How Non-Residents and Foreigners Report Large Overseas Remittances to the Bank of Korea — Routes for Moving Korean Assets Abroad and Report Documents

Procedure

1. 1. Determine whether you are a resident or a non-resident

   Under the Enforcement Decree of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, a Korean national who engages in business abroad or stays abroad for 2 years or more is a non-resident. Periods of up to 3 months spent in Korea on a temporary return count toward the 2 years, but a person who enters Korea and stays for 3 months or more may be treated as a resident. An expatriate employee sent abroad by a Korean company also follows this standard unless posted to work at a Korean diplomatic mission. A foreigner who stays in Korea for 6 months or more or engages in business in Korea is a resident, and a foreigner who was a resident and has stayed abroad for 3 months or more after leaving Korea is a non-resident. Your status at the time of remittance is determined with the certificate of entry and exit records and employment or posting documents.

2. 2. Check whether the bank can send the money directly

   Not every overseas remittance requires a Bank of Korea report. Money brought in from abroad (for a non-resident, only money brought in after the most recent entry) and a foreigner's pay earned from work in Korea can be sent after submitting documents proving how the funds were acquired and receiving confirmation from a foreign exchange bank. Overseas Koreans, such as Korean nationals with foreign permanent residency or ethnic Koreans with foreign nationality, send funds through their designated foreign exchange bank within the amount on a certificate of real estate sale proceeds or a certificate of source of funds issued by the head of the competent tax office. Without such grounds, under Article 4-4(2) of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions, up to USD 50,000 a year can be sent through a designated foreign exchange bank without a report, and any amount beyond this is reported to the Bank of Korea under Article 2-3(1)3 of the same Regulations.

3. 3. Choose the remitting bank and branch

   In the seller field of the Report on Trading of External Means of Payment, you write the bank and branch that will convert the won into foreign currency, and after the report certificate is issued, the exchange can be made only at that bank. Remittance methods, limits, transactions by agents and the handling of remittances by expatriate employees differ from bank to bank, so the remitting bank's own rules need to be checked. Before filing, confirm with the branch whether an agent can make the remittance and what letter of authorization form and authentication it requires.

4. 4. Prepare the statement of reasons, proof of source of funds and letter of authorization

   The statement of reasons has no set form; it describes, on about 1 A4 page, the period of residence abroad, the source of the assets to be sent, the purpose and the overall remittance plan. Proof of the source of funds follows the nature of the money: for a Jeonse deposit, the lease contract, the real estate register certificate and the account records of the returned deposit; for real estate sale proceeds, the real estate register certificate and the sales contract; for income earned in Korea, a certificate of income amount or a withholding tax receipt for earned income. When an agent files, the original letter of authorization issued at a Korean consulate or notarized locally is submitted; it states the date of birth instead of the resident registration number and includes wording that delegates authority over the Report on Trading of External Means of Payment to the Bank of Korea.

5. 5. File with the Bank of Korea and remit within the report certificate

   Submit 2 copies of the report form and the attached documents to the Bank of Korea, and supplement them if asked. A capital transaction report must be completed before the payment procedure, so after receiving the report certificate, exchange the money at the bank written on the report within the reported amount and send it to your own account abroad. If an agent will make the bank remittance, prepare the separate letter of authorization documents that bank requires.

Required documents

• Report on Trading of External Means of Payment (Form No. 7-4 of the Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions), 2 copies
• Statement of reasons (period of residence abroad, source of funds, purpose and overall remittance plan; no set form)
• Copy of identification (passport, visa copy, etc.)
• Proof of non-resident status (certificate of entry and exit records or certificate of employment; posting documents for expatriate employees)
• National tax payment certificate, local tax payment certificate and credit information report
• Certificate of deposit balance or copy of bankbook
• Proof of source of funds (Jeonse deposit: lease contract, real estate register certificate and account records of the returned deposit; real estate sale proceeds: real estate register certificate and sales contract; income in Korea: certificate of income amount or withholding tax receipt for earned income, etc.)
• Pledge (Bank of Korea form)
• Original letter of authorization (when an agent files; for non-residents, issued at a Korean consulate or notarized locally)

Fees

Fees for Korean certificates, overseas notarization or a letter of authorization issued at a consulate, international shipping, bank remittance fees and exchange costs are charged separately at cost. Our office fee starts from the amount shown above and may vary depending on the scope of the residency review, the volume of source-of-funds documents to organize and whether a letter of authorization needs to be prepared; we will give you an exact quote after reviewing your documents.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, Article 18
• Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, Article 29
• Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, Article 32
• Enforcement Decree of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, Article 10
• Enforcement Decree of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, Article 37
• Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions, Article 1-2
• Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions, Article 2-3
• Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions, Article 4-4
• Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions, Article 7-6
• Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions, Form No. 7-4

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-18

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

• Sending money without a required report is subject to an administrative fine of up to 100,000,000 won under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, and a large violation amount can lead to criminal penalties.
• If you enter Korea and stay for 3 months or more for the remittance, you may be treated as a resident and a different procedure applies, so if you plan to return, decide the length of stay together before filing.

Frequently asked questions