Expatriate Relocation to Korea: Assignment Visas and Documents
Once the Korean entity exists, the next question is who runs it. The visa category available to an assignee depends on the entity that invites them, on the role they will hold, and on how long they have already worked for your company. Eligibility review, document preparation and filing are carried out in-house by the licensed administrative agents (행정사) of VISION Administrative Office, which operates KOCATION.
Which Assignment Visa Fits the Posting
Korea does not have a single 'expat visa'. The status of stay follows the legal relationship between the assignee, your head office and the Korean entity, so the entity you registered at the market-entry stage largely determines the route.
D-7 Intra-company Transferee (주재)
For essential professional personnel dispatched by a foreign company to its affiliate, subsidiary, branch or office in Korea. The assignee is generally required to have worked at the foreign head office, branch or other place of business for at least one year before the dispatch — the condition most often missed when a company promotes a recent hire into a Korea posting. The immigration manual sets out exceptions where that one-year requirement does not apply, including assignments in national key industries or state projects, and essential professional personnel dispatched to the Korean establishment of a foreign company whose operating funds brought into Korea reach USD 500,000 or more. The maximum period of stay granted at one time is three years.
D-8 Corporate Investment (기업투자)
For essential professional personnel in management, administration, production or technology at a foreign-invested company under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act. It applies to an already-incorporated Korean company and not to people hired locally, so it belongs to the subsidiary route rather than the branch route. The basic requirement is an investment of KRW 100 million or more together with ownership of at least 10 percent of the voting shares of the invested company, or share ownership combined with an executive dispatch or appointment contract. The maximum period of stay granted at one time on this route is five years.
D-9 International Trade (무역경영)
For trade and business-management activity. Whether it fits depends on how the Korean operation actually trades, and it is assessed case by case rather than assumed.
F-3 Dependent Family (동반)
For the spouse and unmarried minor children accompanying a holder of D-7, D-8 or D-9. Family status is derived from the assignee's status, so it is prepared alongside the principal application rather than after arrival.
| D-7 Intra-company transferee | D-8 Corporate investment | D-9 International trade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Essential professional personnel dispatched to a Korean affiliate, subsidiary, branch or office | Essential professional personnel in management, administration, production or technology at a foreign-invested company | Trade and business-management activity, including running a company established in Korea |
| Korean establishment it assumes | A registered branch, liaison office, subsidiary or affiliate | An already-incorporated Korean company; locally hired staff are excluded | A registered Korean business |
| Core requirement | One year or more of service at the foreign head office, branch or other place of business before the dispatch | KRW 100 million or more invested with at least 10% of the voting shares, or share ownership plus an executive dispatch or appointment contract | Assessed on how the Korean operation actually trades; the trading route runs on a trade business number from the Korea International Trade Association |
| Where the one-year rule is disapplied | National key industries or state projects; and essential professional personnel dispatched to the Korean establishment of a foreign company whose operating funds brought into Korea reach USD 500,000 or more | — | — |
| Maximum period of stay granted at one time | 3 years | 5 years for residence activity at a foreign-invested company | 2 years |
"Essential professional personnel" means an executive, a senior manager or a specialist. Where an overseas affiliate and a Korean affiliate share the same parent, a transfer directly between them — without passing through the head office — can also take the D-7 route. Source: visa issuance guidance manual of the Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice.
The Certificate of Confirmation of Visa Issuance Route
Most corporate assignments do not begin at an embassy. The Korean entity, as the inviting party, applies to the competent immigration office for a certificate of confirmation of visa issuance (사증발급인정서). Once it is issued, the assignee applies for the visa at a Korean embassy or consulate abroad using that certificate.
The practical consequence is that most of the work happens in Korea, on the company's side, before the assignee does anything. That is also why the Korean entity has to be properly registered first: there is no inviting party until it exists.
1. Confirm the inviting entity is registered and demonstrably operating
The application relies on the establishment permit or accepted notification, plus evidence the establishment is actually running — operating funds brought in, tax records, or an operating plan where it is new. A shell that exists only on paper is where these applications fail.
2. Fix the category against the assignee's actual facts
Length of service at the foreign company, the role in Korea, whether they rank as executive, senior manager or specialist, and which entity invites them. This step decides the whole document list, so it comes before any collecting.
3. The head office produces and legalises its documents
Certificate of employment covering the required period, the dispatch order, and the qualifications the category requires — apostilled or consularised and translated into Korean. Regularly the longest link in the chain.
4. The Korean entity files for the certificate of confirmation of visa issuance
The Immigration Act allows the Minister of Justice to issue a certificate of confirmation of visa issuance on application before a visa is granted, and allows the person intending to invite the foreign national to file it on their behalf. Where an agent files, a power of attorney and the agent's certificate of employment and identification are added.
5. The certificate is issued to the inviting entity
Employment-related visas are multiple-entry visas and are issued on the basis of a certificate in this route. The entity passes it to the assignee.
6. The assignee applies at a Korean embassy or consulate
Filed in the country of the applicant's nationality as a rule; an applicant who lives and runs a business abroad, including long-term and permanent residents, may apply at the Korean mission where they reside.
7. Entry, then alien registration within 90 days
The chain does not end at the airport. The alien registration card produced here is what the bank account, the mobile contract and the lease depend on.
Documents the Head Office and the Korean Entity Must Produce
Two document sets run in parallel. The Korean entity evidences its own existence and activity — registration, business registration or unique number, and the material showing it can host the assignee. The head office evidences the employment relationship and the dispatch decision: employment certificates covering the assignee's service, the dispatch or assignment order, the role and remuneration, and the assignee's qualifications where the category requires them.
Documents issued abroad have to be legalised — apostille where the issuing country is party to the Hague Apostille Convention, consular legalisation otherwise — and translated into Korean. Document lists differ by category and by the assignee's nationality, so we confirm the list against the assignee's actual facts before the head office starts collecting.
| Document | Produced by | What it has to show |
|---|---|---|
| Application for the certificate of confirmation of visa issuance, passport, standard photograph | The Korean entity, for the assignee | The formal application set |
| Statement of reasons for the invitation | The Korean entity | Why this person, in this role, at this establishment |
| Evidence of essential professional personnel status | Head office | Curriculum vitae and certificates of career showing executive, senior manager or specialist standing |
| Certificate of employment from the foreign company | Head office | Service before the dispatch — one year or more, unless an exception applies |
| Dispatch order | Head office | The dispatch itself, with the period stated |
| Evidence of the Korean establishment | The Korean entity | A copy of the branch or liaison office establishment permit, or of the accepted notification |
| Evidence that the establishment is operating normally | The Korean entity | Operating funds brought in and tax payment records; for a new establishment, an operating plan. A non-profit liaison office with no Korean tax liability can substitute its record of operating funds brought in |
Where an agent files, a power of attorney, the agent's certificate of employment and the agent's identification are added. The head of the competent immigration office may add to or reduce the attached documents in order to examine the genuineness of the invitation and the standing of the parties. Source: visa issuance guidance manual of the Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice.
| Document | Why it is required | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign-invested company registration certificate | Establishes that the invested company is registered under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act | It has to exist before the visa application, not alongside it |
| Business registration certificate, certified copy of the corporate register, original statement of changes in shareholders | Establishes the company and the shareholding held | The shareholding must match the notified investment |
| Investment funds — cash contribution | Remittance confirmation, foreign exchange purchase certificate, customs declaration; home-country currency export permit where applicable | Funds must be traceable through the notified channel |
| Investment funds — contribution in kind | Certificate of completion of contribution in kind from the Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service, plus the import declaration certificate | In-kind routes fail on evidence more often than on substance |
| Additional set below KRW 300 million | How the capital was used, evidence the place of business exists, home-country evidence of sector experience | Small investments without sector experience get closer scrutiny |
Where the posting is a residence activity rather than a personal investment, the dispatch order stating the period and the certificate of employment are filed as well. Same source.
| Document | Note |
|---|---|
| Evidence of the family relationship | The original home-country public document — marriage certificate for a spouse, birth certificate for a minor child. A translator's certification must be attached; apostille for a convention country, consular confirmation from the Korean mission for a non-convention country |
| Tuberculosis certificate | Required under the immigration guidance on visa issuance and stay management for foreign tuberculosis patients |
| Evidence of ability to maintain a livelihood | Certificate of employment and tax payment certificate of the inviting principal; other financial evidence where a tax certificate is impractical, such as when the family applies together with the principal |
| Letter of identity guarantee, and evidence of the place of residence | Not required from the categories the manual exempts, which include a D-8 investor whose investment reaches USD 500,000 or more |
F-3 covers the spouse and the minor children without a spouse of a person holding a status from D-1 through E-7, F-2, F-4 or H-2, excluding D-3. Because it is derivative, it is prepared with the principal application. Same source.
How Long a Korea Assignment Takes to Prepare
The schedule is a chain, not a single step: the entity has to be registered, the certificate application has to be filed and decided in Korea, and only then does the assignee apply at the consulate. Add the time the head office needs to produce apostilled documents, which is regularly the longest link.
We do not publish estimated processing days on this page, because they vary by immigration office, by category and by consulate, and a number that is wrong for your case is worse than no number. What we do give you at intake is a sequence with the dependencies marked, so your HR team knows which item blocks which — together with the periods below, which are fixed by law and therefore knowable in advance.
| Item | Period fixed by law | Consequence of missing it |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum period of stay granted at one time — D-7 | 3 years | Plan the posting around renewals, not around the posting letter |
| Maximum period of stay granted at one time — D-8 | 5 years for residence activity at a foreign-invested company | Longer runway, tied to the investment remaining registered |
| Maximum period of stay granted at one time — D-9 | 2 years | Shorter renewal cycle |
| Extension of the period of stay | Permission must be obtained before the current period of stay ends | Overstay, with consequences for the individual and the sponsor |
| Change of status of stay | Permission must be obtained in advance | Activity outside the status of stay |
| Alien registration | Within 90 days of entry, where the stay exceeds 90 days | No alien registration card — no bank account, phone line or lease |
| Change of place of stay | Within 15 days of moving in | Loss of the address registration a residential lease depends on |
| Change or addition of workplace | Prior permission as a rule; for the professionals the Decree prescribes, a report within 15 days | A foreign national with an employment status may not work outside the designated workplace |
| Employer's report on a foreign employee | Within 15 days of dismissal, retirement, death, loss of contact, or a change to a material term of the employment contract | The duty sits on the employing company |
Sources: Immigration Act arts. 19, 21, 24, 25, 31, 36; visa issuance guidance manual of the Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice. Review periods at the immigration office and the consulate are not fixed by statute and are confirmed with the competent office at intake.
On Arrival: Registration and the Handover to Settlement
A foreign national staying in Korea for more than 90 days must complete alien registration at the competent immigration office within 90 days of entry. The resulting alien registration card is the practical key to the rest of the assignment — most banks and mobile carriers work from it — which is why the assignment stage hands directly over to settlement rather than ending at the airport.
Three constraints then run for the whole posting, and HR teams tend to learn about them late. A foreign national may stay only within the scope of their status and period of stay. A person holding an employment status may not work at a place other than the designated workplace, and changing or adding one requires prior permission — except for the professionals the Enforcement Decree prescribes, who report within 15 days. Doing anything falling under a different status alongside the assigned activity requires prior permission for activities outside the status of stay.
Registration is also what connects the assignee to the Korean social system: under the National Health Insurance Act, a foreign national employed at a workplace subject to the Act who has completed alien registration becomes a workplace-insured person.
Assignment to Korea — Frequently Asked Questions
Can we send someone to Korea before the entity is registered?
Not on an assignment status. A D-7 or D-8 application needs an inviting Korean establishment, and there is no inviting party until the branch, liaison office or company is registered. Short business trips are a different question and depend on the traveller's nationality, but they do not permit taking up a post.
Our candidate joined the company six months ago. Can they be assigned on a D-7?
The general rule is at least one year of service at the foreign head office, branch or other place of business before the dispatch, so a recent hire usually does not meet it. There are defined exceptions — assignments in national key industries or state projects, and essential professional personnel dispatched to the Korean establishment of a foreign company whose operating funds brought into Korea reach USD 500,000 or more — and where none applies, the alternative route depends on the entity form you registered. Worth checking before the posting is announced internally.
Can the assignee's spouse and children come at the same time?
Accompanying family of a D-7, D-8 or D-9 holder are covered by the F-3 dependent status, which derives from the assignee's status. Because it is derivative, it is prepared together with the principal application rather than left until after the assignee has arrived.
Does the head office file the visa application, or the assignee?
In the usual corporate route the Korean entity applies in Korea for the certificate of confirmation of visa issuance, and the assignee then applies for the visa itself at a Korean embassy or consulate abroad using that certificate. Most of the preparation therefore sits with the company, not the individual.
Who prepares and files the application — KOCATION or an outside firm?
In-house. Eligibility review, document preparation and filing are carried out by the licensed administrative agents (행정사) of VISION Administrative Office, which operates KOCATION. The entity registration before the visa and the housing and settlement work after it are handled by the same team.
Before and after this stage
Visa requirements on this page follow the visa issuance guidance manual of the Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice (March 2026 edition); the current standard is re-confirmed for every case at intake. Pricing is not published on this site — scope and fees are quoted individually after a consultation, because they depend on the visa category, the number of assignees and the family members travelling with them.
Planning who to send to Korea?
Tell us the roles, the entity they will join and how long each person has been with the company — we will map the visa route and the document list.
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