A passport alone can open an account — but only at a branch
Article 3, item 4 of the Enforcement Decree of the Real Name Financial Transactions Act defines a foreign national's real name as the name and registration number on the alien registration record, and adds that for a person whose alien registration card has not been issued, the name and number on the passport or identification document take its place. So you can have your identity verified with a passport and open an account before your card exists.
The blockage is online. KB Kookmin Bank's guide to opening an account as a foreign national states that an app application requires an alien registration card, permanent residence card or domestic residence report card — a passport or driver's licence will not do — and identity verification through a mobile phone registered in your own name with a Korean carrier. A foreign number or a prepaid SIM will not work. A student who has just landed is caught in a loop: the app account needs an alien registration card and a postpaid phone in your own name, the postpaid phone needs the card, and the card has to be obtained separately within 90 days of your date of entry. That is why the first account is usually opened in person, with a passport.
The real obstacle is not opening the account — it is the limited account
Banks check the purpose of the financial transaction when you open a new deposit account. If you cannot evidence that purpose with objective documents, the application is refused or the account opens as a limited account (transaction-limit account). According to the Financial Services Commission, it was introduced in 2016 for customers who cannot produce such documents. A student who has just arrived has no employment certificate and no payslip, so this is almost always the account you get.
The daily limits were raised on 2 May 2024. For NongHyup, Hana and Busan Bank the change took effect on 10 May.
- Branch counter — from KRW 1 million to KRW 3 million
- ATM withdrawal — from KRW 300,000 to KRW 1 million
- ATM transfer — from KRW 300,000 to KRW 1 million
- Internet banking and other electronic transactions — from KRW 300,000 to KRW 1 million
That is not enough to pay a semester's tuition in one transfer. For comparison, an account that has been used in fraud is held to KRW 300,000 by internet banking, KRW 300,000 at an ATM and KRW 1 million at the counter even after the payment suspension is lifted.
The documents that lift the limit
To lift the limit, submit documents evidencing the purpose of your banking. Hana Bank publishes these examples by purpose.
- Study abroad or long-term stay — letter of admission, visa
- Receiving part-time wages — the employer's business registration certificate, employment contract
- Receiving a salary — certificate of employment, withholding tax receipt for earned income. The Financial Services Commission also lists the national health insurance enrollment certificate
- Receiving research funds — the research funding contract, the paying body's business registration certificate
- Paying utilities or building fees — payment receipts
Which documents count is the bank's call. The same certificate of enrollment can be judged differently from bank to bank and branch to branch. Ask your bank directly before you go, and take the documents they told you they would accept.
The limits that apply when you send money abroad
Under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Regulation, a transfer abroad exceeding USD 5,000 per transaction must in principle be accompanied by documents evidencing the reason and the amount. There is an annual USD 100,000 allowance for sending money without documents, but as the Korea Federation of Banks makes explicit, that allowance belongs to residents excluding foreign residents, so it does not cover international students.
What applies to foreign nationals and non-residents is Article 4-4 of the Regulation: payment of wages, income or pensions earned in Korea, and payments of up to USD 50,000 a year. Both require you to designate a foreign exchange bank. Woori Bank's guidance states that without documents evidencing how the funds were acquired you can remit with your passport once the designated bank is in place, and that with evidence such as a payslip you may remit up to that amount. "Annual" here does not mean one year from the designation date but the cumulative total through 31 December of that year, and the limit is tracked through the Bank of Korea's Overseas Remittance Integrated Management System (ORIS).
You can also use a registered small-sum overseas remittance operator instead of a bank. There the limit for foreign residents and non-residents is USD 5,000 per transaction and USD 50,000 per person per year, applied separately to sending and receiving.
With a phone, the first wall is the number of lines
Under Article 32-4(2) of the Telecommunications Business Act, a carrier must verify that you are who you claim to be — through the fraudulent subscription prevention system, among other means — when a service contract is signed, and may refuse the contract if you are not that person or refuse verification. Paragraph 3 of the same article lets the carrier demand documents and certificates proving identity.
Since 1 July 2024 the number of lines is capped too. The identity theft prevention service run by the Korea Association for ICT Promotion states that within the most recent 180 days the lines you may open are three for Korean nationals, two for foreign nationals and four for corporations. The reference period was 30 days before it was extended to 180. The cap is applied across every mobile carrier, MVNOs included, so moving from carrier to carrier to open more does not work. You can check the lines open in your name at credit.or.kr, and the counselling centre for fraudulent subscription and identity theft is 1670-1382.
Prepaid, postpaid, and why you must not lend your name
A prepaid SIM is paid for before use. Article 32(4) of the Telecommunications Business Act and Article 37-4 of its Enforcement Decree require an operator of a prepaid calling service to hold guarantee insurance worth at least 50 percent of the total prepaid issuance amount. When your stay is not yet secure, prepaid is sometimes the only route open. According to guidance from the Gyeongsangnam-do Support Center for Foreign Residents, short-term residents and anyone with 60 days or less remaining until their stay expires on the application date cannot sign up for a postpaid plan and can use only a prepaid phone. That condition comes from carrier subscription rules rather than from legislation, so it can differ by carrier.
The thing to be most careful about is your name. Letting someone else use a line registered to you breaches Article 30 of the Telecommunications Business Act and, under Article 97, item 7, can bring up to one year of imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 50 million. Carriers are required to tell you this when you sign up (Article 32-4(4)). However well you know the person asking, do not lend your name.
Limits, fees and required documents differ by bank and by carrier, and they change when the rules change. This article reflects the position as of September 2026. Always confirm the conditions that apply to you with the bank and carrier you deal with and with your university's international office.
Sources
- 국가법령정보센터 「금융실명거래 및 비밀보장에 관한 법률 시행령」
- 국가법령정보센터 「전기통신사업법」
- 국가법령정보센터 「전기통신사업법 시행령」
- 국가법령정보센터 「외국환거래규정」 (기획재정부고시)
- 금융위원회 보도자료 「24.5.2.(목)부터 한도제한계좌의 이체·ATM 거래한도가 30만원에서 100만원으로 상향됩니다」 (2024. 5. 2.)
- 대한민국 정책브리핑 「한도제한계좌 이체·ATM 한도 30만→100만원 상향」
- 하나은행 고객센터 FAQ 「금융거래한도계좌」 (시행일자 2024. 5. 10.)
- KB국민은행 「외국인 계좌 개설부터 인터넷뱅킹까지 앱으로 한 번에!」
- 전국은행연합회 외환길잡이 「거래외국환은행 지정」
- 전국은행연합회 외환길잡이 「거주자(외국인 거주자 제외)의 무증빙 해외송금」
- 우리은행 「비거주자/외국인거주자 송금」
- 명의도용방지서비스(한국정보통신진흥협회) 「보이스피싱 예방을 위한 다회선 가입제한서비스 변경 시행 안내」 (2024. 6. 28. 게시, 7. 1. 시행)
- 경상남도외국인주민지원센터 상담사례 「선불폰 번호, 재입국해서 계속 사용할 수 있나요?」
Information on this page is current as of September 2026.