Your ARC in Seoul: booking immigration before the 90-day deadline

Your visa gets you into Korea. Your residence card is what lets you live here, so book the appointment in your first fortnight, not your eleventh week.

The short version

• If you're staying in Korea for more than 90 days, you must register as a foreign resident within 90 days of arriving [1]. You walk out with a Residence Card, still called the ARC (Alien Registration Card) by almost everyone.
• Every Seoul immigration office works by reservation only, and you book through HiKorea [2]. Slots go fast, so book the week you land.
• Your office depends on where you live, not where you work. Seoul has three, plus a branch, splitting the 25 gu between them [2][3].
• The card costs 30,000 won [1]. After that, you have 14 days to report a new address, a new passport or a new employer [1].
• Since January 2025 you can carry a mobile version on your phone, as long as the phone is in your own name [4].

Why the ARC matters more than you think

In Australia your driver's licence and a Medicare card get you through most of life. In Korea the residence card does that job, and almost nothing important works without it.

You'll be asked for your card number when you:

• sign a proper phone contract in your own name
• lift the limits on a new bank account
• set up mobile banking and the identity checks that come with it
• sign up for national health insurance, file tax or pay into the National Pension
• sign up for many shopping, ticketing and delivery apps without hitting a wall

That's why the 90-day deadline is the wrong number to focus on. The real deadline is "as soon as you can", because every week without the card is a week of prepaid SIMs, cash transfers and asking your boss to sign things for you.

The rule itself is simple. Foreigners who stay longer than 90 days must register within 90 days of their entry date [1]. If you changed your visa status inside Korea, register right after the new status is granted [1].

Which Seoul immigration office is yours?

This is the bit that confuses new arrivals most. Seoul doesn't have one immigration office. Jurisdiction is based on the address on your lease, not your workplace [2], and if you book the wrong office you'll be turned away.

Some of these offices also cover satellite cities in Gyeonggi-do, such as Seongnam, Gwacheon and Gwangmyeong [2]. Offices do move and boundaries do shift, so check the current address on HiKorea or call the Immigration Contact Center on 1345 before you set off [2].

What this means in practice:

• Living in Itaewon, Hannam or Gangnam? You're probably heading to Mokdong.
• Living in Hongdae, Mangwon or Sinchon? Probably Seoul Southern, out near Magok.
• Living near Gwanghwamun, Hyehwa or Seongbuk? Probably the Sejongno branch.

If you live outside Seoul

Plenty of Aussies teach in Gyeonggi-do and commute into Seoul on weekends. Your office is the one covering your home city, which might be Suwon, Incheon or a Seoul office that takes your city. Check before you book.

Booking and what to bring

Since April 2021, every Seoul-area office has required a reservation [2]. Walk-ins are a waste of a morning.

1. Get your lease or housing letter sorted. You need an address to register. A short-term let is fine if the landlord or your employer can document it, but ask what your office will accept.
2. Book on HiKorea. Go to hikorea.go.kr, choose the visit reservation for foreign resident registration, pick your office and a time. You'll need your passport details. New slots tend to be released in batches, so check early in the morning if the calendar looks full.
3. Fill in the application form. The Integrated Application Form is available at the office and on HiKorea. Fill it in before you go and bring a pen anyway.
4. Get a passport photo. One colour photo, 3.5 cm by 4.5 cm [1]. Photo booths in subway stations and photo studios near the immigration offices do these in minutes.
5. Gather your visa-specific documents. Requirements vary by visa type [1]. E-2 teachers usually need a business registration copy and employment contract from the school. Working holiday makers on the H-1 need proof of address and sometimes more. Your employer or school should give you a checklist.
6. Bring the fee. The card costs 30,000 won [1]. Ask how to pay when you book, so you're not hunting for the right payment method on the day.
7. Wait for the card. The card isn't printed on the spot. Ask whether you collect it or can have it delivered, and keep any receipt with your passport until it arrives.

What to bring on the day

If you can't go yourself, someone can apply for you with a letter of attorney and copies of both your IDs [1]. Many hagwons send a staff member to do exactly this.

The 14-day rules that catch Aussies out

Getting the card is step one. Keeping it accurate is the part people forget.

You must report these changes within 14 days [1]:

• A new address. Report it at your local community service centre (jumin center), at immigration, or online through HiKorea [1]. If you're married to a Korean citizen, you still need to report your own move, even if your spouse already reported theirs [1].
• A new passport. This catches Australians all the time. If you renew your Australian passport at the embassy in Seoul, your passport number changes, and immigration needs the new details within 14 days [1].
• Changes to your name, nationality or organisation. A new employer, for example, is a change you report [1].

Failing to report is a breach of the Immigration Act, and the penalty is a fine [1]. The official guidance doesn't publish a single fine amount, so it's cheaper to spend twenty minutes at the jumin center than to explain yourself later.

Lost, damaged or full card

If your card is lost, damaged, out of space for updates or your visa status changes, you apply for a reissue at your immigration office. It also costs 30,000 won and needs the reissue form, a new photo and the old card if you still have it [1].

Renewing your stay and leaving Korea

The card isn't the same as your permission to stay. Your period of stay has its own expiry date, printed on the card.

• Apply to extend before it expires. For many visa types, you can apply from four months before the expiry date up to the expiry date itself [5]. Check whether yours can be filed online through HiKorea or needs a booked visit [5].
• The fee is separate. For many extensions it's 60,000 won [5], but fees vary by visa type, so check with 1345 [1].
• Late means fined. Applying after expiry is an offence under the Immigration Act and brings a fine [5]. Smartraveller notes Korean authorities have fined, detained and deported Australians for breaching visa conditions [6].
• Going home for Christmas? Smartraveller warns long-term visa holders that leaving without the right re-entry arrangements can see your residence card cancelled [6]. Check your situation with 1345 before booking flights to Brisbane.

The mobile ARC and the Australian side

The mobile residence card

Since 10 January 2025, registered foreign residents aged 14 and over can get a mobile residence card through the government's mobile ID app. It has the same legal standing as the plastic card, and works at public offices, banks, convenience stores and hospitals [4]. The catch is that your smartphone must be registered in your own name [4], which is another reason to sort out a Korean phone contract early. Our guide to phone numbers and identity verification in Korea explains why.

What the Australian Embassy can and can't do

The Australian Embassy in Seoul is in the Kyobo Building in Jongno-gu [7]. It handles passports and notarial services by appointment, but its staff can't help with visa questions [7]. Korean immigration status goes to Korean immigration or 1345, full stop.

Where the embassy does help:

• Notarial services for documents you need certified [7]
• Passport renewals, after which you report your new passport to immigration within 14 days [1][7]
• Emergencies, through the 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305 [7]

Have a booking horror story or a tip for getting a quick slot at Mokdong? Share it in Cooee South Korea, our Facebook group for Australians in South Korea, where someone is always asking which office covers their new flat.

Sources

1. Foreign resident registration, change of address and reissuance – Incheon Metropolitan City (English)
2. Immigration offices in Korea: jurisdictions and reservations – IBS Research Centers living guide
3. Immigration office locations and contact phones – Sungshin Women's University
4. Mobile resident cards for foreign residents – Korea.net
5. Extension of period of stay – University of Seoul
6. South Korea travel advice – Smartraveller
7. Embassy of Australia, Republic of Korea

Keep reading

• Moving to Seoul from Australia: the complete guide
• Phone numbers in Korea: why everything needs identity verification
• Banking in Korea: opening an account and sending money home
• Renewing your Australian passport overseas