Global Foreigner Communication Platform
Topic
Visas, residence, tax and your rights as a worker - the paperwork that decides whether you can stay.
Korean immigration is rule-bound, well documented and unforgiving about deadlines. That combination is good news: almost nothing here depends on discretion, so if you file the right form in the right window you get the right answer. The failures are nearly always timing failures.
Two free resources carry most of the load. The immigration contact centre on 1345 answers in a long list of languages at no cost, and the government immigration portal handles appointments and applications online. Visiting an office without an appointment is usually a wasted day.
Foreign nationals staying beyond a short visit must register and receive a residence card, still commonly called the ARC, within 90 days of arrival. It is your legal identity in Korea, and banks, hospitals, phone shops and employers all want the number.
Report changes of address within 14 days, and report changes of workplace or school as your visa requires. These are small obligations that cause real problems when they accumulate unreported. Residence and ARC covers the process and documents.
| Code | For |
|---|---|
| D-2 | Degree students at a university |
| D-4 | Language and other non-degree training |
| D-10 | Job seeking after study |
| E-2 | Foreign language instructors |
| E-7 | Specific skilled occupations, employer-sponsored |
| E-9 | Non-professional employment under the Employment Permit System |
| H-2 | Work and visit, for eligible ethnic Koreans from abroad |
| F-2 | Longer-term residence, including a points-based route |
| F-5 | Permanent residence |
| F-6 | Spouse of a Korean national |
The route most people care about runs upward: a study or work visa, then the points-based residence track, then permanent residence. Points come from income, Korean language, education, age and community integration, which is why TOPIK and KIIP matter well beyond the classroom.
Apply before your current permission expires, not on the day. The portal opens the window well in advance and slots at busy offices fill, particularly near semester boundaries.
Overstaying, even briefly, is treated as a serious matter - fines, entry bans and damage to later applications. It is also entirely avoidable, and the most common cause is assuming the office will fit you in next week. Visa extension covers the sequence and immigration the wider process.
One thing that catches people at renewal: unpaid national health insurance premiums can block an extension. Arrears are not a separate problem from your visa.
Residence for tax purposes generally turns on spending 183 days or more in Korea in a year. Employees go through a year-end settlement early in the following year, where deductions are reconciled against what was withheld, and most people receive something back.
Foreign employees can elect a flat rate on employment income instead of the progressive scale, for a limited period running from when they first work in Korea. Which is better depends entirely on your income and deductions, so run both. Tax covers the election and the settlement.
These apply regardless of which visa you hold, and in important respects regardless of whether your status is in order.
Unpaid and late wages are the most common complaint from migrant workers in Korea. The labour ministry takes written complaints, there is a counselling line, and the process works - but it works faster with records, so keep your contract, your payslips and your own note of hours. Worker rights covers how to file.
Almost every significant application here - marriage, a degree-based visa, a family visa, naturalisation - needs documents issued in your home country, and Korean offices will not take them as they are.
Two things are usually required. Authentication, through an apostille where your country is party to the relevant convention or through consular legalisation where it is not, and translation into Korean, often by a recognised translator rather than by you.
This chain starts in the country that issued the document, not in Korea, and it is the slowest part of every application built on it. Begin it months ahead and order spare certified copies while you are at it, because you will be asked for the same documents again.
Nepal-Korea services covers translation and document handling between the two countries.
Free or subsidised legal advice for foreign residents exists through government-funded centres, bar association schemes and migrant support organisations, and several operate in languages other than Korean. Use these before paying privately. Legal consultation covers who offers what, and dispute information covers the disputes that actually recur.
Jobs and education covers what each visa lets you do, and essential living covers the setup the residence card unlocks.
Browse
Korean visa categories from D-2 and D-4 to E-7, E-9, F-2, F-5 and F-6, with eligibility, points and application routes.
Extending your stay through HiKorea - booking, required documents, fees, timing and the mistakes that cause rejection.
Getting and renewing your Alien Registration Card, reporting an address change and what to do if you lose it.
Immigration offices, reservation systems, re-entry permits, overstay consequences and voluntary departure.
Year-end settlement, resident versus non-resident status, the flat-rate option for foreign workers and refunds.
Wage payment rules, severance pay, overtime and the national pension lump-sum refund when you leave Korea.
Contracts, working hours, workplace injury cover, harassment reporting and the Labour Standards Act in plain language.
Free and low-cost legal help for foreigners - support centres, interpreter services and when to hire a lawyer.
Unpaid wages, deposit disputes, workplace conflict and unfair dismissal - who to complain to and what evidence to keep.
Reading
Victor Rodvang
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