How do I move to a jeonse apartment but can't pay the full deposit upfront?

Whether a D-8 holder can get a jeonse loan depends on the product, and for the government fund products the published eligibility does not say. Do not treat it as settled before a bank tells you.

Start with the numbers for the main government product, the Beotimmok jeonse loan (버팀목 전세자금대출) run through the Housing and Urban Fund (주택도시기금, nhuf.molit.go.kr). As published: the borrower must be a head of household who owns no home, with combined spousal income of 50 million won or less a year and net assets of 345 million won or less. Interest is 2.5 to 3.5 percent a year. The per-property ceiling for a general household is 120 million won in the capital region and 80 million won outside it, rising to 250 million and 160 million for newlywed households and households with two or more children. For a new contract the loan is capped at 70 percent of the jeonse amount. The property must be 85m² or less of leased floor area, and the deposit itself must be 300 million won or less in the capital region, 200 million outside. The term is two years, extendable up to ten.

Now the eligibility problem. "Head of household" there means head of household on the resident registration record (주민등록표). Foreign residents hold alien registration, not resident registration, and the published notice does not state how it treats them. So whether a D-8 entrepreneur visa qualifies at all is a question for the fund's handling banks — Woori, KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and NH — and the fund itself directs applicants to ask a handling bank branch.

For commercial bank jeonse loans there is no published foreigner rate table, and terms differ by bank, so compare two or three in person rather than trusting a quoted range. Bring your alien registration card, business registration, income documents and the lease. Note also that Korea Exchange Bank no longer exists: it merged into Hana Bank in 2015 and the bank has operated as Hana Bank since February 2020, so look for Hana Bank. Citibank Korea has exited retail banking, so it is not a route to a consumer loan.

Protect the deposit regardless of how the loan goes. Get the 확정일자 on your contract, and as a foreign resident file the change-of-residence report within 15 days of moving in. Deposit-return guarantees are offered by 주택도시보증공사 (khug.or.kr) and 한국주택금융공사 (hf.go.kr) — check with them whether your case is covered.

Sources: 주택도시기금 (nhuf.molit.go.kr), 한국주택금융공사, 출입국관리법 제36조.

Last verified: 2026-09-28