For a foreign founder who will invest in and personally operate a Korean corporation, the usual route is the D-8-1 Corporate Investment visa. Under the standard foreign direct investment structure, an investor generally invests at least KRW 100 million in a Korean corporation and acquires at least 10% of its voting shares.
Those figures do not guarantee a D-8-1 visa. You must also show a properly documented investment route, a genuine operating business in Korea, and your own active role in management, administration, production, or technology. Passive share ownership or a company that exists only on paper is not the purpose of this status.
Who is eligible for D-8-1?
D-8 is an investor-related stay category for essential foreign professionals at foreign-invested companies. The legal framework describes relevant work as management, administration, production, or technical activity, and excludes work that can ordinarily be filled by locally hired personnel. See the Immigration Control Act stay-status schedule.
For a typical D-8-1 founder case, you should be able to demonstrate all of the following:
- You establish a Korean corporation or invest in an existing Korean corporation.
- Your investment meets the applicable foreign direct investment framework, commonly KRW 100 million or more per foreign investor and 10% or more of voting shares.
- You will serve as an investor, executive, manager, or essential specialist rather than a passive shareholder.
- The company has a credible business site, business purpose, funding trail, and operational evidence.
InvestKOREA explains the D-8 corporate-investment route and the role of an essential professional in its visa application guidance.
Show why the business needs your role
A concise but specific business plan is more useful than a broad statement that you intend to open an online business. Explain what you sell, who your customers are, how revenue will be earned, where operations will occur, how capital will be used, and what you will personally manage or perform.
Application conditions and documents
Use the correct corporate and investment structure
D-8-1 normally concerns a Korean corporation recognized as a foreign-invested company. InvestKOREA states that foreign direct investment recognition generally involves an investment of at least KRW 100 million for management participation and acquisition of at least 10% of newly issued or existing voting shares.
A foreign-invested company is a Korean domestic corporation. It is different from a branch of an overseas company and from a liaison office. A liaison office cannot conduct profit-making activities. For an overview of these structures, consult InvestKOREA’s guide to starting a business in Korea.
Check the industry before committing funds
Foreign investment is broadly permitted, but some activities are restricted, prohibited, or subject to separate conditions. Check the current rules for the precise activity you will conduct, especially in regulated sectors or where separate licences may be required. The relevant legal information is available through the National Law Information Center.
Documents commonly requested
The exact checklist differs by application channel, nationality, business model, and whether you apply abroad or seek a change of status in Korea. The reviewing authority may request additional evidence. Common supporting documents include:
- Visa or stay-status application form, passport copy, and photograph
- Foreign-invested company registration certificate
- Business registration certificate and corporate registration certificate
- Share subscription, share purchase, or shareholder-change documents where applicable
- Foreign investment notification and proof that investment funds entered Korea
- Bank remittance, foreign-exchange, and corporate bank-account records
- Evidence of how invested capital was used, such as invoices and receipts
- Office lease or other proof of a genuine business site
- Business plan, contracts, sales records, and other operational evidence where available
- Industry experience, tax, employment, or dispatch documents if requested for the specific case
Keep names, investment amounts, ownership percentages, bank records, corporate filings, lease documents, and business-plan details consistent with one another.
How to start the business and apply for D-8-1
- Choose the right structure. Confirm whether a Korean corporation is appropriate. A foreign-company branch, liaison office, individual business, or technology start-up may lead to a different immigration route.
- Confirm that your activity is permitted. Review foreign-investment restrictions and any sector-specific licence requirements before signing commitments or transferring funds.
- File the foreign investment notification. For a new-share investment, this is generally completed before capital is remitted. InvestKOREA notes that notification may be made through delegated institutions such as KOTRA or eligible foreign-exchange banks.
- Remit capital through a traceable route. Retain source-of-funds evidence, remittance confirmations, foreign-exchange records, and corporate bank records. Do not assume an informal transfer, cash payment, or transfer through a personal Korean account will establish qualifying investment.
- Incorporate and register the company. Complete corporate registration, business registration, and foreign-invested company registration as applicable.
- Prepare evidence of real operations. Obtain an appropriate business location and preserve records showing capital expenditure, contracts, suppliers, customers, or other activity that fits your business model.
- Apply through the correct visa channel. Applicants outside Korea normally apply through the relevant Korean diplomatic mission or visa-issuance procedure. A person already in Korea may be able to apply for a change of status only where permitted.
- Complete resident-registration obligations after approval. If foreigner registration applies to your authorized stay, follow the current deadline and procedure confirmed by the competent immigration office.
Costs and processing time
There is no single all-inclusive D-8-1 cost or universal processing-time promise. Your budget may include company incorporation and registration expenses, office deposit and rent, operating costs, document translation or legalization, banking charges, and visa or immigration application fees.
Fees can differ by embassy, nationality, reciprocity arrangements, filing method, and application type. Processing time can depend on document completeness, requests for additional evidence, the application channel, and the complexity of the business. Confirm current fees, forms, and timing with the embassy or immigration office that will process your case immediately before filing.
Important cautions
Do not treat KRW 100 million as a visa guarantee
The investment amount and shareholding threshold are central to the standard investment structure, but immigration can still assess the source and route of funds, the company’s actual activity, and your qualifying role. A balance temporarily placed in an account is not the same as a well-documented investment supporting a real business.
Maintain a complete money trail
Keep personal source-of-funds records, investment notification documents, remittance and exchange records, corporate bank statements, share documents, invoices, and receipts. Funds that cannot be traced to the applicant or that are withdrawn without a documented business purpose can weaken the file.
Make sure the site fits the business
An office lease or equivalent proof of a business site is commonly requested. The location should credibly support the activity claimed. A virtual-office arrangement is not automatically addressed as acceptable or unacceptable in the official materials cited here; its suitability can depend on the business type and the overall evidence of actual operations.
Check whether you can change status in Korea
Do not assume every visitor can change to D-8 from inside Korea. InvestKOREA states that certain tourist and other statuses, including specified C-3 statuses and D-3, E-9, E-10, H-2, G-1, and H-1, are not permitted to change to D-8 while in Korea. Your present status and immigration history matter, so verify the current rule for your situation before relying on an in-country application.
Keep records for an extension
Extensions may require more than the original investment certificate. Maintain corporate and tax records, bank statements, lease renewals, contracts, invoices, staffing records where applicable, and evidence of your continuing management or specialist role. Material changes, such as a share transfer, closure, representative-director change, or major business change, may affect your stay status and may trigger reporting or permission requirements.
D-8-1 compared with other business-related statuses
D-8-1: corporate investment
This is generally the standard route when you invest in and personally operate a Korean corporation under the qualifying foreign direct investment structure.
D-8-2: venture business
This is a separate venture-focused category and may involve qualifications beyond ordinary corporate investment.
D-8-3: individual business investment
This is distinct from D-8-1. Do not assume that opening a sole proprietorship independently will qualify for D-8-1; examine the structure and current requirements carefully.
D-8-4: technology start-up
This is a separate pathway for qualifying technology-based start-ups rather than the ordinary capital-investment route.
D-9: trade or business management
D-9 may be more relevant to certain trade or profit-making individual-business activities. It should be considered when your project does not fit the foreign-invested Korean corporation model.
D-7: intra-company transferee
D-7 generally concerns a qualifying transfer from an overseas company to a related Korean entity. It is based on the employment and transfer relationship, not simply on personal investment.
The Korea Visa Portal lists D-8 subcategories separately, including D-8-1, D-8-2, D-8-3, and D-8-4. Select the status based on the actual corporate structure and activity, not the label that appears easiest to obtain.
Frequently asked questions
Is KRW 100 million enough to guarantee D-8-1 approval?
No. It is a core element of the standard foreign direct investment framework, but it does not by itself prove eligibility. You must show a qualifying investment structure, traceable capital, a genuine business, and a credible investor or essential-professional role.
Can I get D-8-1 by opening a sole proprietorship?
Do not assume so. D-8-1 ordinarily concerns investment in a Korean corporation. Depending on the facts, D-8-3 or D-9 may be more relevant. Confirm the current classification before establishing the business.
Can I own less than 10% if I invest KRW 100 million or more?
Foreign-investment rules include limited structures involving an investment of at least KRW 100 million and the appointment or dispatch of an executive even where ownership is below 10%. That foreign-investment treatment should not be treated as automatic D-8 visa eligibility. Confirm how immigration will assess your exact ownership and management arrangement.
Can I apply as a tourist after incorporating a company?
Not always. Some tourist and other stay statuses cannot be changed to D-8 from within Korea. Check the current status-change rule before you incorporate or make a launch schedule that depends on applying in Korea.
Can I work for another Korean company while holding D-8?
Do not assume that outside work is permitted. D-8 is linked to the approved investor or essential-professional activity at the foreign-invested business. Separate work may require immigration review or authorization.
Final pre-application checklist
- Confirm that the industry and planned activity are open to foreign investment.
- Choose the correct business structure and stay status before sending capital.
- File the foreign investment notification before remittance where required.
- Preserve a complete source-of-funds, remittance, and corporate banking trail.
- Make sure the investment amount, voting-share ratio, corporate documents, and business plan match.
- Prepare credible evidence of the business location and actual operations.
- Check whether your current status permits an in-country change to D-8.
- Verify the current document list, fees, forms, and filing channel with the competent embassy or immigration office before submission.
Related Korea visa guides
- Which Korea Visa Do I Need in 2026? Choose by Travel, Study, Work, Family, or Investment
- E-9 Korea Visa Guide: EPS Eligibility, Application Steps, and Workplace Rules
- D-2 vs. D-4 Korean Student Visa: Which One Do You Need?
- How Foreigners Can Work in Korea: Visa Routes, Documents, and Job Preparation
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Information current as of: 2026-09-10