The first week runs on one dependency: your address
Everything in your first week splits into two groups: what works on day one without an Alien Registration Card, and what only becomes possible once your registration is done. The catch is that the registration application itself requires proof of residence — a dormitory admission confirmation, a lease contract, or similar. Without a fixed address you cannot even file. So the order is address → alien registration → everything else.
Three things that finish at the airport
- Quarantine — Not every arriving passenger has to file a Q-CODE. Under the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's guidance, it applies to people arriving after visiting a quarantine management area for cholera, polio, plague, Middle East respiratory syndrome, or animal influenza infection in humans; they submit either a Q-CODE or a paper health status questionnaire. For yellow fever and dengue areas you submit one only if you have suspected symptoms such as fever. Q-CODE data can be entered from 7 days before arrival, and the QR code must be issued before you board the aircraft.
- Immigration — Foreign nationals aged 17 and over must provide biometric information and complete identity verification (Immigration Act, Article 12-2). You place both index fingers on the scanner and have your face captured; if you cannot provide index fingerprints, you provide them starting from the thumbs. Refusing can result in denial of entry.
- Customs — Since 1 May 2023, if you have nothing to declare you no longer fill in a customs declaration form; you walk through the "Nothing to Declare" channel. You still fill in the form if you carry goods above the USD 800 duty-free allowance, more than USD 10,000 in foreign currency, or items subject to quarantine such as jerky, ham, or fruit.
Alien registration — a 90-day deadline, and an in-person appointment
If you intend to stay more than 90 days from your date of entry, you must register as a foreign resident at the immigration office with jurisdiction over your place of residence within 90 days of your date of entry (Immigration Act, Article 31(1)). The fee is KRW 35,000, raised from KRW 30,000 on 1 January 2025. Notices still quoting KRW 30,000 are in circulation, so check the amount before you go.
According to the Government24 service guide, alien registration cannot be filed online — you have to appear in person. Since the visit reservation system took full effect on 1 April 2021, walking in without an appointment means your application will not be accepted. Book through HiKorea, no membership required, at least one day before your intended visit. The reverse also holds: no appointment is needed when you go back to collect the card. Appointments fill up fast at the start of a semester, so book one as soon as you arrive. Some university international offices file first-year students' registrations as a group — ask yours first.
The physical card is not handed over on the day you apply. While you wait, a Certificate of Alien Registration proves that you are registered. On Government24 the processing time is same-day (3 hours within business hours) and the fee is KRW 2,000. The mobile Alien Registration Card, issued since 10 January 2025, has the same legal effect as the physical card; any registered foreign resident aged 14 or over with a smartphone in their own name can get one.
Mobile phone — the conditions differ by carrier
A mobile service contract requires identity verification. The carrier verifies you through the fraudulent subscription prevention system (Telecommunications Business Act, Article 32-4(2)) and may require you to present identification (same article, paragraph 3). For a foreign national, that identification is a passport or an Alien Registration Card. Prepaid plans are subject to the same verification.
Beyond that, the conditions vary by carrier and by plan. Some outlets sell prepaid SIMs on a passport alone, while many postpaid contracts require both an Alien Registration Card and a Korean automatic payment method. Some check how much of your stay is left. Either way, confirm with the carrier's own official guidance before signing up. If you want a postpaid plan, the bank account comes first.
Bank account — a passport opens one, but with limits attached
Article 4-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Real Name Financial Transactions and Confidentiality recognises both the Alien Registration Card and the passport as real-name identification for foreign nationals. On the letter of the law, a passport is enough to open an account.
The catch is the limit. If you cannot produce documents showing the purpose of the financial transaction, the account opens as a limited-transaction account, a category introduced in 2016. The ceilings were raised on 2 May 2024: over the counter from KRW 1 million to KRW 3 million, ATM withdrawals from KRW 300,000 to KRW 1 million, and electronic transfers from KRW 300,000 to KRW 1 million. Submitting something that shows your purpose — an enrolment certificate or a lease contract — converts it to a regular account.
The documents banks ask for differ. In one case we checked, the Shinhan Bank student account procedure circulated by university international offices asks for the Alien Registration Card, an enrolment certificate, the passport, and an ID photo together. Since 21 March 2025 the mobile Alien Registration Card can also be used to open an account and handle other banking.
A transit card does not wait for your registration card
Prepaid transit cards such as T-money are bought and topped up with cash at convenience stores and subway stations. No ID, no bank account — one of the very few things that works on your arrival day.
In Seoul there is also the Climate Card. A 30-day pass costs KRW 62,000, or KRW 65,000 including the Ttareungi bike share, and KRW 55,000 for young people aged 19 to 39. The physical card costs KRW 3,000 from ticket machines in Seoul Subway Line 1-8 stations or from convenience stores. The mobile version runs only on Android 12 or later, so iOS users have to buy the physical card. The Shinbundang Line, the GTX, and wide-area buses are outside its coverage.
Health insurance attaches on your registration date
A study visa (D-2) is enrolled in National Health Insurance as a regional subscriber from the date of alien registration. It is not something you apply for; it attaches automatically along with the registration. General training (D-4) is enrolled after 6 months from the date of entry. Delay your registration and you delay your insurance coverage by the same amount.
University orientation covers the academic calendar, course registration, and your student ID. If your school issues a student ID that doubles as a bank debit card, the account has to exist first — so schedule orientation and the bank visit together.
Move house, and the clock is 15 days
If the address you registered changes, you must report it within 15 days of moving in (Immigration Act, Article 36(1)). Many students spend the first week in a goshiwon or on a friend's floor and find a room later; that move is exactly when the 15 days start.
Fees, documents, and deadlines change with amendments to the law and with agency policy. This article reflects the position as of September 2026. Always confirm the requirements that apply to you through official channels: HiKorea, the Immigration Contact Center (1345), and your university's international office.
Sources
- 질병관리청 Q-CODE 「이용 안내」
- 질병관리청 Q-CODE 공지사항 (2024. 1. 8. 게시)
- 법제처 찾기쉬운 생활법령정보 「외국인유학생 > 입국 > 입국허가」
- 법제처 찾기쉬운 생활법령정보 「외국인유학생 > 입국 > 외국인등록 및 변경신고」
- 법제처 찾기쉬운 생활법령정보 「휴대전화 이용자 > 가입방법 및 주의사항」
- 대한민국 정책브리핑 「5월부터 신고 물품 없으면 '휴대품 신고서' 안써도 된다」
- 정부24 「외국인등록」
- 정부24 「외국인등록 사실증명」
- 하이코리아 「외국인등록」
- 국가법령정보센터 「금융실명거래 및 비밀보장에 관한 법률 시행령」
- 금융위원회 보도자료 「24. 5. 2.(목)부터 한도제한계좌의 이체·ATM 거래한도 상향」
- 대한민국 정책브리핑 「'모바일 외국인등록증'도 은행계좌 개설 등 금융거래 때 인정」 (금융위원회, 2025. 3. 20.)
- 서울특별시 「기후동행카드 소개」 (수정일 2026-07-22)
- 건국대학교 국제처 「유학생 계좌개설 안내」 (신한은행 배포본)
- 국가법령정보센터 「출입국관리법」
- 국가법령정보센터 「전기통신사업법」
Information on this page is current as of September 2026.