀화적격과정) | Finish the whole Level 5 course (70-hour basic plus 30-hour advanced) and pass the naturalization comprehensive evaluation |
When you pass the mid-level or a comprehensive evaluation, you also get a pass certificate, separate from the completion certificate. The mid-level evaluation gives the "Korean Language and Culture Test (KLCT)" pass certificate, the permanent-residency comprehensive evaluation gives the "KIPRAT" pass certificate, and the naturalization comprehensive evaluation gives the "KINAT" pass certificate. For levels below Level 5, the Ministry of Justice manual mostly asks for an "education confirmation" (교육확인서), and Level 4 can also be proven with the KLCT pass certificate. Document names can differ by application.
Completing a level is not the same as attending it
Attending a level (수료) means you met the attendance standard set by the program's operating guidelines. Completing it (이수) means that, after attending, you met the standard for that level, for example by passing its evaluation, and the level is recognized as finished. Completing Level 5 makes you a "program completer" (이수완료).
So attending every Level 5 class does not issue a certificate by itself. As a rule, you must pass the comprehensive evaluation to be recognized as completing, and attending the Level 5 basic course is what lets you sit the permanent-residency comprehensive evaluation.
If you score 85 or more on the pre-evaluation, you can sit the permanent-residency comprehensive evaluation within 2 years of that date without taking the Level 5 classes. If you pass this way, the basic knowledge requirement for permanent residency is recognized, but you are not a "permanent residency course completer." If you later finish attending the Level 5 basic course, you are recognized as a permanent residency course completer without another evaluation.
How to get the certificate
You print the completion certificate and pass certificates yourself from My Page on the Social Integration Information Network (socinet.go.kr), according to the Ministry of Justice's 2019 guide.
- Log in to the Social Integration Information Network.
- In "My Page" (마이페이지), print the completion certificate or pass certificate.
- For your evaluation scores, go to "My Page › Academic History (학사이력조회) › Evaluation History (평가이력) › Score Sheet (점수표)."
We could not find official information on whether an English-language certificate exists, or whether it can be sent by post or issued through Government24. If you need one, ask the Immigration Contact Center (1345).
Does it expire?
For permanent residency and naturalization, completion has no time limit. Neither legal requirement sets one, and the Ministry of Justice stay manual states that KIIP completion at each level and the mid-level and comprehensive pass certificates "are recognized without a validity period."
Other things do have time limits:
- Pre-evaluation results: 2 years from the results date
- A comprehensive evaluation score of 60 or more without completing the program (naturalization): within the 3 years before the naturalization application date
- Taking the comprehensive evaluation after applying for naturalization: within 1 year of the application date
Keep preparing in the app
Where the certificate counts
Completing KIIP counts as a requirement or as points in permanent residency, naturalization and visa status applications. Each application asks for a different level.
| Application | What KIIP covers |
|---|---|
| Permanent residency (F-5) | Basic knowledge requirement: completing Level 5, or 60 or more on the permanent-residency or naturalization comprehensive evaluation |
| Naturalization | Naturalization-course completion: you may be exempted from the comprehensive evaluation. If you also scored 60 or more, the interview may be waived too |
| Points-based residency (F-2-7) | Basic knowledge points (from 3 points for Level 1 to 20 points for Level 5) and 10 bonus points for completing Level 5 |
| Long-term residency (F-2-99) | Basic knowledge: completing Level 4 or above, or 81 or more on the pre-evaluation |
| Overseas Korean (F-4) | Proving the set level (Level 1 until the end of 2026) gives a 3-year stay. Without it, registering for and attending KIIP gives up to 2 years |
A few more points:
- For permanent residency (F-5), you submit at least one of the KIPRAT pass certificate, the KINAT pass certificate, the completion certificate (permanent residency course) or the completion certificate (naturalization course). Some permanent residency types, such as high-amount investors (F-5-5), are exempt from the basic knowledge review.
- For naturalization, the benefit comes from completing the naturalization course (한국이민귀화적격과정). According to Ministry of Justice guidance, completing only the permanent residency course is not recognized as passing the comprehensive evaluation for a naturalization applicant.
- In other visa and status applications, your KIIP level can also add points or exempt you from proving your Korean ability.
When you submit it
Immigration offices can sometimes check your Socinet record electronically. For example, if the immigration office can check the comprehensive evaluation result through the information network, a naturalization applicant does not need to submit it (Nationality Affairs Guidelines, Article 17). But the document list for permanent residency (F-5) includes the completion and pass certificates, so it is safer to print yours before you apply.
Summary
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Kinds | Permanent residency course (한국이민영주적격과정) · naturalization course (한국이민귀화적격과정) |
| When | After finishing the Level 5 course and passing the comprehensive evaluation (as a rule) |
| Where | Print from My Page on the Social Integration Information Network |
| Expiry | No time limit for permanent residency and naturalization |
| Used for | F-5 basic knowledge · naturalization evaluation exemption (possible) · F-2-7 points · F-2-99 basic knowledge, and more |
To see everything that changes when you complete KIIP, read KIIP Benefits and Costs. For how many points KIIP gives you for points-based residency (F-2-7), read F-2-7 Points Table. To apply for a course and sign up on the Social Integration Information Network, read KIIP Registration. For evaluation dates, see the KIIP test schedule.
If you want to learn the Korean society and culture vocabulary that appears in the comprehensive evaluation in advance, try the KIIP Study app.
Sources checked
- Immigration Act (Act No. 21857, in force 2026.10.2.): Article 40 (preferential treatment of program completers)
- Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act (Presidential Decree No. 36728, in force 2026.10.2.): Article 48(2) (the comprehensive evaluation decides completion)
- Enforcement Rules of the Immigration Act (Ministry of Justice Ordinance No. 1172, in force 2026.10.23.): Article 18-4 (permanent residency basic knowledge) · Article 53
- Enforcement Rules of the Nationality Act (Ministry of Justice Ordinance No. 1161, in force 2026.10.2.): Article 4 (evaluation and interview exemptions)
- Enforcement Decree of the Nationality Act (Presidential Decree No. 33082, in force 2022.12.20.): Article 4-2(3) (sit the evaluation within 1 year of applying)
- Nationality Affairs Guidelines (Ministry of Justice Directive No. 1378, in force 2026.1.2.): Article 17(3)
- Comprehensive evaluation guide (Korea Immigration Foundation): completion standards for the permanent residency and naturalization courses
- Pre-evaluation guide (Korea Immigration Foundation): validity of results
- FAQ (Korea Immigration Foundation): how to view scores
- 2023 KIIP education and evaluation guide (Ministry of Justice): completion standards by level, completion benefits
- 2019 KIIP participation guide (Ministry of Justice): printing certificates, pass certificates by evaluation
- Press release on the F-4 status merger (Ministry of Justice, 2026.2.11.): KIIP level and length of stay
- Press release on the KIIP reform direction (Ministry of Justice, 2026.7.10.): completion benefits
- Ministry of Justice "Foreigner Stay Guide Manual" (2026.1.): F-5 basic knowledge documents, F-2-7 basic knowledge and bonus points, F-2-99 basic knowledge, validity of completion
This article is a guide meant to aid understanding and is not official information. It does not determine whether any individual application is possible or what its outcome will be, and KIIP Study is a learning and test-prep app, not a visa or naturalization application agency. Regulations may change and their application may differ depending on your personal circumstances, so to find out how they apply to you, check with the Immigration Contact Center (1345) or your local immigration office. (Written November 2026)