Guide · as of 2026-08-09T00:00:00.000Z
Foreigners staying in Korea more than 90 days must apply for alien registration within 90 days of entry (Immigration Act, Article 31). The card issuance fee is ₩35,000, set by Article 73 of the Enforcement Rule of the Immigration Act (Ministry of Justice Ordinance No. 1106, in force 2026-01-23). Missing the deadline is penalized under the Immigration Act’s penalty provisions, in practice as a penalty notice scaled by the length of the delay (unverified: exact penalty schedule).
The resulting card is the 외국인등록증 — printed in English as “Residence Card” since the 2021 redesign, but still universally called the ARC. It is the single document on which almost every other piece of settled life in Korea depends.
Where and how to apply
Applications go to the immigration office (출입국·외국인청/사무소) with jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of stay. Walk-ins are not accepted at most offices; a visit reservation (방문예약) made through HiKorea (hikorea.go.kr → e-Application → Visit Reservation) is required, and slots at the Seoul offices are commonly booked out weeks ahead (unverified: current wait times). Certain long-term statuses can file the registration itself electronically via HiKorea, but first-time registration generally requires an in-person visit for fingerprinting (required for those aged 17 or older).
Documents
The baseline set, per HiKorea:
- Application form (통합신청서, available at the office or on HiKorea)
- Passport
- One color photo, 3.5 cm x 4.5 cm, taken within 6 months
- Fee: ₩35,000 (card issuance; the same amount applies to reissuance)
- Proof of residence: lease contract (임대차계약서), dormitory certificate, or an accommodation provision confirmation (숙소제공확인서)
Status-specific extras apply: certificate of enrollment for D-2 students, certificate of employment and business registration copy for E-series workers, tuberculosis test results for nationals of designated countries (unverified: current country list). The card is not issued on the spot; it is produced centrally and either picked up or delivered by registered mail for an additional courier fee (unverified: courier fee amount), typically arriving in 3–6 weeks (unverified: current production time).
What the ARC unlocks
The ARC number (외국인등록번호) is the foreigner’s equivalent of the resident registration number, and Korean systems are built around it:
- Banking. Full-function bank accounts, debit cards, and online banking require an ARC; before it exists, accounts are limited or unavailable (see the bank account guide — a fresh account without documentation is a 한도계좌 with daily transfer caps of ₩1,000,000 for electronic banking/ATM and ₩3,000,000 at the counter, per Financial Services Commission rules effective 2024-05-02).
- Phone. Postpaid mobile contracts and, critically, name-based identity verification (본인인증) require an ARC-registered identity.
- Health insurance. NHIS enrollment — automatic for employees, and mandatory for stays of 6 months or more since 2019-07-16 — is keyed to the ARC number.
- Everything downstream. 확정일자 for a lease, HUG deposit guarantee enrollment, Coupang/Naver accounts with payment verification, government e-services (정부24, HomeTax), and the 15-day change-of-address report (체류지 변경신고) all assume an ARC exists.
Related fees on the same schedule
From the same fee table (출입국관리법 시행규칙, Articles 72–73): stay-period extension ₩60,000, change of status ₩100,000 (₩200,000 when changing to F-5), status grant ₩80,000, single re-entry permit ₩30,000, certificate of alien registration facts ₩2,000 per copy. ARC reissuance after loss or a change of details is ₩35,000, the same as first issuance.