Sending Money Out of Korea: Limits, Documents and Cheaper Routes

Two things determine the paperwork

Outward remittance from Korea is governed by foreign exchange rules. What you need depends on how much you are sending and what the purpose is.

Below a threshold, transfers described as gifts or personal support go through with basic identification. Above it, the bank must confirm the source of funds and the purpose, and reports the transaction to the authorities.

For most foreign residents the relevant category is remittance of earned income — sending your salary home. This is explicitly permitted and there is a defined route for it, but it is the route that requires documents.

Thresholds and reporting rules are set by foreign exchange regulation and revised periodically. Ask your bank for the figures in force rather than relying on amounts quoted in forums, which age quickly.

Documents for salary remittance

Banks typically ask for some combination of:

• Alien registration card and passport
• Certificate of employment
• Payslips covering the period the money was earned
• Withholding tax receipt (wontcheonjingsu yeongsujeung, 원천징수영수증) — the document showing tax was deducted from your salary
• A completed remittance application stating the purpose

The withholding tax receipt is the one people do not have ready. Ask your employer’s payroll team for it, or download it from Hometax if you have access. It is the cleanest single proof that the money is declared earned income.

Set up the paperwork once. Many banks will register you for recurring salary remittance after the first successful application, so later transfers need much less. Ask about this rather than repeating the full document set every month.

Students and other non-earners remit under different categories, usually supported by enrolment documents or evidence that the funds were brought into Korea in the first place.

Banks versus transfer services

Bank wire (SWIFT)

• Higher cost — a sending fee, plus correspondent bank charges, plus an exchange margin
• Slower, typically a few working days
• Handles large amounts and unusual destinations
• Necessary when the amount exceeds what licensed operators can move

Licensed small-amount transfer operators

Korea licenses non-bank operators for outward transfers. Wise, Sentbe, Hanpass, GME and others operate under this framework.

• Cheaper, with a smaller exchange margin and clearer fees
• Faster to common corridors, sometimes same-day
• Capped — there are per-transaction and annual limits per person
• App-based, with Korean identity verification required at onboarding

For routine monthly remittances of ordinary salary amounts, licensed operators usually win on cost. For a one-off large transfer — moving savings when leaving the country — a bank wire is generally the workable route.

Compare the total landed amount, not the headline fee. The exchange margin is where most of the cost sits, and a service advertising a low fee can still deliver less.

Common problems

• Blocked by your transfer limit. New accounts have low daily caps. Lift the limit at your branch before you need to send a large amount, not on the day.
• Purpose mismatch. Declaring “gift” for what is clearly salary creates a discrepancy against your tax records. State the actual purpose.
• Name mismatch. The recipient name must match their bank account exactly, including romanisation. This is the most common cause of a returned transfer, and returns take weeks and cost fees.
• Cash deposits. Large cash deposits followed by an outward transfer attract scrutiny because the source is unclear. Keep income flowing through the account.
• Leaving Korea. Moving accumulated savings out is a larger transaction that may need additional documents including tax clearance. Start the conversation with your bank weeks before departure, not at the airport.

If you are also closing accounts and claiming a national pension lump-sum refund, sequence matters — the refund needs an account to land in before you close it.