South Korea D-8 Corporate Investor Visa

Key requirements

We model about USD 75,000 as the standard KRW 100 million floor. Your decisive number is the registered FDI amount on the foreign-invested enterprise certificate, not a personal savings quote alone.

• Income we use for estimatesNot set in data
• SavingsOften ~$75,000+
• Accepted income typesSavings only
• Remote work allowedNo
• Local employment allowedYes
• Health insuranceUsually required
• Criminal record checkUsually required
• Accommodation proofUsually required
• Bank accountUsually required
• Processing (rough)Often 2 to 4 months (FDI registration, incorporation, then embassy or status change)

Citizenship & nationality

D-8 is open to most nationalities in practice. What changes is how your embassy handles police certificates, degree legalization, and whether you apply abroad or change status inside Korea after incorporation.

• •Capital must arrive from outside Korea as registered foreign direct investment. Money already sitting in a Korean personal account usually does not count for the first qualification.
• •You need at least 10% voting shares in the Korean entity and a real management role. Immigration may visit the office and ask how the business operates.
• •Source-of-funds proof is strict in 2026. Expect home-country bank statements, tax filings, or sale documents that explain where the KRW 100 million originated.
• •Some free economic zones advertise lower investment floors for certain projects. Treat those as separate files with their own zone rules, not the nationwide default.
• •Spouses and children can join under dependent rules after the principal investor is approved. Their documents follow Korean embassy checklists.

Use KOTRA or your designated foreign-exchange bank for the foreign-investment certificate, then HiKorea and Korea Visa Portal notices for the D-8 checklist active when you file.

Best for

• •People planning to stay several years with a clear residence record

Long-term path

• Permanent residence: Yes
• Citizenship: Possible, but depends on your case

D-8 residence can renew while the company stays active and compliant. Longer-term F-5 permanent residence and citizenship follow separate stay, tax, and integration tests.

Practical difficulty

hard

Rough guide only. Your case depends on papers, timing, and rule changes.

Hard because of incorporation sequencing, capital remittance audits, and office substance checks, not because the online visa form is long.