Set up or manage a foreign-invested company in South Korea.
Geprüft anhand von
James Chae, 행정사 (Korean Licensed Administrative Attorney). Lizenznr. 220-06-06463 · 대한행정사회 (Korean Administrative Agents Association). Geprueft anhand des HiKorea 사증·체류업무 자격별 안내 매뉴얼 und mit Veroeffentlichungen des Justizministeriums abgeglichen.
Zuletzt geprüft
4. September 2026
Quellenangaben
Issuance-manual sections covering D-8 investor and startup founder pathways, including OASIS-linked intake rules.
Stay-manual sections covering D-8 extension, business continuity review, and in-country reporting obligations.
Hinweis zur Antragstellung
Anforderungen koennen je nach Staatsangehoerigkeit, zustaendiger Einwanderungsbehoerde und Einreichungsweg variieren. Bestaetigen Sie die genauen Anforderungen vor der Antragstellung bei HiKorea, dem zustaendigen koreanischen Konsulat oder einem lizenzierten Einwanderungsspezialisten.
Aufenthaltsdauer
Up to 2 years per issuance (renewable)
Bearbeitung
2–4 weeks
Visumgebühr
≈ 69 € (status change) / 41 € (extension)
Gebühren und Bearbeitungszeiten bezogen von HiKorea & Justizministerium. Zahlen werden regelmäßig aktualisiert, können sich aber ändern — vor der Einreichung überprüfen.
Bereitschaftscheck
Nutzen Sie diesen kurzen Selbsttest, bevor Sie Zeit in Formulare investieren oder eine Beratung für Corporate Investment Visa buchen.
Nächster Schwerpunkt
Anspruchsvoraussetzungen
Ich erfülle die grundlegenden Anforderungen für D-8 und verstehe alle geltenden Bedingungen zu Sponsor, Abschluss, Einkommen, Familie oder Berufserfahrung.
The D-8 visa is issued to foreign investors who have made a qualifying investment in a Korean company and intend to manage or oversee their Korean business operations. It is one of the most common visas for entrepreneurs and business executives from overseas who are establishing or operating a foreign-invested enterprise (FIE) in Korea.
Foreign nationals who have invested at least ₩100 million (approximately USD 75,000) in a Korean company — typically as the founder, CEO, or major shareholder of a foreign-invested enterprise registered with KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency). Also applicable to employees dispatched by overseas investors to manage their Korean business.
Foreign investment of at least ₩100 million in a Korean company (registered as a foreign-invested enterprise with KOTRA)
Investment must be in the form of equity (cash investment into a Korean corporation or limited company)
The applicant must be the investor, a shareholder-director, or a designated representative of the foreign investor
Bachelor's degree or higher, OR at least 3 years of relevant business experience
No criminal record
Risiken für Verzögerung und Ablehnung
Business-investor cases are document-heavy because immigration reviews both the legal investment route and the real business activity.
D-8 review can stall when the investment amount, sender, receiving company, bank trail, foreign-exchange documents, or investor identity do not line up cleanly.
Grundlage im Handbuch: The D-8 manual references investment funds, remittance/payment evidence, foreign-investment registration, and related supporting documents.
Company registration alone is not enough. Thin operating records, no real business activity, or weak continuity evidence can invite additional review.
Grundlage im Handbuch: The stay manual includes D-8 extension and business-continuity review points for investor status management.
Some industries or business structures are restricted or do not fit the claimed D-8 route. A filing built around the wrong route can be refused or redirected.
Grundlage im Handbuch: The D-8 sections refer to restricted industries and cases where the applicant is not considered essential management or production-technology personnel.
If relying on a technology startup pathway, OASIS, IP, corporate setup, and founder activity evidence must support the specific route claimed.
Grundlage im Handbuch: The manual separates investor and technology-startup founder pathways and lists different documentary expectations.
Quellenhinweis
Dies sind praktische Risikofaktoren für Corporate Investment Visa, keine vollständige Liste rechtlicher Ablehnungsgründe. Die endgültige Prüfung kann je nach Staatsangehörigkeit, Einreichungsweg, Konsulat, Einwanderungsbehörde und den Umständen des Einzelfalls variieren.
Praxisbeispiele
D-8 scenarios depend on whether the case is an investment, essential personnel, or technology-startup route.
You are investing into a Korean company and want the visa to support management or business operation.
Hauptrisiko
A company registration alone is not enough if the investment trail, foreign-investment registration, and business purpose are unclear.
Vorrangige Dokumente
You are building a technology startup and relying on startup-founder evidence instead of a conventional investment case.
Hauptrisiko
The founder route needs a coherent startup narrative backed by qualifying startup activity, IP, OASIS, or program evidence.
Vorrangige Dokumente
Valid passport + completed visa application form + passport photo
Foreign investment certificate (외국인투자신고서) issued by KOTRA or a Korean bank
Korean company's business registration certificate
Proof of investment (bank transfer records, equity certificates)
Degree certificate or evidence of business experience
Criminal background check (apostilled, issued within 3 months)
Company's articles of incorporation
Register as a foreign investor (KOTRA / bank)
Report your investment to KOTRA or a designated Korean bank and receive a Foreign Investment Certificate. This registers your company as a foreign-invested enterprise (FIE).
Incorporate your Korean company
Establish a Korean corporation (주식회사 or 유한회사) through a Korean attorney or incorporation agent. You'll need the investment funds transferred to a Korean bank account before registration.
Apply for the D-8 visa
Submit your D-8 application at the Korean consulate with your investment certificate, company registration, and other required documents.
Arrive and register
Register at the immigration office within 90 days of arrival to obtain your ARC. Your business address will be verified.
Brauchen Sie Hilfe mit Ihrem D-8-Visum?
Verbinden Sie sich mit einem verifizierten Spezialisten, der D-8-Anträge bearbeitet.
Unbekannter Begriff? Das vollständige Glossar durchsuchen
Visaverfahren
Auslanderregistrierungskarte (ARC)
Die Auslanderregistrierungskarte (Alien Registration Card, ARC) ist der offizielle Ausweis fur Auslander, die langer als 90 Tage in Sudkorea leben. Sie wird fur Bankkontoeröffnungen, Handyvertrage und die meisten öffentlichen Dienstleistungen benötigt.
Visaverfahren
HiKorea
HiKorea-Anleitung (www.hikorea.go.kr) — Visaverlängerungen, Statuswechsel und ARC-Erneuerung online beantragen. Bearbeitungszeit: 3-10 Werktage.
Visaverfahren
Visaverlangerung (체류기간 연장)
Eine Visaverlangerung — im koreanischen Einwanderungsrecht offiziell als 'Verlangerung der Aufenthaltsdauer' (체류기간 연장) bezeichnet — erlaubt einem Auslander, uber das Ablaufdatum seines aktuellen Visums oder seiner ARC hinaus legal in Korea zu bleiben, ohne das Land zu verlassen.
Visaverfahren
Wechsel des Aufenthaltsstatus (체류자격 변경)
Ein Wechsel des Aufenthaltsstatus ermöglicht es einem Auslander, der sich bereits in Sudkorea befindet, von einer Visakategorie in eine andere zu wechseln, ohne das Land verlassen zu mussen — beispielsweise von einem D-2-Studentenvisum zu einem E-7-Fachkraftevisum nach Studienabschluss und Arbeitsaufnahme.
The minimum is ₩100 million (approximately USD 75,000 at current rates). This must be a genuine equity investment in a Korean corporation — loans or rental deposits do not count.
Yes, if you invest ₩100 million or more. For tech startups, the D-8-4 pathway offers an alternative through a points-based assessment (K-Startup scoring system) rather than a cash investment. As of April 2025, the D-8-4 scoring criteria were updated: total points available are 300, with a minimum of 60 points required. Points are awarded for IP rights (patents/utility models up to 60 pts), OASIS startup education program completion, Korean language ability, master's degree, and government startup program funding. As of November 2025, the categories exempt from the points requirement were expanded — exemptions now include: K-Startup Grand Challenge participants, and recipients of government startup support programs (정부창업지원사업 수혜자, a broader category covering TIPS, government-funded incubation, and similar programmes). Degree documentation is also waived for points-exempt applicants.
Yes. As the director or representative of your Korean company, you can employ both Korean nationals and, subject to immigration approval, foreign nationals on appropriate work visas.
If your Korean company is dissolved or your investment falls below the required threshold, your D-8 status will no longer be valid. You must change status or depart Korea.
From January 2025, the scope of permitted activities outside the core business operation (체류자격 외 활동) for D-8 holders was revised. D-8 holders may now engage in a broader range of business-adjacent activities — such as providing consulting services, participating in industry associations, and attending trade events related to their registered business sector — without separately applying for an 'outside-activity permit' (체류자격외활동허가) for each task. Activities that remain outside this allowance (e.g., taking up separate employment, engaging in unrelated industries) still require prior immigration permission.
Yes — as of April 1, 2025, Korea removed all special restrictions on Cuban nationals for D-8, D-9, and several other visa types (D-2, D-6, D-7, E-1, E-3, E-5 were also opened). Prior to that date, Cuban citizens faced specific application restrictions due to diplomatic factors. Cuban nationals can now apply for D-8 under standard eligibility criteria.
Get instant answers to these visa questions with our Korea-focused AI assistant.
Spezifische Spuren in der D-8-Kategorie. Wählen Sie diejenige aus, die Ihrer Situation entspricht, um die Dokumente, Kriterien und Unterlagenhinweise auf Spurebene anzuzeigen.
Unternehmen in Korea gründen — Vollständiger Leitfaden
D-8-1 Investor, D-8-4 Startup-Punkte, D-9 Handelsvertreter, D-10-2 Vorbereitung — alle Wege vergleichen, Punktetabellen.
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