South Korea WHV: How to apply for your residence card (fka ARC)

Chapter 1 of 5

If you are staying longer than 90 days in South Korea, you must request a Foreigner Registration Card or a Residence Card (formerly known as the ARC). You must make an appointment to do so within 90 days of your arrival. This step is required by the government, but is also necessary for you to open a bank account, obtain a local phone number, and even start a job.

This guide will walk you through how to get your residence card.

International travel prior to obtaining your residence card

If you recently arrived in Korea, you should plan to wait until receiving your residence card before leaving and re-entering Korea. Here is the guidance that the Korean WHV info centre says:

Regarding multiple entry, please refer to your original visa grant notice that will indicate the type of your visa(single or multiple). With a multiple type visa, you might be able to re-enter the ROK. If you have a single type visa (single entry only), you need an ARC to re-enter the country.

You are advised to get the ARC as soon as possible upon arrival to Korea so that you can bring with when travelling. Regarding the processing time/documents, please contact the Immigration Contact center for further information : ☎ +82-2-6908-1345 or +82-2-6908-1346 (calling from abroad, foreign language service available.)

Generally, it is mandatory to apply for the ARC within 90 days of arrivals for those who wish to stay longer than 90 days in the Republic of Korea (including H-1 visa holders), thus we recommend you to have ARC as soon as you can and bring the card with you to leave and re-enter the country. ( Before leaving Korea, please double check with Immigration contact center ☎1345, as the re-entry policy could be subject to change due to pandemic or other reasons).

That said, some past working holiday makers have reported successfully leaving and re-entering Korea prior to obtaining their residence card. We do not know if this is standard or exceptional. If you really cannot wait, make sure to bring your visa grant notice with you. Before leaving the country, also ask an immigration agent (and maybe your city hall too) to confirm that you will indeed be permitted to re-enter.