Visa Renewal
This one is actually quite simple.
To complete this activity, you will need:
- 1 copy of your new contract (in English and Korean)
- your alien registration card (ARC)
- 30,000 won
- Korean Immigration Integrated Application Form (available at Immigration).
First, get yourself to the Immigration office (across the street from Sun Hospital in Mokdong). They open at 9am and getting there early is certainly in your best interest. If you arrive early, the forms are outside the door. At the time of writing, you want form #4 for renewal of visa [Immigration calls it an "extension of sojourn"]. There is a sample of how to fill it out located under the glass on the desk outside the door.
After completing the form, grab a number from the dispenser inside the door. This should help you avoid a long wait, but you won’t need to worry if you’re early.
Next, opposite the door for the immigration office is a little window where you can buy stamps. Ask the teller for 30,000won worth of stamps and glue them to your paper as indicated (near the bottom).
Take your paper with stamps, contract and ARC to the officer when your number is called. He/She may ask you a couple questions but it’s usually not a big deal.
Voila! I was in an out in under 20 minutes (I arrived at 8:50 on a Monday morning).
Good Luck.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey guys…is this the same process as a when you want to TRANSFER VISAS? I will be ending a contract at the end of the month and a few days ago my new job took me immigration to attempt a tranfer. Immigration told me no (but I think it was due to the fact that the visas would actually overlap at that point) and told the guy that I would have to do a visa run (in order to cancel my visa right now). He applied for a visa number and is trying to tell me that I have to do a visa run. I thought that I could just take that number back to immigration on the day that my visa expires and do like a “change over”. I don’t speak engouh Korean to ask immigration and it seems this guy is just taking the visa run as the final answer without asking more questions. Does anyone know (or can you help me find) the answer?
You may find what you’re looking for on the Immigration site where it talks about changing your workplace. I filed a change of workplace and visa renewal on the same integrated form linked to in the above article.
It does say you can’t go to a job where you make more money or work longer hours, but I don’t know how strict that is, and you have to be maintaining the same class of visa (ie: E-2 to E-2)
Hi Kim,
Thank you for posting this information. It was very helpful for me. But, I just want to make sure that I did the right thing with renewing my visa. About two weeks ago, I went to the immigration office with my documents, ARC, money, and passport to renew my E-1 visa. The immigration officer who processed my papers only stamped my documents, stamped a new multiple entry permit in my passport (that is good until next August 2010), and made a notation on the back of my ARC. Is that it? Is that all the immigration officer should have done? (I thought they would print out a new visa for me, but I guess not).
I know it’s a silly question, but the only reason why I am asking this is next month I will leave Korea for about one week for vacation. I just don’t want any hassles with immigration at the airport with me trying to explain to the immigration officials that I did renew my visa at the local immigration office (when all they see is the old expired visa stamped in my passport).
Thanks and great website by the way! Very helpful!
Suzanne
Hi Suzanne-
The last couple years I’ve gone to immigration I’ve not had a new “visa” stamped in my book, and I’ve not had any trouble at the airport. I did have the new re-entry permit stamped in my passport as well. This seems to be part of Immigration’s streamlining entry for permanent residents and I haven’t heard of any snags.
Good luck!
Kim