Admin & paperwork
Booking an immigration slot is not the same as applying
Since April 2021 no immigration office in Korea accepts an application from someone who arrives without an appointment. But a lot of what people queue for never needs the counter. Extension of stay, status change, re-entry permit, address change and passport change reports are all filed through HiKorea online, and a permit granted that way has the same legal effect as one granted over a counter. The online extension route is closed to E-7, F-6, F-2, F-4, F-5, D-8, D-3 and G-1 holders, and first alien registration and card reissue are counter only.
Last verified:
The site decides which certificate you need, not your visa
A financial certificate sits in a cloud run by the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute, renews itself every three years and needs no PC security software. A joint certificate is a file on your own device, expires after one year and needs a security program installed. Simple authentication is not a certificate you hold at all but a prompt inside an app you already use. Which of the three you need is decided by the site in front of you, not by your visa.
Last verified:
The certificate that stands in for a Korean ID
When a landlord or a bank asks a foreigner for a document, the document they mean is almost always 외국인등록 사실증명, the Certificate of Foreign Resident Registration. The Immigration Act puts it in the place of a Korean's resident registration card and residence extract. There are two ways to get it, not three. Online at Government24 it is free but needs a certificate login, and at a counter it costs 2,000 won per copy. The unmanned kiosk cannot issue it at all.
Last verified:
Fifteen days to report your new address
If you hold an alien registration card and you move, you have 15 days from the day you move in to report the new address. You do not have to go to immigration for it. The community service centre covering the new address takes the same report, and it is free by every route. Miss the deadline and it is not an administrative fine but a criminal one of up to 1,000,000 won, and the online form on HiKorea closes as soon as the 15 days are up.
Last verified:
Passing identity verification
Most Korean services stop you here. The keys are a Korean phone number and a foreigner registration number, and having even one of them often opens a path.
Last verified:
