D-8 Visa Minimum Investment Amount of KRW 100 Million — How to Remit the Funds and What to Watch For
To qualify for a D-8 visa, you must put at least KRW 100 million into a Korean corporation under the foreign investor's own name — the minimum investment amount set by the Foreign Investment Promotion Act.
The visa is for foreign nationals who acquire shares in a Korean corporation and then work in that company's management, administration, production, or technical operations.
Below we cover the legal basis for the KRW 100 million threshold, the three remittance methods, the points where applications actually get stuck, the steps that follow remittance, and the documents you need to prepare.
The Legal Basis for the D-8 Visa Minimum Investment Amount of KRW 100 Million
The governing statute is the Foreign Investment Promotion Act
The minimum amount that counts as foreign investment is set out in Article 2(1)(iv) of the Foreign Investment Promotion Act and Article 2(2) of its Enforcement Decree.
When a foreign national invests by acquiring shares in a Korean corporation, the amount must be KRW 100 million or more to qualify as foreign investment.
On the immigration side, the basis is the Corporate Investment (D-8) entry in Annex 1-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act.
There, D-8 is defined as the status granted to essential professional personnel of a "foreign-invested company under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act."
Here is the key point.
KRW 100 million is not a figure invented by the visa rules — it is lifted directly from the threshold for being recognized as foreign investment in the first place.
KRW 100 million is the starting line, not the passing grade
In practice, the most common way applicants get stuck is assuming that hitting KRW 100 million is the end of the story.
That figure is the minimum requirement for foreign investment registration; the visa review then looks separately at whether the business is real and sustainable.
Officers check whether the office actually exists, whether the line of business is consistent with the size of the capital, and whether the invested funds are structured to actually run the company.
This is exactly where outcomes diverge.
Caution: The number of people who can obtain a D-8 through a single corporation, and the Korean-national employment requirements, both vary by investment bracket. These brackets are administered through the Ministry of Justice's visa issuance guidelines and are revised frequently, so confirm the current standard for your investment size through a consultation.
Foreign Investment Notification Must Be Completed Before You Remit
Get the order wrong and you start over
The first thing to look at is not the remittance method — it's the sequence.
The money is only recognized as foreign investment capital if you complete the foreign investment notification before remitting it.
Notification can be filed at a foreign exchange bank or at KOTRA Invest KOREA.
A copy of the foreign investment notification certificate issued upon acceptance follows you through every later step: the bank remittance, the incorporation registration, and the foreign-invested company registration.
What happens to money sent before notification
Funds remitted before notification are usually processed at the bank counter as an ordinary personal transfer.
In that case the foreign currency purchase certificate carries no indication that the money is investment capital, so you end up having to prove the character of the same funds all over again later.
This is typically where the timeline slips badly.
Some applicants resolve it by sending the money back and remitting it again — which means paying exchange losses and fees twice.
Practical tip: Before executing the transfer from abroad, choose the receiving bank branch in Korea and let that branch know in advance that a foreign investment notification is on file. That alone reduces the chance of the counter misclassifying the nature of the funds.
Three Ways to Remit D-8 Investment Funds, Compared
How each method works
| Remittance method | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Overseas account to Korean account | Direct transfer from the investor's own overseas account to their own Korean account or to the capital subscription account of the company being formed | The most standard route; cleanest paper trail |
| Physical import of foreign currency | The investor carries the currency into Korea personally and declares it to customs | You must keep the original currency import declaration certificate |
| Using funds already held in Korea | The investor uses foreign currency deposits already held in Korea, or lawfully acquired Korean won | Additional proof of how the funds were acquired is required |
Which method people actually use
In the field, the first method dominates.
Because the remittance message itself records the sender, the recipient, and the purpose, the explanation of where the money came from stays short.
Physical import is the fallback when home-country foreign exchange controls make a bank transfer difficult — but if you skip the customs declaration, that money becomes very hard to use as investment capital.
Using funds already in Korea looks convenient but actually adds to what you have to explain.
You have to trace back and prove when the money entered Korea and under what status.
How to fill in the purpose and the account names
In the purpose field of the transfer, state clearly that the funds are a capital subscription or foreign investment capital.
The recipient must be either the investor personally or the company under formation.
If this is written poorly, the bank issues a foreign currency purchase certificate with a vague purpose stamped on it — and that single document can push back the registration stage.
Where Remittances Actually Go Wrong
Transfers from a third party's account
This is the most common and the most damaging mistake.
Funds sent from an account belonging to a spouse, parent, home-country company, or acquaintance are unlikely to be accepted outright as the investor's own investment.
The basic structure requires that the person acquiring the shares and the person providing the money be the same.
If family funds are unavoidable, you have to explain the gift itself and its tax treatment as well — and if that explanation is thin, things unravel immediately.
In a recent case, the funds themselves were more than sufficient, but a single name mismatch triggered repeated requests for supplementary documents.
Falling short of KRW 100 million because of exchange rates and fees
When you remit in foreign currency, the Korean won amount is fixed at the buying rate in effect when the money arrives at the Korean bank.
Once the transfer fee and intermediary bank charges are deducted, less arrives than you expected.
If the amount lands even slightly under KRW 100 million, the foreign investment requirement simply is not met.
In practice, people build in a cushion to absorb exchange movement and fees.
How large that cushion should be depends on the currency and the remittance route, so we set it with you in an individual consultation.
Explaining the source of funds
Even if the money is sitting in the account, a weak explanation of how it got there will trip you up.
The required evidence differs entirely depending on whether the money is business income, salary, real estate sale proceeds, or a loan.
Funds pooled from several accounts over a short period, or proceeds from selling virtual assets, very often draw additional requests for explanation.
No matter how thick the file is, if you can't explain in one sentence where the money came from and what it passed through, the reviewing officer will ask again.
Caution: If you financed the investment with a loan, the repayment structure and any collateral arrangements will surface as well. Whether such funds are accepted depends on their character, so have this reviewed before you remit.
Confirm exact costs and procedures through a professional consultation.
Request a free consultation now → 02-363-2251 / KakaoTalk: alexkorea
After the Remittance — From Capital Subscription to Foreign-Invested Company Registration
| Step | Procedure | Handling authority |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foreign investment notification | Foreign exchange bank or KOTRA |
| 2 | Remittance and foreign currency purchase (deposit) | Receiving bank in Korea |
| 3 | Issuance of capital subscription custody certificate or balance certificate | Receiving bank in Korea |
| 4 | Incorporation registration | Competent registry office |
| 5 | Business registration | Competent district tax office |
| 6 | Foreign-invested company registration | Foreign exchange bank or KOTRA |
| 7 | Status-of-stay change or certificate of visa eligibility application | Competent Immigration Office |
Where this sequence usually snags
Between steps 3 and 4.
If the title or the amount on the capital verification documents differs by even one character from the articles of incorporation, the registration application, or the foreign investment notification, the registration is rejected.
A frequent culprit is the investor's name in English being spelled differently from the passport.
The foreign-invested company registration certificate from step 6 is, in practice, the first document checked in the D-8 review.
Processing times
How long each stage takes varies by authority, and the immigration stage varies considerably by jurisdiction.
You can check the standard processing period for each application type at HiKorea, but actual timelines shift with the season and the office handling it.
Where the structure allows a choice of jurisdiction, we identify the fastest option and proceed there.
Documents to Prepare for D-8 Investment Funds
| Category | Documents | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Notification stage | Foreign investment notification form, investor identification (passport, etc.) | Power of attorney if filed by proxy |
| Remittance stage | Copy of the remittance message, foreign currency purchase certificate | Currency import declaration certificate if hand-carried |
| Source of funds | Proof of income, transaction history, sale contracts, etc. | Varies by the nature of the funds |
| Corporate stage | Bank certificates on capital subscription, articles of incorporation, certified copy of corporate registry | Verify English name spelling matches |
| Registration stage | Foreign-invested company registration application, business registration certificate | Visa stage proceeds after the certificate is issued |
| Visa stage | Business plan, office lease agreement, foreign-invested company registration certificate | Individual offices may request more |
As a checklist:
- Was the remittance sent under the investor's own name?
- Was the foreign investment notification filed before the remittance?
- Did the arriving won amount settle at KRW 100 million or more?
- Does the English name on the passport match every document?
- Can the source of funds be explained in one sentence?
Practical tip: Having the structure reviewed before you execute the transfer saves more time than gathering every document first and getting it checked afterward. A remittance is hard to undo.
You can find the original text of the relevant laws at the Korean Law Information Center, and guidance on the foreign investment system at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Immigration Service.
Detailed operating guidelines are subject to revision, so confirmation with the competent authority is necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Can I send the KRW 100 million D-8 minimum investment amount in several separate transfers?
Splitting the remittance is not prohibited in itself.
However, every transfer must be linked to the same foreign investment notification, and the combined total must be confirmed at KRW 100 million or more.
The more transfers you make, the more documentation you accumulate, so in practice we handle it in a single transfer whenever possible.
Q2. If the company's capital is KRW 100 million, does that mean a D-8 will be granted?
What matters is not the total capital but the amount the foreign investor personally invested, which must be KRW 100 million or more.
If you establish the company jointly with a Korean national and the foreign shareholding falls below KRW 100 million, the requirement is not met.
Q3. Can my parents send the money on my behalf?
The rule is that the remittance must be in the investor's own name.
If family funds are used, you must also document the gift relationship and its tax treatment, and acceptance depends on the specifics of the case.
It is safer to settle the structure before executing the transfer.
Q4. Exchange rates left me slightly short of KRW 100 million. What now?
In some cases this is resolved by sending an additional transfer to make up the shortfall.
But the additional transfer must also be linked to the same notification, so check with the bank and the notification authority before you send it.
Q5. Can the investment funds later be used for company operating expenses?
Paid-in capital belongs to the corporation, so it can be used for legitimate business purposes.
However, if the money is seen flowing back to the investor's personal account right after subscription, this can raise the issue of sham capital payment.
Extension reviews sometimes revisit exactly this flow.
Q6. Can I obtain a D-8 through a change of status of stay?
Whether a change is possible depends on your current status and your history of residence in Korea.
A requirements review comes first, and the outcome can vary with each person's record.
Need Professional Advice?
With D-8, the explanation of your money gets looked at before the size of your document file.
A remittance is hard to reverse once executed, and if the account name or the sequence is off, you have to rebuild everything from the start.
The hardest stretch to handle alone is where the foreign investment notification, the bank counter processing, the incorporation registration, and the foreign-invested company registration all interlock.
Costs vary case by case, and we explain them precisely during the free consultation.
Government fees consist of the officially published government charges plus administrative processing costs.
VISION Administrative Office — Our Services
- Filing foreign investment notifications and foreign-invested company registrations on your behalf
- Advance review of the remittance structure and preparation of source-of-funds documentation
- Full support for establishing a foreign-invested corporation
- Representation for D-8 certificate of visa eligibility applications and status-of-stay changes
- Extensions of stay and planning your status of stay beyond D-8
VISION Administrative Office
- Phone: 02-363-2251
- KakaoTalk: alexkorea
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: 3F, Seongwoo Building, 324 Toegye-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul 04614, Korea
Tell us your investment size, line of business, and current status of stay, and we will map out a workable structure for you first.
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