Setting up a company and investing in Korea?

Opening a company in Korea as a foreign investor starts with the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) notification — the filing that turns your capital into a recognized foreign investment and your company into a Foreign-Invested Enterprise (FIE). Without it, a Korean company with foreign capital isn't classified as foreign-invested, and the D-8 investor visa pathway isn't available at all. Under the current Foreign Investment Promotion Act (last revised January 2, 2026), qualifying as a foreign investor requires at least 100 million won invested and at least 10% of the company's voting shares.

The 5-step path from investment to visa

1. Investment notification and fund remittance — filed with a designated foreign exchange bank or KOTRA before the funds are sent, not after; the money must be remitted in the investor's own name, in foreign currency
2. Corporate registration (법인 설립 등기) — not just paperwork: the business type registered here has to match the licensing requirements the company will actually need, and it shapes how smoothly the D-8 visa and its later extensions go
3. Business registration and FX conversion of the capital — this is when the invested funds, held at the bank until now, are actually converted and withdrawn into the company's operating account; visa reviewers later scrutinize how these funds were withdrawn and spent, so this step needs to be handled carefully, not casually
4. Foreign-Invested Enterprise (FIE) registration and certificate issuance — the document that formally confirms the company's foreign-invested status, required before the D-8 application
5. D-8 investor visa filing and status change — immigration doesn't approve based on the investment amount alone; it reviews whether the investor has a genuine intent and capacity to actually run the business in Korea

Practical points at each step

• Remittance margin: the amount that arrives has to be at least 100 million won after exchange-rate movement and intermediary bank fees. If it lands even slightly short, the investment does not qualify and the whole procedure is void, so the working rule is to remit about 5 to 10% more than the minimum.
• Licensed business types: where the company needs a sector licence, such as general travel agency registration or foreign patient recruitment, the registered business purpose and the capital amount have to match the licence requirements at the registration stage.
• Evidence of capital use: once capital is withdrawn, keep tax invoices showing it went to company purposes such as the office deposit, interior work and equipment.
• FIE registration certificate: after the capital is paid in, the certificate is issued through the bank. The D-8 application cannot be filed without it, so we schedule its issuance within 30 days of the payment.

What immigration reviews for the D-8

• Source of funds: the 100 million won or more has to come from the investor's own legitimate income, such as employment or business income or proceeds from selling assets. It is explained with home-country documents carrying an apostille and a certified translation.
• How the capital was used: account records and tax invoices have to show the withdrawn capital went to the business. Capital withdrawn for private use or turned into cash is a ground for refusal.
• Business plan: a professional plan that connects the investor's past career with the business in Korea. For licensed sectors such as travel or medical tourism, the target market and revenue structure have to be stated clearly.
• Office inspection: immigration frequently visits the office to screen out paper companies. The office should be ready for work (desk, computer, telephone, signboard, business cards), with traces of activity on hand even before the first sale: emails with business partners, draft contracts, product catalogues, website development records.

Depending on the investor's current status (short-term C-3, D-10 and so on), the filing is either a change of status inside Korea or an application for confirmation of visa issuance.

What we handle

• FDI notification filing and confirmation of the qualifying investment amount and shareholding percentage
• Corporate registration, sequenced against the licensing and visa requirements the business will need later
• Business registration filing with the tax office, and coordination of the FX conversion and capital withdrawal with your Korean bank
• FIE certificate issuance, and D-8 investor visa filing once the company is registered
• Source-of-funds explanation, a business plan matched to the investor's background, and responses to supplementation requests during the D-8 review
• Translation of overseas documents with a 번역확인증명서 (Certificate of Translation), and coordination with a 법무사 (judicial scrivener) on the corporate registration documents

Who typically needs this

Foreign nationals investing in or starting a company in Korea, foreign entrepreneurs who plan to run their Korean company on a D-8 visa, and existing companies bringing in additional qualifying investment.

Common mistakes

• Remitting the investment funds before the FDI notification is filed, which complicates the paperwork trail
• Assuming the D-8 visa is guaranteed once the investment and paperwork are in place — immigration also reviews genuine business intent and capacity
• Withdrawing and spending the capital carelessly once converted, since visa reviewers examine the fund's actual use
• Filing FDI, corporate registration, business registration, and the D-8 visa separately without sequencing them correctly

Timeline

FDI notification and business registration are typically completed within 1–2 weeks once the investment funds and corporate structure are confirmed; the D-8 visa filing follows once the FIE certificate is issued.

Need the visa filed alongside a change from a student visa instead? See our D-10 to tech startup visa pathway.