Guide · as of 2026-08-08
Two D-8 routes for founders
A foreign founder incorporating in Korea has two distinct D-8 paths. The investment route (D-8-1) requires foreign direct investment of at least ₩100,000,000 with 10%+ of voting shares, registered under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act (외국인투자촉진법 시행령 §2). The technology-startup route (D-8-4) has no capital floor: it requires a Korean corporation, a bachelor’s degree or intellectual property, and 80+ points out of 368 on the OASIS scale (with at least one mandatory item). The routes are scored on different things, money versus credentials, and are not interchangeable at review.
Route 1: D-8-1 (corporate investment)
- Capital: ₩100M+ per foreign investor, wired from abroad as notified FDI; below ₩100M a company can still be incorporated, but no D-8 attaches.
- Shareholding: 10%+ of voting shares (or equivalent control arrangements under the Act).
- Sequence: FDI notification (bank/KOTRA) → capital remittance → incorporation and business registration → foreign-invested-company registration → D-8-1 application.
- Who gets the visa: the investor and essential staff (executives/managers/specialists) of the foreign-invested company.
- Review realities: paper capital that exits the account after registration, absent business premises, and no revenue trajectory are standard refusal/short-extension grounds; extensions re-test the business’s substance (practitioner guidance).
Route 2: D-8-4 (technology startup / OASIS)
- Base conditions: establish a Korean corporation (법인등기 + 사업자등록) and hold a bachelor’s degree or higher or intellectual property, meaning a patent (특허권), utility model (실용신안권), or design right (디자인권); government-selected startup items are treated as equivalent technology proof.
- Points: 80+ of 368 total under OASIS (Overall Assistance for Startup Immigration System), including at least one mandatory item. Points come from items such as: domestic degree, TOPIK level, completion of OASIS education/mentoring modules, startup-competition placement, government startup-program selection, and IP holdings. Exact per-item values are set in the OASIS notice [defer to the OASIS table].
- Typical build: e.g., Korean bachelor’s degree + TOPIK 3 + OASIS coursework + a competition award reaches 80 without any capital requirement (강남노무법인 summary).
- D-8-4(S), the Startup Korea Special Visa: since 2024, a recommendation-based variant where the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (중소벤처기업부) recommends founders (competition-selected) without the OASIS point ledger (unverified: current issuance criteria).
Comparison
| D-8-1 investment | D-8-4 technology | |
|---|---|---|
| Capital floor | ₩100,000,000 FDI | none |
| Credential floor | none | bachelor’s degree or IP |
| Screening object | investment substance | OASIS points (80/368) |
| Legal frame | 외국인투자촉진법 | MOJ–MSS OASIS program |
| Typical holder | investor/parent-company staff | first-time founder, often Korea-educated |
Adjacent statuses
- D-10-2 (startup preparation) covers the pre-incorporation period and is the common runway into D-8-4.
- Change of status from D-2/D-10 to D-8-4 in-country costs ₩100,000; extensions ₩60,000 (출입국관리법 시행규칙 fee schedule).
Related data
- /visa/d-8: D-8 holders, subtypes, trends
- /visa/d-10: D-10 including startup-preparation subtype
- /fees: permit fees
- /search: visa code search