The Alien Registration Card is a required document that you must apply for within 90 days of arriving in Korea. You will not be able to leave the country and re-enter on your student visa if you don’t have this card. Also, you’re supposed to give the card back once you leave Korea to go back home, but because they automated a lot of the immigration processes, we were allowed to keep them.
Appointment
These instructions are ONLY for if you plan to apply for your ARC on your own, and do not want to wait to apply through the school (normally takes longer).
HERE is the website to book your ARC appointment. This PowerPoint contains detailed instructions for making the appointment. I scheduled my appointment about a month before I arrived in Korea and there were lots of slots available. However, these do fill up quickly so I would make my appointment in advance. I scheduled my appointment for the same day I landed in Korea because I wanted to get the ARC ASAP, but it was a little stressful so I’d recommend doing it just sometime within your first week. For Yonsei students (and other universities in that area), you’ll want to make your appointment at the Seoul Southern Immigration Office (서울남부출입국외국인사무소).
Documents required for ARC:
Application form (available on website)
Passport
Copy of passport
Color headshot
If you apply for the ARC individually and go down to the office, there is a photobooth where you can take your headshot
Certificate of Enrollment (note: this is different from the Certificate of Admission that you used to apply for your student visa)
You will need to print this out through the Yonsei portal
Other universities may not provide it for you online and you have to go to an office to get it
Proof of residence in Korea
Some residences may not be able to give this out ASAP
My goshiwon provided me the documents on the first day
Fee (cash only)
I recommend having the card mailed to your place of residence. It costs an extra 4000 won but you might receive it earlier and not have to take an extra trip down to the immigration office
I had to go back to the immigration office to pick it up, only took 5 minutes but going down there again was just a hassle
HERE is a Print Cafe near Yonsei if you need to print out documents. They accept credit card.
Note: I was only able to submit my application on the first day because I got my housing and university documents very quickly. This may not be the case for all situations, which is why people won’t make an appointment unless they have everything already (I didn’t know whether I’d have it all or not, I just got lucky).
Alternatively, through the school
You may also apply for the ARC through your university. I recommend doing this if you are not in a rush to travel anywhere outside of Korea within the next two months. My friends who did it through Yonsei did not receive their card until about mid-April, halfway through the semester. I received mine in the third week of March.
Applying through the school means you don’t have to physically go to the immigration office, just have to submit all of your documents. This does mean you have to pay to take your headshot at a professional photo studio and obtain the file for the photo to submit.
Re-entering the country
Once you have your ARC, you will be able to travel outside the country and freely re-enter. Upon re-entry, you are also able to go through the domestic line, which can be a huge help if the line for foreigners is super long.
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