Minimum Investment Amount and Remittance Methods for Korea's D-8 Investment Visa — A Practical Guide
With the D-8 investment visa, the outcome hinges less on whether you've met the statutory minimum investment amount and more on whether that money entered Korea through a channel that qualifies as foreign direct investment.
This applies to foreign nationals who have incorporated a company in Korea, completed registration as a foreign-invested enterprise, and intend to work in that company's management, administration, production, or technical operations.
Below is a practical breakdown of the legal basis for the minimum investment amount, which remittance methods are recognized, the required order of filing and transfer, what documents to submit and how, and the cases where applications stall even when the money is clearly there.
The D-8 Minimum: Look at the Legal Basis Before the Number
Start by confirming where the threshold is actually written
The D-8 status is rooted in the Foreign Investment Promotion Act.
Article 2 of that Act defines foreign investment, while the Enforcement Decree sets the minimum investment amount and share acquisition ratio required for that investment to be recognized as foreign investment.
Immigration screening proceeds on the basis of the Foreign-Invested Enterprise Registration Certificate issued once those requirements are met, under the Corporate Investment (D-8) entry in Annex 1-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act.
What people commonly miss here is that the statutory threshold applies per person, per investment.
If there are multiple investors, each one must meet the threshold individually in order to obtain their own D-8.
Note: The minimum investment amount and equity requirements have been revised over time. Whether the current rules apply as written to your nationality, industry, and shareholding structure should be confirmed with the competent authority.
Some money doesn't count, even if the balance is high enough
A bank balance above the threshold doesn't automatically qualify as foreign investment.
Funds borrowed inside Korea, money routed through a domestic resident's account, and personal transfers with no stated purpose are the ones that trip applicants up most often in practice.
The core requirement is simple.
The funds must arrive from overseas, in the investor's own name, with the investment purpose clearly stated.
Recognized Remittance Methods — Where the D-8 Filing and Document Submission Process Begins
Comparing the three routes
| Method | What it involves | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Overseas wire via a foreign exchange bank | Direct transfer from the investor's overseas account to a dedicated domestic foreign investment account | The cleanest route, and the one most applicants use |
| Hand-carrying foreign currency | Bringing foreign currency into Korea in person and declaring it to customs | The original customs declaration certificate must be retained |
| In-kind investment / capital goods | Contributing machinery, equipment, or other capital goods | Additional review and valuation procedures extend the timeline |
The first method is usually the most straightforward.
That's also where the problems start.
The transfer itself goes through, but if the wire message omits the investment purpose, or if the sender's name doesn't match the investor's, the funds can't be tied to foreign investment.
A name mismatch tangles everything immediately
Sending money through a family member's account, a corporate account, or a friend's account happens far more often than you'd expect.
When it does, the burden of explaining the source of funds roughly doubles.
Practical tip: Secure the remittance receipt, the SWIFT message, and the overseas account statement at the time of transfer. Requesting them retroactively from an overseas bank later takes time, and schedules slip because of it more often than not.
Reverse the Filing → Remittance → Registration Order and You Start Over
The sequence itself is a requirement
Foreign investment follows a structure of filing first, transferring second.
You submit the foreign investment report under Article 5 of the Foreign Investment Promotion Act to a foreign exchange bank or KOTRA Invest KOREA, then send the investment funds to the account listed on the filing certificate.
If you wire the money first, a separate process becomes necessary to have those funds retroactively recognized as foreign investment.
| Step | Action | Handled by |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foreign investment report | Foreign exchange bank / KOTRA |
| 2 | Remittance or physical import of funds | In the investor's own name |
| 3 | Corporate incorporation registration | Competent registry office |
| 4 | Business registration | Competent tax office |
| 5 | Foreign-invested enterprise registration | Foreign exchange bank / KOTRA |
| 6 | D-8 status application | Competent immigration office |
Linking proof of capital payment to the remittance
Incorporation registration requires documents proving that the capital has been paid in.
The paperwork must clearly show that this paid-in capital and the funds transferred from overseas are the same money.
If that link breaks, screening stalls no matter how thick the file is.
Note: Depending on your industry, the filing itself may be rejected because the business falls under a restricted or prohibited category administered by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. This list has changed recently, so check whether your industry is affected before you begin.
For accurate costs and procedures, please consult a professional.
Request a free consultation now → 02-363-2251 / KakaoTalk: alexkorea
Costs vary case by case, so we'll give you exact figures during your free consultation.
Document Submission — What to Prepare and How to File
The documents fall into three groups
| Category | Key documents | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Investment evidence | Copy of the foreign investment report, remittance receipt, foreign currency purchase certificate or customs declaration certificate | Name, timing, and stated purpose all match |
| Corporate evidence | Certified corporate registry extract, business registration certificate, articles of incorporation, shareholder register, foreign-invested enterprise registration certificate | Shareholding structure matches the filing |
| Applicant evidence | Certificate of visa issuance application or application for change of status, passport, standard-format photo, business plan, office lease agreement | Whether the business premises are real |
If you're already in Korea, you book a visit through HiKorea and file with the competent immigration office. If you're abroad, the inviting company obtains a Certificate of Visa Issuance and you submit it to a Korean overseas mission.
Some applications are processed electronically, but an initial D-8 application is generally expected to be filed in person.
Screening sees your actual premises before it reads your file
Submitting only a lease agreement when the address is really just a shared-office mailbox tends to trigger a site inspection or a request for further explanation.
In practice, reviewers look at the office space, the furnishings and equipment, hiring plans, and whether you've secured any clients — all together.
If that picture isn't convincing, results diverge even when the investment amount clears the threshold.
When You Meet the Minimum and Still Get Stuck
When the source of funds is weakly documented
Having the money in an account and being able to show where it came from are two different things.
Salary, business income, proceeds from a property sale, gifts — the origin has to be traced through documents that connect to each other.
In a recent comparable case, the amount was more than sufficient, but the deposit history in the overseas account was too short, and two rounds of supplementary explanation were required.
When the business plan is a formality
With a business plan, length matters far less than whether the revenue model makes sense.
If the industry, target customers, revenue mechanics, and planned use of funds contradict each other, this is exactly where the application catches.
- Use of investment funds consisting of nothing but rent and payroll
- An industry copied over wholesale with no relevance to the Korean market
- A representative whose background has no connection to the business at all
When you miss the window to change status
If you're already in Korea on another status, the timing of your change-of-status application interacts with your remaining period of stay.
As the expiry date approaches, your options narrow.
Processing times differ by immigration office; we'll check which offices can move forward and advise accordingly.
Pre-Screening Checklist
- Was the transfer sent from overseas in the investor's own name?
- Did the foreign investment report precede the remittance?
- Does the reported equity ratio match the shareholder register?
- Do the documents connect the paid-in capital to the overseas transfer?
- Do you still hold the original customs declaration or foreign currency purchase certificate?
- Is there actual working space at the registered business address?
- Does your industry fall outside the restricted categories for foreign investment?
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Can I send the minimum investment amount in several separate transfers?
Splitting the transfer is possible in itself, but every transfer has to be linked to the same filing.
If the filing and the transfer records don't line up, the amounts may not be aggregated, so plan this out in advance.
Q2. Can I borrow money from an acquaintance in Korea to fund the capital?
Funds raised domestically are difficult to have recognized as foreign investment.
You may end up having to reconstitute the capital using funds sourced from overseas.
Q3. I've set up the company but have no revenue yet. Can I still extend?
The absence of revenue alone isn't grounds for immediate denial.
That said, extension reviews look at business continuity, employment, and how funds have actually been spent, so the requirements need to be assessed.
Q4. If two co-investors set up a company together, do both get a D-8?
Each must individually satisfy the statutory minimum investment amount and equity requirement in order to apply.
If only one person's threshold is met and two people apply, one of them will be rejected.
Q5. How much longer does an in-kind investment take?
Capital goods valuation and customs clearance add to the timeline compared with a cash transfer.
It depends on the items and the clearance situation, so it has to be assessed case by case.
Q6. Can I move from a D-8 to an F-2 or F-5 later?
Period of stay, whether the investment has been maintained, and income requirements are all considered together.
Income thresholds are re-published annually, so check this year's applicable standard through a consultation.
Need Professional Advice?
With a D-8, the outcome turns on how well the flow of funds is explained, not on how many documents you file.
Once the filing and remittance sequence goes wrong, undoing it takes longer than preparing properly from the start.
The points people struggle with on their own are usually how the foreign investment report is worded and how the source-of-funds evidence is assembled.
Costs vary case by case, so we'll give you exact figures during your free consultation.
VISION Administrative Office — Our Services
- Designing the foreign investment filing and fund remittance process
- Incorporation and foreign-invested enterprise registration
- D-8 Certificate of Visa Issuance applications and change of status
- Assembling source-of-funds documentation and reviewing business plans
- Extension of stay and advance assessment of F-2 / F-5 conversion eligibility
VISION Administrative Office
Phone: 02-363-2251
Email: [email protected]
Address: 3F, Sungwoo Building, 324 Toegye-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul 04614, Korea
KakaoTalk: alexkorea
Laws and public notices are subject to amendment, so confirm the standards in effect at the time of application through HiKorea and the competent authority.
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