D-8-1 Corporate Investment Visa
The status for a foreign investor who establishes or buys into a Korean corporation and takes a management role in it.
D-8-1 is not a passive investor visa. You need KRW 100,000,000 of foreign investment and either at least 10 percent of voting shares or an executive appointment, and immigration expects you to actually run the company. Since 2026 it runs physical substance audits: co-working memberships, virtual addresses and partitioned-only “offices” are rejected, and the company’s operating record is cross-checked with the National Tax Service.
The other correction is about source of funds. The money must come from the applicant’s own overseas account, in the exact declared amount, with a paper trail. An unexplained or family-sourced transfer is fatal, and no amount of business plan quality compensates for it.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Foreign investors establishing or investing in a Korean corporation and taking a management role |
| Route family | Business |
| Validity | 5 years per issuance |
| Stay per entry | 5 years |
| Threshold | KRW 100,000,000 foreign investment, about USD 73,800 (2026), plus 10 percent of voting shares or an executive appointment |
| Renewal | 5-year extensions while the investment and company are maintained |
| Settlement | Switch required, to F-2-7 |
| PR clock | D-8 counts as a professional status for F-2-7 after 3 years, then F-5 after 3 more years on F-2-7 |
| Citizenship clock | 5 years from F-2 or F-5, plus language and civics |
| Family | Spouse and unmarried minor children on F-3 |
| Local employment | Yes, running the invested company; other employment needs separate permission |
| Tax headline | Corporate and personal tax both apply; Korean residency triggers worldwide income |
| Processing | 4 to 8 weeks after incorporation, which itself takes about 2 weeks |
The KRW 100,000,000 figure is a fixed statutory floor under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act, not an indexed amount. It has not moved with inflation, which is why the route is cheaper in real terms than it was a decade ago.
Application flow
- Incorporate the Korean company, or complete the share acquisition, and secure a real office lease.
- Report the foreign direct investment to KOTRA or a designated foreign-exchange bank.
- Transfer the funds from your own overseas account and obtain the foreign investment certificate.
- Apply for D-8-1 with the incorporation documents, the investment certificate, the lease and the business plan.
- Register as an alien and obtain the resident card.
- After 3 years of genuine operation, apply for F-2-7.
- Renew D-8-1 in 5-year blocks if you are not moving to F-2-7.
Good fit
A founder with USD 75,000 or more who intends to run a real operating company in Korea with Korean staff, Korean revenue and a physical office. It suits someone whose business genuinely needs a Korean entity, for example a manufacturer selling into the domestic market or a service company hiring locally.
Poor fit
Passive investors who want the visa without the operating role. Anyone planning to work from a virtual office or a co-working desk, which now fails the substance audit. And anyone whose funds cannot be traced cleanly to their own overseas account.
Watchpoints
- Source of funds is the whole case. The exact declared amount must arrive from your own overseas account. Family transfers, aggregated funds and undocumented savings are refused.
- Physical substance is audited. Since 2026, virtual addresses, co-working memberships and partitioned-only offices are rejected. Budget for a real lease before applying.
- The company must actually trade. Immigration cross-checks with the National Tax Service. A paper investment with no revenue, no staff and no filings fails at renewal even if the visa was granted.
- Approval in Seoul does not guarantee the visa abroad. Consulates have been stricter than domestic immigration offices since 2025, so an in-country approval can still stall at a mission.
- D-8-1 does not let you take a salaried job elsewhere. That requires a status change, and the new employer has to sponsor it.
- The 10 percent shareholding test is separate from the money. Investment alone is not enough if you take no shares and no executive role.
- D-8 subcategories are not interchangeable. D-8-4 is the startup route with no capital requirement, D-8-2 needs venture certification and reportedly restricts Chinese nationals, and D-8-3 needs KRW 100,000,000 from each partner. Filing under the wrong one is a common and expensive error.
Sources
- Invest Korea, foreign investment visa guidance including D-8 categories, checked 2026-10-22
- Korea Immigration Service, D-8 status guidance, checked 2026-10-22
- Foreign Investment Promotion Act, minimum investment amount