How to send money to South Korea in 2026: won or dollars in 1-3 business days, for a car and for a home

In 2026 money is sent to South Korea by bank transfer to a Korean account or through a money transfer system, and the law sets no limit on incoming transfers. The specifics: an account with a residence card, a 1 million won ($750) daily limit on a new account, car export rules and a permit for a home in Seoul.

In detail

Everything below was checked on 8 October 2026. Dollars are calculated at about 1,340 won per dollar on 7 October 2026, and large sums are rounded up.

Transfers to South Korea in 2026: what goes through

In 2026 these routes to Korea work.

The timing of a bank transfer depends on the intermediary banks: 1-3 business days, longer if the payment goes through 2-3 intermediaries, each of which can take a fee.

Korean banks do not use the long international account number used in Europe: a transfer from abroad needs a 10-14 digit account number, the bank's international code and the recipient's name in Latin letters exactly as in the passport. With the name written exactly as in the passport the transfer is credited the first time.

A residence card and 1 million won a day: a transfer to a Korean account

A full account for a foreigner in Korea is opened with a residence card, and everyone who comes for more than 90 days must get one: they register with the immigration service within 90 days of entry. Since 21 March 2025 the card can also be shown in electronic form on a phone. Not every bank or branch opens an account with a passport alone, so for a tourist without registration it is easier to receive a transfer through a money transfer system.

A bank opens a new account with a daily spending limit: since 2 May 2024 such an account can send up to 1 million won ($750) a day through the app, online banking and ATMs, and up to 3 million won ($2,300) at a branch. Incoming money is credited in full, and the limit applies only to spending. It is lifted when the client brings an employment certificate, a payslip or another document on the account's purpose.

So the order for people moving is: registration and a residence card, then an account, then a large transfer. If money is needed in the first weeks, it is kept in a currency account and exchanged in parts. A manager will tell you how to receive money in your situation.

Won or dollars: Korea's currency rules for the recipient

In 2026 Korea's foreign exchange law sets no limit on the amount of an incoming transfer: money from abroad is kept in a currency account or exchanged into won. On exchange the bank issues a certificate of currency purchase, which is useful if part of the money is later sent back.

The bank asks the purpose of the incoming money: a salary, a gift, payment for goods, a property sale, money for a home. If the deal requires a report or a permit by law, for example a property purchase by a non-resident, the report is filed before the exchange, otherwise the bank will not exchange the money. The general list of documents on the origin of the money is collected in proof of source of funds. If a Korean bank holds a transfer and asks for an explanation, a manager will tell you which papers will settle the question fastest.

Money can also be kept with no exchange: Korean banks open a dollar or euro currency account for the same clients as a won account. This is convenient when money has arrived for a home or a car and will be paid later: exchanging in parts lowers the risk of a bad rate, and the bank issues a certificate of currency purchase for each exchange.

Business has its own procedure. Money for a Korean company as a foreign direct investment is registered at a bank or the investment agency: this status needs an investment of at least 100 million won ($75,000) and at least 10% of the company. Payment for goods under a foreign trade contract goes with the deal documents, and the payment purpose must match the contract and the invoice.

The other side of the rules is outgoing transfers. A foreigner without income documents sends up to $50,000 a year abroad through 1 designated bank, and more with an employment contract, a salary certificate or a sale contract. Since January 2026 transfers abroad by all operators are brought into a single accounting system, so the annual limit is counted across all banks and services at once.

Paying for a car from Korea: export rules in 2026

Money for a car is one of the most common transfers to Korea, and here export rules matter as much as banking ones. Payment goes by bank transfer to the account of the seller or exporter under the contract and the invoice, and the payment purpose must match the contract.

To most countries passenger cars from Korea are exported without a separate permit. The payer and the buyer under the contract are the same person: then the seller's Korean bank credits the payment with no questions, and if a third party or a company from another country pays for the car, the bank will ask why and request the contract between them.

So before the transfer 3 things are checked: the engine size and the price of the car, whether export to the destination country is allowed and who the seller is under the contract. A manager will check the car you have chosen and tell you how to pay for it legally.

A transfer to an individual in Korea: family, a landlord, a seller

Money is sent to a private individual in Korea the same way as to your own account, but 2 details matter more than usual: the recipient's name in Latin letters exactly as at their bank and a clear purpose. The recipient's Korean bank asks what the money is for and records the answer: a gift, rent, repayment of a debt, payment under a contract.

If the recipient is a Korean tax resident, a gift is taxed above the tax-free amounts described below, and it is declared by the recipient, not the sender. A rental deposit for a home in Korea can be very large, so a landlord is paid only under a signed contract and to the account stated in it, not to an intermediary's account.

A flat in Korea: a permit, 4 months to move in and 2 years of living

Since 26 August 2025 all of Seoul, 7 districts of Incheon and 23 cities and counties of Gyeonggi Province have been a zone where a foreigner buys a home only with the permission of the local administration. In August 2026 the rule was extended to 25 August 2027. Having received a permit, the buyer must move in within 4 months and live in the home for 2 years, otherwise they face a fine of up to 10% of the purchase price and the permit may be cancelled. So a flat in the zone is bought to live in.

Money for a purchase from abroad goes through a currency report: the non-resident reports the purchase to the designated bank, attaches the contract and payment documents, and only then does the bank exchange the currency. Since 1 September 2025 deposits at a Korean bank have been insured up to 100 million won ($75,000) per person at one bank, so before the deal a large sum is kept at several banks or sent straight to the seller.

How to choose a flat and what it costs is covered in buying an apartment in South Korea, and support with the deal is on the property in South Korea page. A residence permit is covered in how to get residency in South Korea.

A gift to family and the 5-year rule: taxes on money in Korea

A cash gift is taxed in Korea if the recipient is a Korean tax resident, at rates from 10% to 50%. Over 10 years an adult can receive 50 million won ($38,000) from parents tax-free, a minor 20 million won ($15,000), 600 million won ($450,000) from a spouse and 10 million won ($7,500) from other relatives. The return is filed within 3 months after the month in which the money arrived.

Example. Parents send an adult son living in Korea 80 million won ($60,000) for the first time. The first 50 million won are not taxed, and the remaining 30 million are taxed at 10%: 3 million won ($2,300) before the discount for filing on time. If the parents had already given money in the previous 10 years, the tax-free amount is reduced by the earlier gifts.

For foreigners themselves Korea has a 5-year rule: someone who has lived in the country for no more than 5 of the last 10 years pays tax on foreign income only on the part received in Korea or sent to Korea. Sending savings built up before the move does not count as income. A person becomes a tax resident with an address in Korea or after 183 days in the country; more on the taxes in South Korea page.

From $10,000 to $100,000 and above: what a Korean bank will ask

Korea has its own thresholds: 50 million won for a gift from parents, 100 million won for deposit insurance and $50,000 a year for sending earnings out of Korea without income documents.

Thresholds in 2026:

For a transfer from $100,000 the route and documents are prepared in advance, and a manager will check the path for your sum and your case: discuss your sum with a manager. All legal ways of moving capital are on the capital relocation page.

From Korea back home: earnings to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Money also flows back through Korea: thousands of people work in the country on a work visa and send their earnings to their families every month. Without income documents a foreigner sends up to $50,000 a year through a designated bank, and more with a salary certificate.

• To Uzbekistan: transfers to relatives to a card and an account.
• To Kazakhstan: this corridor works both ways, and from Kazakhstan to Korea people pay for studies, medical treatment and cars by bank transfer in dollars.
• To Kyrgyzstan: family transfers by passport.

Sending money to neighbouring countries

• Japan - yen to your own account
• China - yuan and the $50,000 quota
• Uzbekistan - an account with a passport
• Taiwan - new Taiwan dollars and studies
• Thailand - an account with a long-term visa
• Mongolia - a 20-character account, payment in tugriks

All legal ways of moving capital are collected on the capital relocation page.

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