The alien registration system is similar to the resident registration system for citizens. Foreigners who wish to stay in Korea for a long period of 91 days or more are required to report their name and nationality, home country address and place of stay, Residence Status and Period of Residence, place of work, etc. This is to efficiently manage foreigners and provide convenience during their stay in Korea. Therefore, foreigners who wish to stay in Korea for a long period of more than 91 days for the purpose of employment, marriage, or study must register as aliens at the local immigration office that has jurisdiction over their address (place of stay) within 90 days of entering the country. However, those who are granted permission to change their Residence Status in Korea or those who are granted Residence Status due to reasons such as birth, loss of nationality, or departure from the Republic of Korea can register as aliens when they receive permission to change their Residence Status or are granted Residence Status. For example, if you enter Korea with a short-term visit (C-3) visa for less than 90 days for the purpose of visiting relatives, you cannot register as an alien, but you can enter the country with a short-term visa and stay long-term (D-8) If you are applying for a change in your status of residence, etc., you can also apply for alien registration when applying for a change in your status of residence.

An alien registration card, like a resident registration card, proves the identity of a foreigner while staying in Korea. It provides many conveniences, such as Internet subscription, mobile phone opening, bank account opening, and four major insurance subscriptions, so it is recommended to apply as soon as possible. It is not possible to obtain an alien registration card immediately upon application, but it takes 2-3 weeks at the earliest and 3-4 weeks at the latest, depending on the circumstances of the regional immigration office, so it is better to apply as soon as possible. In order to apply for an alien registration card, you must go to the Hi Korea website and login after registering as a member or make a visit reservation in advance after being certified as a non-member.

< Things to Note When Applying for the Alien Registration >

√ Foreigners who wish to stay in Korea for more than 91 days must register as aliens at the local immigration office that has jurisdiction over their address (place of stay) within 90 days of entering the country.
√ To apply for the alien registration, you must visit the Hi Korea website and make a reservation. To apply for a visit reservation, you can go to the Hi Korea website, register as a member, log in, or make a reservation after being certified as a non-member.
√ Click the Visit Reservation Request (Non-member) button to move to the non-member verification process screen. Registered foreigners enter the registration number and date of issuance, and short-term foreigners enter passport number, nationality, and date of birth. After confirming the contents of the visit reservation application, print the reservation receipt, and then visit the local immigration office having jurisdiction over the place of stay to apply for alien registration according to the reservation date and time. Immigration agencies must make a reservation with the personal information of the foreigner who requested the agency when making a visit reservation.
√ Please note that cancellation of reservations on the day of visit, 5 minute passed reservation time, and incorrectly designated offices and counters will all be invalidated.
√ Registered foreigners must provide their fingerprints and face information, so at least once they must visit the local immigration office that has jurisdiction over their place of. In other words, only the fingerprint of the index finger needs to be registered during immigration inspection at the airport, but when applying for an alien registration card at the office of residence, all 10 fingerprints of the fingers must be registered.
√ If you apply for the courier service at the time of fingerprint registration at the time of your alien registration application, you do not need to visit the local immigration office again to retrieve your alien registration card. If you lose your alien registration card, you can apply for reissuance at the local immigration office within 14 days of the loss.
√ When applying for alien registration, the required documents are an application form, passport, one photo, documents proving the place of stay, and a fee of 30,000 won. Documents proving the place of stay include a rental contract, confirmation of provision of accommodation, notice of expiry notice of period of sojourn, utility bill payment receipt, or dormitory fee receipt. However, depending on the foreigner's Residence Status and nationality, additional documents such as a copy of business registration certificate, tuberculosis certificate, and early adaptation program completion certificate may be requested, so it is necessary to check in advance.


The alien registration number is given as a 13-digit number, including date of birth, gender, registration institution, and serial number. The alien registration number is one number per person, and the number that has already been used must not be used again. However, if a person who has been given an alien registration number in the past leaves the country completely and re-enters the country after his or her alien registration is canceled, the alien registration number can be granted.
The alien registration number plays a similar role to the resident registration number and serves as an identification factor that can distinguish the foreigner from nationals or other foreigners in various procedures and transactions prescribed by the law. Alien registration numbers are protected as personal information similarly to resident registration numbers because they are used not only in public law but also in transactions between private individuals. (Immigration Law Research Society, 『Immigration Control Act Made Easy』, Korea Immigration Foundation, 2018, pp. 213-214.)

For reference, some company representatives who hired industrial trainees from Southeast Asian countries such as Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in 2000 on industrial training (D-3) visas kept their passports or alien registration cards to prevent industrial trainees from escaping. Human rights violations were serious, such as being provided as a means of securing contracts or debt performance or being forced to provide them. In addition, human rights violations were also serious among the representatives of some companies that hired dancers and musicians from Russia or the Philippines who entered on an E-6 visa and kept their passports or alien registration cards to prevent them from escaping. In response, the Ministry of Justice amended the Immigration Control Act in 2002 and added a new provision prohibiting the provision of means to secure debt payment, such as an alien registration card.
In order to prohibit the act of illegally putting a foreigner under one's control, this provision prohibits the act of receiving or forcing the provision of a foreigner's passport or alien registration card as a means of securing the performance of a contract or debt.
On the other hand, with the development of information and communication technology and the activation of e-commerce through the Internet, it reflects the change in the social environment in which alien registration numbers are used as a means of personal authentication, and it is illegal to steal someone else's alien registration number and use it for economic gain. In order to prevent this, the act of generating a false alien registration number and using it for one's own or another person's property or property gain is prohibited. A person who violates this provision shall be punished by imprisonment for no more than three years or by a fine of no more than 20 million won. Ministry of Justice Immigration Foreigner Policy Headquarters, [Commentary on the Immigration Control Act] 2011, pp. 301-302