I-EUMLiving in Korea

National Pension Lump-sum Refund (국민연금 반환일시금)

This page is machine translated from Ieumi's guide written in Korean. If the meaning is confusing, please look at the Korean original text. View original text (Korean)

You can get a refund of the pension premiums you paid when you leave the country. If you worked under Non-professional Employment (E-9) or Working Visit (H-2), you receive it regardless of nationality. For other statuses, it depends on your nationality.

Deadline

The deadline is 5 years from the date the right arose. "1 month before departure" is not a deadline — it means that when claiming in advance before leaving, you must submit documents (such as a plane ticket) showing you will depart within 1 month. You can still claim within 5 years even after departing.

📌 Key points

It is best to finish before you leave. You need the claim form plus copies of your passport, alien registration card, bank book, and your flight ticket. The claim expires 5 years after the entitlement arises.

📍 Where to go

You can claim at any National Pension Service branch nationwide (inquiries: 1355). If it's difficult to go in person, you can also apply for the "Visiting Pension Service." Mail is also possible — you can send it directly from your home country after departing, or have a representative in Korea send it to a branch. However, the website's online claim is only available for those claiming due to turning 60, so it cannot be used by those claiming upon departure.

⚠️ Things to watch out for

Whether you can receive it differs by country (based on the National Pension Service list of May 2026). ① If your status of stay was E-8 (Training-Employment), E-9 (Non-professional Employment), or H-2 (Working Visit), you qualify regardless of nationality. But seasonal worker E-8 created after December 24, 2019 is excluded. ② Countries with a social security agreement: Germany, the United States, Canada (including Quebec), the Czech Republic, Hungary, Australia, France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Austria, India, Türkiye, Switzerland, Brazil, Peru, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Croatia, Uruguay, the Philippines, Argentina. ③ Countries recognized under reciprocity: Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon, Sudan, Uganda, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Jordan, Bhutan, Belize, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Bermuda, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands — for reciprocity countries the minimum insured period differs by country, so check with 1355 before you apply. ⚠️ China, Vietnam, Nepal, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia are not on this list. Even if you did not do it before leaving Korea, you can still receive it. There is a way to claim by mail from your home country, and the Service also explains this way. However, the claim form must be notarized by a notary in your country of residence and certified by a Korean consulate or embassy, and you send a copy of your passport and a copy of your own bankbook with it.

❗ What happens if you don't

If you claim after leaving the country, your documents need notarization from a notary in your country of residence and consular authentication, which takes more effort. Countries party to the Apostille Convention cannot use consular authentication, so you must get an apostille instead. Still, the path is not closed — you can claim by mail within 5 years, and you can also appoint a representative in Korea. Ask 1355 which option is better for you.

See also

Basis

This content was checked on 2026-10-22.

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