Since August 26, 2025, foreign nationals who want to buy a home in Seoul and most of the surrounding metropolitan area have needed government permission before signing a contract, and must then live in the home themselves. In August 2026, the government extended this regime for another year, to August 25, 2027. For foreign nationals, including ethnic Koreans who hold foreign citizenship, buying a Seoul-area home as an investment is now effectively off the table. Buying a home to live in is still possible, if the steps are followed in the right order. This article explains who is covered, where, how the permit process works, and what happens after purchase.
1. Who Counts as a “Foreigner”
The regime applies to “foreigners” as defined in the Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act. This includes:
- Individuals without Korean nationality, including ethnic Koreans who have become US, Canadian, Australian, or other citizens
- Foreign corporations and foreign governments
- Korean companies controlled by foreigners, where foreigners make up a set proportion of the company’s executives, capital, or voting rights
It does not apply to Korean nationals living abroad. They remain Korean nationals, although they are subject to the general permit zones that apply to all buyers (see Section 7).
Key takeaway: For overseas Koreans, nationality is what matters, not ethnicity or residence. A Korean American with only US citizenship is a foreigner under this regime.
2. Where and What Is Covered
Areas (as extended, through August 25, 2027)
- Seoul: all districts
- Gyeonggi Province: 23 cities and counties. Excluded: Yangju, Icheon, Uijeongbu, Dongducheon, Yangpyeong, Yeoju, Gapyeong, and Yeoncheon
- Incheon: 9 districts (reflecting Incheon’s July 2026 administrative reorganization). The former Dong-gu area, Ganghwa, and Ongjin are excluded
Property types
- Apartments, detached houses, multi-family houses, row houses, and multiplex houses
- Officetels are generally excluded, because they are classified as non-residential buildings
Size threshold
- Transactions are covered where the land area exceeds 6㎡ in residential zones or 15㎡ in commercial zones. For most homes, the buyer’s share of the land easily exceeds these thresholds.
3. The Core Obligations
| Obligation | Detail |
|---|---|
| Prior permit | The buyer must obtain permission from the local district office before signing the sale contract |
| Funding plan | The buyer must submit a funding plan with supporting evidence, including the source of funds from abroad and the buyer’s visa or residence status |
| Move-in deadline | The buyer must move in within 4 months of the permit |
| Residence period | The buyer must live in the home for 2 years after acquisition |
The residence obligation means the buyer cannot rent the home out during that period, and cannot buy a home that is occupied by a tenant whose lease runs beyond the move-in deadline.
4. The Permit Process, Step by Step
① Check the property and your own position
- Confirm the property is in a covered area and is a covered type.
- Confirm that you can actually move in within four months and live there for two years, including whether your visa lets you stay in Korea that long.
- Check whether any current tenant will leave in time.
② Prepare the application
- Agree the main terms with the seller, but do not sign a binding sale contract yet.
- Prepare the permit application with:
- the land use plan (stating that you will live in the home)
- the funding plan and evidence: bank statements, proof of overseas funds and how they will be brought into Korea, loan documents
- your passport, alien registration card or residence status, and visa information
③ Apply to the district office
- The buyer and seller generally apply together to the district (gu or si/gun) office where the property is located.
- Processing generally takes about two weeks, longer if documents are incomplete or the funding sources raise questions.
④ Sign the contract after the permit
- A sale contract signed without a permit is not valid, and signing or carrying out a transaction without a permit is a criminal offense.
- Once the permit is issued, sign the contract and report it under the real estate transaction reporting rules, generally within 30 days.
⑤ Foreign exchange filings
- A buyer who is a non-resident for foreign exchange purposes must generally file a real estate acquisition report with a Korean foreign exchange bank and bring funds in through that bank. Doing this properly also makes it much easier to send the money back out when you eventually sell.
Property check → Permit application (funding plan, visa) → Permit (about 2 weeks) → Contract and transaction report → Foreign exchange filing → Registration → Move in within 4 months → Live there 2 years
5. After the Purchase
Living there
- Move in within four months and stay for two years. Register your address (for foreign nationals, report your place of stay to immigration).
- Keep evidence of actual residence: utility bills, address registration, and records of where you work or study.
If you do not comply
- The local government can order you to comply.
- If you still do not comply, it can impose an enforcement levy of up to 10% of the acquisition price, every year until you comply.
- The authorities can also revoke the permit, and the government has said it will monitor foreign purchases closely and refer suspected speculation to other agencies.
Additional reporting
- Since 2026, home purchases by foreigners also involve reporting items such as residence status, domestic address, and whether the buyer stays in Korea 183 days or more.
Selling later
- When you sell, Korean capital gains tax applies. Non-residents generally cannot use the one-house exemption. (See our earlier article on selling Korean real estate as a non-resident.)
6. Transactions Outside the Permit Regime
The permit requirement applies to sale contracts for consideration. It generally does not apply to:
- Inheritance: a foreign national who inherits a Seoul home from a parent does not need a permit. A report of acquisition by a foreigner is still required, generally within six months.
- Gifts without consideration
- Court auctions, which are generally excluded from the land transaction permit system
These routes have their own rules and tax consequences. A gift, for example, triggers gift tax (see our earlier article on gifting Korean real estate to a child living abroad).
7. The Separate Seoul-Wide Permit Zone for All Buyers
Foreign buyers in Seoul face a second layer of regulation.
- Under the government’s October 15, 2025 housing measures, all of Seoul was designated a land transaction permit zone for apartments, applying to every buyer, Korean or foreign. This designation currently runs until December 31, 2026. Whether it will be extended had not been decided as of late October 2026.
- This zone also requires a prior permit and actual residence.
- Korean nationals living abroad, who are not covered by the foreigner regime, are still subject to this general zone when buying a Seoul apartment.
Key takeaway: In Seoul, foreign nationals can face both the foreigner-specific regime and the general regime. Both point to the same conclusion: buy to live in, not to invest.
8. Common Mistakes
- Signing (or paying a deposit under) a contract before the permit, which can make the contract invalid and create criminal exposure
- Buying a tenanted home where the tenant cannot leave within four months
- Assuming an ethnic Korean is not a “foreigner”, when foreign nationality is what counts
- Using an officetel as a workaround without checking how the property is actually classified
- Visa mismatch: a buyer whose visa will not allow two years of residence
- Bringing funds in without the proper foreign exchange filings, which complicates both the permit’s funding review and later remittance of sale proceeds
- Using a Korean relative as a nominee buyer, which is illegal under the Real Estate Real Name Act and exposes both parties to penalties and loss of the property
9. Conclusion
Through August 25, 2027, foreign nationals, including overseas Koreans with foreign citizenship, can still buy homes in Seoul and most of the metropolitan area, but only with a prior permit, a documented funding plan covering overseas funds and visa status, and a commitment to move in within four months and live there for two years. In Seoul, a separate apartment permit zone for all buyers adds a second layer, currently through the end of 2026.
For foreigners who genuinely plan to live in Korea, the process is manageable if the permit comes before the contract and the funds and visa are in order. For those hoping to invest or rent out, the regime is designed to say no, at least until 2027.