Prepare Yourself to Live in Seoul
In order to effectively be ready to explore around South Korea, during your planning you will have to know if you need a Visa and what kind? Following you will find important information on when and how you can have your Visa.
Non-Visas
- For those who have United States, Australian, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom nationality do not need any kind of Visa if staying less than 90 days.
- For those who have South African nationality can obtain a touristic Visa upon arrival for 30 days.
- For those who have Canadian nationality do not need any kind of Visa if staying less than 180 days.
- For other nationals visit: https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/TRV/TV_ENG_2_1.jsp
Visa and ARC
For those who will be Exchange Students will receive a "Certificate of Admission" from the Korean university you will be studying at. With the certificate you will have to apply for a D-2-6 Visa in your country's Korean Embassy. We recommend to apply as soon as you receive the document, since applying for the Visa can take up to 2 months or more!
Also if you are planning to travel to other countries during your stay in South Korea, make sure to apply for a Multiple-Entry Visa!
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| Example of Multiple Entry Visa |
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| Example of Single Entry Visa |
Now what is an ARC? An ARC is your Alien Registration Card, which is the Korean equivalent to a social security and ID card. Your ARC is specially important for a cell phone plan, internet, banking and a credit card.
For your ARC you have to make an appointment at the Seoul Immigration Office, it is advised to schedule an appointment as soon as you arrive, since spots fill up fast! Also keep in mind that you need your ARC within 90 days since your arrival or else penalty fees will be applied.
How to Apply?
Now that you know if or not you need to apply for a Visa and which one to apply for, let's learn HOW in this following checklist:
Before in South Korea:
⬜ Find a Korean Embassy in your country.
⬜ Obtain needed documents such as:
◽ Passport
◽ Certificate of Admission
◽ Visa Application Form
◽ Bank Statement
⬜ Apply for Visa at least two months in advance!
At Arrival:
⬜ Once in South Korea schedule an appointment at the Seoul Immigration Office,
either online or in person.
⬜ At appointment bring:
◽ ARC Application Form
◽ ARC Application Form
◽ 1 Photocopy of School Registration License
◽ 1 Passport-Sized Photo
◽ 1 Sealed Medical Test Results [that includes TBPE (tuberculosis and drug test) as well as HIV]
◽ 1 Photocopy of Accommodation Contract
◽ 1 Signed Confirmation Letter of Accommodation Residency
◽ At least 30,000 KRW in Cash!
⬜ After your appointment you can either be notified to go back to the office to pick
your ARC card or pay approximately a 5,000 KRW fee to be delivered.
YAY! you are all set to enjoy South Korea!~
Fun Facts!
We know all of these requirements can be quite stressful and overwhelming for some of you! However is good to know that you can facilitate the process once you are here! For example taking your passport picture at the subway.
Passport Picture at the Subway
Yes, that is right! there are photo booths at certain subways where you can take Passport Pictures!
It is not for sure you will find these at every subway station, but some of the popular ones are 합정 (Hapjeong), 홍대입구 (Hongik University) and 서울역 (Seoul) stations have one.
All of these Photo Booths can be in English and should take less than 5 min!
Watch this Youtuber who went through the process for visual instructions: https://youtu.be/XNPGClgYu8Q