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Foreign employment & nationality

Foreigners Buying a Songdo Apartment: Land Transaction Permit — Permit Criteria and Documents for Non-Residents and Student-Name Purchases

In a land transaction permit zone that designates foreigners as permit subjects, a foreigner must obtain a permit from the mayor, county governor or district head before signing a contract to buy a house, and a contract signed without a permit has no effect (Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Articles 10 and 11). A house is permitted only for the buyer's own residence and must be used directly by the permit holder for 2 years from the acquisition date (Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Articles 12 and 17; Enforcement Decree, Article 14), so an investment purchase by a parent living abroad is hard to get permitted. A purchase in the name of a child studying in Korea can be reviewed only when the child is the actual owner and lives in the home, and borrowing a name alone is prohibited under the Act on the Registration of Real Estate under Actual Titleholder's Name.

Written by Hwang Yunsang, Administrative Agent · Published 2026-10-27 · Updated 2026-10-27

Procedure

Procedure type
  • Notification Difficulty Low

    You submit the statutory report form and required documents. Once the documents are in order the report is accepted; for some reports the authority checks the contents before accepting it.

  • Permit Difficulty High

    A procedure that allows a business, activity or stay that the law generally restricts, after review; licenses fall into this type. The authority reviews facility standards, location and consultation with other agencies, and a permit can be refused if the standards are not met.

  1. 1. Check whether the home is subject to the permit

    The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport may designate foreigners as permit subjects when designating a permit zone, and the designation takes effect 5 days after the public notice (Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 10(1) and (5)). For an apartment, the land share attached to the unit, not the exclusive floor area, is compared with the area threshold in the notice (Land Transaction Work Processing Regulation, Article 3(1)5; Enforcement Decree of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 9). The designated period and areas can change through a re-designation notice, so check again just before signing.

  2. 2. Make the actual owner and the resident the same person

    A house meets the permit criteria only when it will be used as the buyer's own residence, and a purchase clearly not for own residence is treated as failing the criteria (Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 12, item 1(a); Land Transaction Work Processing Regulation, Article 6). Use for the permitted purpose means direct use by the permit holder (Land Transaction Work Processing Regulation, Article 14-2), so buying in the name of a parent living abroad while only the child lives there is hard to get permitted. To apply in the name of a child studying in Korea, the child must be the actual owner and applicant and plan to move in personally.

  3. 3. Organize the source of funds and foreign exchange reports

    In the land acquisition funding plan, money from parents is entered separately as a gift or as other borrowings (Enforcement Rule of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Form No. 10). A foreigner who has stayed in Korea for 6 months or more is treated as a resident under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act (Enforcement Decree of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, Article 10(1)4), so the reporting duties of the student in Korea and the parents abroad must be checked separately. When a non-resident acquires Korean real estate with funds remitted or carried in from abroad, the non-resident reports to a foreign exchange bank using the real estate acquisition report form (Foreign Exchange Transaction Regulation, Article 9-42(2)).

  4. 4. Apply jointly with the seller and sign the contract after the permit

    The seller and buyer jointly submit the permit application to the mayor, county governor or district head with a land use plan and a land acquisition funding plan (Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 11(1) and (3); Enforcement Rule, Article 9). The permit authority decides to permit or refuse within 15 days of receiving the application (Enforcement Decree of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 8(3)), and the sale contract is signed only after the permit is granted.

  5. 5. Report within 30 days of the contract and live there directly for 2 years

    A sale contract must be reported within 30 days of the contract date (Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 3(1)), and when a permitted house is bought, a housing acquisition funding and move-in plan with proof of funds is submitted together (Enforcement Decree, Annex 1, item 3-2; Enforcement Rule, Article 2(6) and (7)). A foreign buyer states the status of stay and whether he or she has a domestic address or a residence of 183 days or more in the report (Enforcement Decree, Annex 1, item 1(h)). After acquisition, the permit holder must use the home directly for the permitted purpose for 2 years from the land acquisition date (Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 17(1); Enforcement Decree, Article 14(2)1).

Required documents

  • Land transaction contract permit application (Enforcement Rule of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Form No. 9, prepared jointly by seller and buyer)
  • Land use plan (items under Article 11(1) of the same Rule, including move-in timing and residence plan)
  • Land acquisition funding plan (Form No. 10 of the same Rule, with parents' money entered separately as a gift or other borrowings)
  • Proof of stay such as a certificate of alien registration facts (to confirm status and period of stay)
  • Materials explaining residence in Songdo such as a certificate of enrollment and current housing records (in case the authority requests supplements)
  • Land identification materials such as a cadastral computer data search result (documents listed in the local authority's guidance)
  • Housing acquisition funding and move-in plan (Form No. 1-3 of the same Rule) with proof for each funding item (submitted with the transaction report after the permit)
  • Real estate acquisition report form (Foreign Exchange Transaction Regulation, Form No. 9-12, submitted by the applicant to a foreign exchange bank when a non-resident buys with funds remitted from abroad)

Fees

Administrative service fee
  • Basic scope from KRW 400,000
All administrative service fees exclude 10% VAT.

There is no fee for a land transaction contract permit application (Enforcement Rule of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Form No. 9). Actual costs such as translating foreign documents and issuing certificates are separate. Our office fee starts from the amount shown above and may vary depending on the number of buyers, the funding structure and the scope of materials proving stay and residence; we will give you an exact quote after reviewing your documents.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

  • Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 3
  • Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 8
  • Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 9
  • Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 10
  • Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 11
  • Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 12
  • Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 17
  • Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 18
  • Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 26
  • Enforcement Decree of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 8
  • Enforcement Decree of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 9
  • Enforcement Decree of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 14
  • Enforcement Decree of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 16
  • Enforcement Decree of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Annex 1
  • Enforcement Rule of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 2
  • Enforcement Rule of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 9
  • Enforcement Rule of the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 11
  • Land Transaction Work Processing Regulation, Article 3
  • Land Transaction Work Processing Regulation, Article 6
  • Land Transaction Work Processing Regulation, Article 14-2
  • Enforcement Decree of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, Article 10
  • Foreign Exchange Transaction Regulation, Article 9-42
  • Act on the Registration of Real Estate under Actual Titleholder's Name, Article 3
  • Act on the Registration of Real Estate under Actual Titleholder's Name, Article 4
  • Act on the Registration of Real Estate under Actual Titleholder's Name, Article 5
  • Act on the Registration of Real Estate under Actual Titleholder's Name, Article 7

Checked against the statutes on

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

  • If a home subject to the permit is contracted without a permit, the contract has no effect, and the parties face imprisonment of up to 2 years or a fine of up to 30/100 of the land price based on the individual officially assessed land price at the time of the contract (Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 11(6) and Article 26(3)). Pay any provisional deposit or sign a contract only after the permit is granted.
  • If the buyer does not live in the home directly within 2 years after acquisition, after an order to comply, a non-compliance penalty of 10/100 of the land acquisition price for leaving it unused, 7/100 for leasing it out, or 5/100 for changing the purpose without approval may be imposed every year until compliance (same Act, Article 18; Enforcement Decree, Article 16). If expiry of the period of stay or the study schedule makes 2 years of residence difficult, revise the plan before applying.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner who does not live in Korea buy an apartment in Songdo?
If the home is subject to the foreigner permit, buying it for investment while continuing to live abroad is hard to get permitted. A house meets the permit criteria only for the buyer's own residence, and a purchase clearly not for own residence is treated as failing the criteria (Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Article 12, item 1(a); Land Transaction Work Processing Regulation, Article 6). If the home is not subject to the permit, this permit is not needed, but the transaction report and foreign exchange reports must still be checked.
Can a land transaction permit be granted in the name of a child on a D-2 (Student) visa?
It can be reviewed conditionally, only when the child is the actual owner and lives in the home directly. No provision excludes the D-2 (Student) status itself, but because the buyer must live in the home directly for 2 years from acquisition, the remaining period of stay, the extension plan and the reason for living in Songdo must be explained, and a permit is not guaranteed even with complete documents. A child attending a university in Seoul or another region must explain the reason for living in Songdo through commuting and living plans.
If parents pay and the home is bought in the child's name, is that a title-holding trust?
Parents providing the money does not by itself make it a title-holding trust, but if the parents keep the real ownership and only the name is the child's, it is one. A title-holding trust agreement and the registration based on it are void, and the truster faces a penalty surcharge of up to 30/100 of the property value and imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 200,000,000 won (Act on the Registration of Real Estate under Actual Titleholder's Name, Articles 3, 4, 5 and 7). Parents' money must be arranged as an actual gift or an actual loan and entered as such in the funding plan.
Can parents living abroad and a student child get a permit as co-owners?
Adding parents who live abroad without Korean status of stay as co-buyers is hard to get permitted. Use for the permitted purpose means direct use by the permit holder (Land Transaction Work Processing Regulation, Article 14-2), so the child's residence in Korea does not substitute for the parents living abroad. When a parent obtains status of stay and actually lives there with the child, each co-buyer's stay and residence plan must be reviewed separately.
When a foreigner buys an apartment, is a separate foreigner real estate acquisition report also required?
For a sale contract, the buyer files a real estate transaction report within 30 days of the contract date instead of the foreigner acquisition report. The foreigner acquisition report applies to contracts other than sales such as gifts (Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, Articles 3 and 8), and with a land transaction permit, a separate foreigner land acquisition permit is not needed (same Act, proviso to Article 9(1)). However, when a non-resident buys with funds from abroad, a separate report to a foreign exchange bank may be required (Foreign Exchange Transaction Regulation, Article 9-42).
Can I entrust a foreigner land transaction permit application to an administrative agent?
Yes. Hwang Yunsang Administrative Office reviews whether the home is subject to the permit and the permit criteria for each ownership structure, prepares the land transaction contract permit application, land use plan and land acquisition funding plan, and submits them on your behalf. We also prepare the funding and move-in plan used for the transaction report after the permit, and organize the documents the applicant uses for the report to a foreign exchange bank.

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Hwang Yunsang Administrative Office in Songdo, Incheon prepares and submits administrative documents and explains the procedure. If your situation is similar, send us a message.

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This guide is general information based on public sources. Requirements, documents and deadlines differ by case and by the competent agency, so please confirm them before you proceed.