Buying Australian property from South Korea: FIRB, sending money abroad and the tax agreement

Where Korean buyers stand under FIRB

The ATO treats you as a foreign person when buying Australian property unless you are an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen with a special category visa. Treasury's 2026 thresholds table lists the Republic of Korea among the free trade partners that get higher thresholds on other kinds of land, but residential land is $0 or more for all investors. Approval is needed at any price.

From 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 foreign persons are generally banned from buying established dwellings, with limited exceptions. The ATO says temporary residents can still apply for new dwellings and vacant land. Where a developer holds an exemption certificate, the ATO says a buyer of a new dwelling does not need to apply if the price is under $3 million, and does need to apply above that. See exemption certificates and new homes. The guide on who counts as a foreign person explains where permanent visa holders who live abroad fit.

Sending money out of Korea

Korea's rules on residents sending money abroad and buying property overseas sit in its foreign exchange law. The Foreign Exchange Transactions Regulation (외국환거래규정) is published in Korean on the National Law Information Centre website, and a designated foreign exchange bank is the usual first contact. This guide could not open the current text, so it does not say which reports a purchase involves, who receives them, or what amounts and deadlines apply. Those details are best taken from the bank or the current text, not from a summary.

Questions worth putting to the bank before money moves:

• whether a report or approval is needed for buying Australian property, and whether it has to be in place before the contract is signed or a deposit is paid
• whether you count as a resident for these purposes if you live or work in Australia
• what follow-up reports apply after settlement, and again if the property is later sold

The Korea-Australia tax agreement

Treasury lists the agreement as signed on 12 July 1982 and in force from 1 January 1984. Its table records that the Multilateral Instrument modifies the agreement, with an entry into force date of 1 September 2020, and that the ATO publishes a synthesised text. Treasury says a synthesised text does not constitute a source of law. The International Tax Agreements Act 1953 describes the Korean convention and its protocol as done at Canberra on 12 July 1982.

The agreement text and the synthesised text are linked from Treasury's treaty table. Which articles govern rent and gains on an Australian home, and how Korea gives credit for Australian tax, is a question for a tax adviser who knows both systems. The sister guide on Australian tax on property held from overseas covers the Australian side.

ID, documents and names

The Australian Embassy in Seoul says its notarial services are for Australians, for documents that are Australian in origin, and for documents intended for use in Australia. It says it can witness a signature on some land, mortgage or property documents for use in Australia. For identity verification it uses only the DFAT Identity Certificate and cannot complete another organisation's form. It tells people to get advice from their Australian legal practitioner, conveyancer or mortgagee and to bring the detailed instruction to the appointment.

Korea has been a party to the Apostille Convention since 14 July 2007 and Australia since 16 March 1995, so Korean public documents can carry an apostille. Whether a given document needs one is for the conveyancer.

The ATO lists a passport among the attachments for a new dwelling application, and treats a spelling correction in a purchaser's name as a simple variation costing $4,600 for 2026-27. If your name is written in Hangul on some documents and in Roman letters on others, the spelling worth matching is the one on the passport and the contract. The ATO's other languages page lists Korean and the Translating and Interpreting Service.

Frequently asked questions

firbapproval.com.au is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Foreign Investment Review Board, the Australian Treasury or the Australian Taxation Office. We do not lodge or process applications. Applications are made to the ATO. General information only, not legal, tax, migration or financial advice.