How Foreigners Obtain a Real Estate Registration Number — Immigration Office Application Documents Before Inheritance or Purchase Registration

Procedure

1. 1. Confirm whether a separate number is needed

   A foreigner who has completed alien registration is assigned a real estate registration number based on the alien registration number at the time of registration, so no separate application is needed. Foreigners who have not completed alien registration are the applicants, and because only one number is assigned per foreigner, a person who received one before applies for a certificate instead of a new number. If a person lost Korean nationality by acquiring a foreign nationality but has not filed a report of loss of nationality, that report is handled first.

2. 2. Confirm the immigration office to apply to

   The registration number for a foreigner is assigned by the head of the immigration office with jurisdiction over the place of stay. An overseas resident with no place of stay in Korea is deemed to have the place of stay at the location of the Supreme Court, so the application goes to the office with jurisdiction over that area. For a foreign corporation, the number is assigned by the registrar of a registry office or by the mayor, county governor, or district head depending on whether a business office in Korea has been registered, so the place of application differs from individuals.

3. 3. Prepare the application and attachments

   On the application for assignment of a registration number (Form No. 5), enter the description of the real estate to be registered, the right to be registered, and nationality, name, sex, date of birth, and address, and attach a copy of the passport or certificate of nationality. When an applicant overseas entrusts the filing, a letter of authorization is obtained, and supplementation requests are common when the signature on it differs from the passport signature or the English spelling of the name differs between documents. A letter of authorization prepared abroad should be notarized in the home country with an apostille (or consular confirmation), and documents in a foreign language are attached with translations.

4. 4. File and receive the certificate

   The application is filed with the immigration office with jurisdiction and the 1,000 won fee is paid. The office assigns the number, enters it in the registration ledger, and issues the applicant a certificate of real estate registration number for foreigners (Form No. 7). This number and certificate are used in the inheritance or purchase registration documents.

5. 5. Managing the number for later registrations and alien registration

   A foreigner who already has a number and needs it for another property registration submits an application for issuance of the certificate (Form No. 9) with the same details and a passport copy to receive the certificate again. If a person who received a registration number later completes alien registration, the same number is assigned as the alien registration number unless the sex or date of birth has changed in the meantime.

Required documents

• Application for assignment of a real estate registration number for foreigners (Form No. 5 of the Enforcement Rule of the Regulation on Procedures for Assigning Real Estate Registration Numbers to Unincorporated Associations, Foundations, and Foreigners)
• Copy of passport or certificate of nationality
• Materials identifying the real estate to be registered and the right to be registered (location and lot number, copies of inheritance documents or the sales contract, etc.)
• Translations of attached documents written in a foreign language
• Application for issuance of the certificate if a number was already assigned (Form No. 9 of the same Enforcement Rule)
• Letter of authorization (when an administrative agent files on the applicant's behalf; if signed abroad, notarized in the home country with an apostille or consular confirmation)

Fees

Generally in the range of several hundred thousand won across the industry. We quote after consultation based on whether the applicant lives overseas, the scope of letter of authorization and apostille documents, and the number of applicants. The fee for an application for assignment of a registration number is 1,000 won.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Real Estate Registration Act, Article 48
• Real Estate Registration Act, Article 49
• Regulation on Procedures for Assigning Real Estate Registration Numbers to Unincorporated Associations, Foundations, and Foreigners, Article 3
• Regulation on Procedures for Assigning Real Estate Registration Numbers to Unincorporated Associations, Foundations, and Foreigners, Article 5
• Regulation on Procedures for Assigning Real Estate Registration Numbers to Unincorporated Associations, Foundations, and Foreigners, Article 12
• Regulation on Procedures for Assigning Real Estate Registration Numbers to Unincorporated Associations, Foundations, and Foreigners, Article 13
• Regulation on Procedures for Assigning Real Estate Registration Numbers to Unincorporated Associations, Foundations, and Foreigners, Article 14
• Regulation on Procedures for Assigning Real Estate Registration Numbers to Unincorporated Associations, Foundations, and Foreigners, Article 15
• Regulation on Procedures for Assigning Real Estate Registration Numbers to Unincorporated Associations, Foundations, and Foreigners, Article 16
• Enforcement Rule of the Regulation on Procedures for Assigning Real Estate Registration Numbers to Unincorporated Associations, Foundations, and Foreigners, Article 8
• Enforcement Rule of the Regulation on Procedures for Assigning Real Estate Registration Numbers to Unincorporated Associations, Foundations, and Foreigners, Article 9
• Enforcement Rule of the Regulation on Procedures for Assigning Real Estate Registration Numbers to Unincorporated Associations, Foundations, and Foreigners, Article 10
• Enforcement Rule of the Regulation on Procedures for Assigning Real Estate Registration Numbers to Unincorporated Associations, Foundations, and Foreigners, Article 11
• Enforcement Rule of the Regulation on Procedures for Assigning Real Estate Registration Numbers to Unincorporated Associations, Foundations, and Foreigners, Article 13
• Immigration Act, Article 88-2
• Enforcement Decree of the Immigration Act, Article 40-3
• Act on the Immigration and Legal Status of Overseas Koreans, Article 9
• Nationality Act, Article 16

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-15

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

• The alien registration card and the domestic residence report card have legal provisions substituting for a resident registration card, but the registration number certificate has no such provision, so if a sale or financial transactions are planned after registration, check whether alien registration or a domestic residence report is needed.
• A person who lost Korean nationality by acquiring a foreign nationality must file a report of loss of nationality with the Minister of Justice (Nationality Act, Article 16), so check first whether the loss of nationality is reflected in the family relationship register before applying for a registration number as a foreigner.

Frequently asked questions