Questions by situation
Each answer starts with the conclusion, then who it applies to, the documents and the timing. Jump here from “Choose your situation” above.
How much do I need to invest, and how many shares must I hold, for a Korea D-8-1 visa?
The baseline is KRW 100 million or more, together with ownership of at least 10% of the total voting shares of the Korean company you invested in, or ownership of shares plus an executive dispatch or appointment contract. Funds should in principle be in your own name; transfers in the name of your spouse or minor children are accepted as exceptions, and for investments of KRW 300 million or more those of your parents or parents-in-law may also be accepted. At filing, the original statement of changes in shareholders and the foreign-invested company registration certificate show your stake and investment.
Can I apply for the D-8-1 visa before my Korean company is incorporated?
No. D-8-1 covers only companies whose incorporation is complete, so you first finish incorporation and foreign-invested company registration, then apply with the business registration certificate copy, corporate register and registration certificate copy. If you have no company yet and are preparing a start-up based on intellectual property or other technology, we look at Venture Investment (D-8-2), which also covers pre-venture companies, or Technology Startup (D-8-4) separately.
Our overseas head office is sending an executive to its Korean investment company. Should it be D-8-1 rather than D-7?
If the Korean company is a foreign-invested company and the person is an essential professional in management or production/technology, you apply for D-8-1 as a dispatched (resident) activity. Intra-Company Transferee (D-7) excludes people who fall under Corporate Investment (D-8), so we first confirm the company’s foreign-investment registration. On top of the basic documents, you submit a dispatch order stating the dispatch period (issued by the head office or its branch in a third country) and a certificate of employment.
Can I contribute my D-8-1 investment in kind instead of wiring cash, and how do the documents differ?
Yes, in-kind contributions have their own proof documents. For cash, you submit records of fund inflow such as remittance confirmations, foreign exchange purchase certificates and customs declarations, plus, where applicable, a foreign currency export permit or report from your home customs office or bank. For in-kind contributions, you submit a copy of the in-kind contribution completion certificate issued by the Korea Customs Service and a copy of the customs import declaration certificate. Individual investors under KRW 300 million also prepare proof of capital use such as purchase receipts and Korean bank statements.
Are the D-8-1 documents the same if I work for a Korean subsidiary wholly owned by a financial holding company?
No. Essential professionals at a subsidiary wholly owned by a financial holding company with foreign-invested company status follow a separate document list: the application form, passport, alien registration card and photo, plus the holding company’s authorization and foreign-invested company registration certificate, the subsidiary’s corporate register and shareholder list, the overseas head office’s dispatch order (one issued by its branch in a third country is also accepted), and business registration certificate copies of both companies. This list applies to both change of status and extension.
I am overseas. Do I apply for the D-8-1 visa directly at a Korean embassy, or do I need a visa issuance certificate?
There are two routes. A consulate visa is in principle filed at the Korean mission in your home country, or in your country of residence if you live and run a business there long term, but nationals of certain designated countries are excluded from issuance at the consul’s discretion. A Certificate for Confirmation of Visa Issuance is filed at the competent immigration office in Korea, and when an agent files it, a letter of authorization, the agent’s certificate of employment and ID are added. If you entered with a D-8 visa issued directly by a consulate, your alien registration follows the change-of-status document list, so prepare those papers in advance.
I am in Korea on another status and have invested in a company. Can I switch to D-8-1 without leaving?
You can apply for a change of status of stay, but if your current status is not one allowed to change to D-8, the rule is to leave and obtain a visa. Even then, a change can be allowed after close review when the investment is clearly genuine, for example KRW 300 million or more or a substantial investment track record, while small investors under KRW 300 million are generally told to obtain a visa from abroad. Irish, French and British nationals who entered on D-3, E-9, E-10, H-2, G-1 or H-1 cannot change. The change file adds business performance (e.g. import/export records), residence proof and proof that the business premises exist to the visa documents.
Besides company documents, what personal documents do I need to extend my D-8-1 visa?
In addition to the company documents (business registration certificate copy, corporate register, original statement of changes in shareholders, foreign-invested company registration certificate copy) and proof of fund inflow, you submit your personal tax payment certificate or VAT tax-base confirmation documents. You also submit business performance records, proof of business premises such as the office lease and photos, and proof of residence, and individual investors under KRW 300 million add proof of capital use. The review also checks that the foreign-invested company registration has not been cancelled.
I work at a Korean company on D-8-1 but my salary is paid by the overseas head office. What tax proof do I submit at extension?
Even if your salary comes from the head office abroad, work performed in Korea is generally subject to Class B earned income tax unless a tax treaty provides otherwise, so you prove payment. If you joined a Class B taxpayers’ association that withheld tax monthly and settled it at year end, submit the withholding receipt issued by the association; if not, and you filed and paid global income tax yourself, submit the income amount certificate issued by your local tax office.
If I move from my D-8-1 company to the Korean branch of a foreign company in the same group, do I need a different visa?
If the new workplace is a branch, subsidiary or liaison office set up by a foreign company in the same group and you received a dispatch (transfer) order, you can apply to change to Intra-Company Transferee (D-7). Documents include a statement of reasons, the original dispatch order from the head office or a certificate of prospective employment, a copy of the branch or liaison office establishment permit, proof of group affiliation, the new company’s annual tax certificate or proof of business fund inflow such as foreign exchange purchase certificates, the original office lease and a list of foreign staff. If you stay at your current company and only add resident activities for a group company, you apply for permission for activities outside your status instead.
Can I invest in a Korean company and take part in its management while keeping my current status?
Registered foreigners who meet the Corporate Investment (D-8-1) requirements can obtain permission for activities outside their status and carry out D-8-1 activities while keeping their current status. The D-8-1 conditions still apply — KRW 100 million or more and at least 10% of voting shares, or an executive dispatch/appointment contract — and the documents follow those for visa issuance and change of status. Start the activity only after permission is granted.
I am an executive of a foreign-invested company on D-8. Can I teach at a Korean university?
D-8 holders working as full-time directors or higher at a Korean company (including invested companies) can lecture at a university for up to 90 days with permission for activities outside their status under Short-term Employment (C-4-5). Documents are the application form, passport and alien registration card, a recommendation from the university president or dean, a copy of the business or unique-number registration, the original and a copy of the employment contract, and consent from your current employer. Regular lecturing beyond 90 days goes through a separate approval.
After how many years on D-8-1 can I apply for F-2 residence or F-5 permanent residency?
It depends on the size of the investment and how you stay. Foreigners who invested USD 500,000 or more and have stayed continuously on D-8 for 3 years or more, executives or staff sent by a foreign company that invested USD 500,000 or more to a Korean foreign-invested company and who have stayed 3 years or more, and foreigners who invested USD 300,000 or more and employ 2 or more Korean nationals fall under Residence (F-2). For permanent residency, General Permanent Residency (F-5-1) is reviewed after 5 years of continuous stay on D-8 or similar statuses together with conditions such as average annual sales of KRW 1 billion over the previous 2 years, and the R&D professional route (F-5-26) for those who worked 3 years or more as essential R&D staff at a foreign-invested company’s research facility with a bachelor’s degree or higher; livelihood and other requirements are reviewed as well.
Key terms
- Corporate investment (D-8-1, 법인에 투자)
- The Corporate Investment (D-8) sub-code for essential professionals in management or production/technology at an already incorporated Korean company that is a foreign-invested company; each grant can run up to 5 years.
- Voting shares (의결권 있는 주식)
- Shares that carry voting rights at the shareholders’ meeting; D-8-1 basically requires owning 10% or more of the total voting shares of the invested company.
- Executive dispatch/appointment contract (임원 파견·선임 계약)
- A contract under which a shareholding investor sends or appoints executives to the invested company; it can satisfy D-8-1 in place of the 10% shareholding.
- Statement of changes in shareholders (주주변동상황명세서)
- A record of a company’s shareholders and changes in shareholding, submitted in original for D-8-1 visa, change and extension filings.
- Dispatch order (파견명령서)
- A document from the overseas head office (or its branch in a third country) sending an employee to the Korean company; for D-8-1 dispatched activity it must state the dispatch period.
- In-kind contribution completion certificate (현물출자완료 확인서)
- A certificate issued by the Korea Customs Service when capital is contributed in kind rather than cash; together with the customs import declaration certificate, it proves the inflow of investment.
- Foreign currency export permit/report (외화반출허가(신고)서)
- A permit or report issued by the home-country customs office or bank for taking foreign currency out; submitted, where applicable, with the fund inflow records for cash contributions.
- Class B earned income (을종근로소득)
- Wages for work in Korea paid from abroad, for example by a foreign head office; since the payer is not in Korea, the worker fulfils the tax obligation personally.
About our office
- Office
- Vision Administrative Office (비전행정사사무소 · VISAS KOREA)
- Principal
- Alex Lee (이원중), licensed administrative agent (행정사)
- Licence
- Administrative agent (행정사) — preparing immigration and residence filings and submitting them on the client’s behalf with written authorization (위임장)
- Scope
- Korean visas (visa issuance certificate, change of status, extension), permanent residency (F-5), foreign-invested company, branch and liaison office setup, immigration violation review and entry-ban response
- Languages
- Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese
- Address
- 3F Sungwoo Bldg, 324 Toegye-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul 04614, Korea
- Hours
- Weekdays 09:30–17:30 (KST)
Who hires us for this
- Overseas head offices setting up a Korean subsidiary and sending executives or technical staff
- Individual foreign investors who have bought, or plan to buy, 10% or more of a Korean company
- Foreign essential professionals sent to a financial holding company’s subsidiary
- Foreigners in Korea moving from another status to corporate investor status
- D-8-1 holders who need to organise tax, business performance and premises documents for extension
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