Guide to Applying for the National Pension Lump-sum Refund
A guide based on the National Pension Service standards, organizing who is eligible, the documents, overseas applications, and the Incheon Airport collection conditions for receiving the National Pension lump-sum refund when a foreigner leaves Korea.
Direct answer
A guide based on the National Pension Service standards, organizing who is eligible, the documents, overseas applications, and the Incheon Airport collection conditions for receiving the National Pension lump-sum refund when a foreigner leaves Korea.
- How far this is checked
- Partly verified — confirm the details with the official sources below before you act.
Task
Labor
Visa
All visas
Program
General
Region
Nationwide
AI direct answer: Disabled. The conclusion can change depending on your nationality, residence status, National Pension enrollment history, social security agreement, departure schedule, and whether your company has filed the loss-of-eligibility report, so confirmation with the National Pension Service (국민연금공단) is required.
This document covers only the National Pension lump-sum refund (국민연금 반환일시금). Severance pay, unpaid wages, and unused annual leave allowance have separate routes through the Ministry of Employment and Labor (고용노동부) and the Labor Relations Commission (노동위원회), so check work/labor-disputes or a dedicated severance pay guide.
What to Check First
The lump-sum refund is not money that every foreigner leaving Korea automatically receives. The National Pension Service (NPS) divides eligibility for the foreigner lump-sum refund according to residence status, social security agreement, and reciprocity criteria.
Before departure, check the following four things first.
- Whether you have a National Pension enrollment history
- Whether your residence status or nationality makes you eligible for the lump-sum refund
- Whether your scheduled departure date is within 1 month from the application date
- If you are a workplace-based subscriber, whether your company can file the National Pension loss-of-eligibility report by the day before departure
Representative Eligible Categories
| Category | Core criterion | Check point |
|---|---|---|
| Residence-status basis | Period enrolled at a National Pension-applicable workplace under E-8, E-9, or H-2 residence status | You may be eligible regardless of nationality, but confirm enrollment and loss-of-eligibility records with NPS |
| Social security agreement basis | Nationals of a country that has an agreement with Korea regarding the lump-sum refund | Whether the lump-sum refund is allowed differs by agreement, so check the NPS country-by-country agreement page |
| Reciprocity basis | Nationals of a country that provides similar benefits to Korean nationals | The minimum enrollment period condition may differ by country |
Even if there is a social security agreement, the lump-sum refund is not always allowed. NPS advises that, for some agreement countries, payment of the lump-sum refund is not permitted. If your country is an agreement country, confirm the country-by-country explanation on the NPS page before applying.
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