Visa & stay
Getting your Alien Registration Card
Register within 90 days of entry, and book a visit date no later than the day before your 90th day, because a booking only reserves a date. Bring your passport, a 3.5 cm by 4.5 cm colour photo, proof of where you live and 35,000 won in cash. The card fee rose from 30,000 won on 1 January 2025, HiKorea's own service pages still show the old figure, and the rules take this fee in cash only.
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If you fled to a shelter, extend your stay at the immigration office for the shelter's area
Since August 24, 2026, foreign nationals who have suffered domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, or human trafficking can apply for a stay extension, or for the grant or change of a status of stay, at the Immigration Office that covers the area where their shelter or other protective facility is located. Before, the rule was to apply at the office covering your registered place of stay, so people who had moved into a shelter still had to go back to the office for their old address. It covers foreign nationals for whom a remedy procedure, such as a trial or an investigation, is under way because of this harm. For domestic violence, it only covers spouses of Korean nationals. The Minister of Justice may grant these people a stay extension until the procedure ends. Call 1345 to find the office for your shelter's area, and the Danuri Call Center at 1577-1366, open 24 hours, for emergency support and interpretation.
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Understanding your visa and stay
Your visa type sets what you can do and the deadlines you have to keep. Knowing exactly what your visa allows prevents most problems before they start.
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