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FX conversion of the capital — this is when the invested funds, held at the bank until now, are actually converted and withdrawn into the company's operating account; visa reviewers later scrutinize how these funds were withdrawn and spent, so this step needs to be handled carefully, not casually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

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

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.