Please note that this is a list of South Korean immigration offices in cities that have an Institute for Basic Science research center. If you want to see the fuller list of all immigration offices, please see the full list of immigration offices.

The information written in Korean and that written in English on the Hi Korea website frequently does not match. Discrepancies exist in jurisdictions, phone numbers, and even physical addresses. When this is the case, it is difficult to know what information is correct and what is incorrect. As our information is provided by Immigration, and their information is highly inconsistent, we are afraid we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the immigration office information. He highly recommend you call the office or the general Immigration number at 1345 before you plan to depart.

Immigration Offices

You will need to visit an immigration office (출입국관리사무소, 出入國管理事務所, churipguk gwalli samuso) to register for an Residence Card, file an extension for your visa, change your visa type, get Immigration-related paperwork, or register your new address within two weeks of moving. However, you cannot register your new address until your move is completed. Their operation hours of 9 AM to 6 PM are standardized at all locations. Locations, operation hours, and the answers to tons of other questions are available by calling 1345 within Korea or 82 1345 outside of Korea. Usually in the lobby of Immigration offices is a volunteer to direct people where to go and help with filling out paperwork. If you have any questions, please don’t be shy in asking for help.

International residents would typically go in person, preferably right when they open at 9 AM or a little prior, grab a ticket and wait. Arriving at 10 or 11 AM would ensure a wait for at least one hour if not several. During peak seasons, which coincided with the start of school semesters as a large number of teachers and professors freshly arrived in Korea, they would turn off the ticket machine when they would max out on customers that they could assist for that day.

As of 1 February 2016, a number of immigration offices require applicants to make a reservation online before coming to the office so they can cut down on people waiting unnecessarily. Reservations can be made online. In following years, Immigration has been slowly expanding which locations require a reservation. As of 1 April 2021, all locations require a reservation. For more information on this change, please see the announcement from the Ministry of Justice (page 1, page 2, page 3).

The number of Chinese visitors to Korea has become so large that some immigration offices have a dedicated floor or a separate building. If you have a Chinese passport, make sure you are in the correct area. It will not only save you time by going to the correct area, but the Chinese language ability of staff will be better in the Chinese area.

Sometimes people fail to have enough paperwork and need to collect more before returning. Immigration officers frequently tell the English names of needed documents. While this is a nice thing for you to understand what they need, it can create a problem as the English names are frequently not standardized. In a worst case scenario, this can result in trying to track down the necessary document in a city government office, asking for it by its English name given to you by Immigration, and the staff not understand which document you really need. The staff might then try putting the English into a translator, get an incorrect translation, and give you the wrong document. To avoid confusion and save yourself time and grief, if you need more documents make sure you get the names of these documents written down in Korean. It doesn’t matter if you cannot read Korean. As long as you have the list written in Korean you’ll be fine as your admin Center staff will more clearly understand and can help you. If needed, you might need to visit a local government office and worst case you can simply point to the name of the document.

Locations

Immigration offices are spread throughout the country. Make sure you go to the office with jurisdiction in your area, as they won’t serve you if you go to a different branch. Location is determined by where you live, not where you work. You'll notice that in Seoul there are two locations with the same street address but serve two different jurisdictions. These are both in the same building but on different floors.

This list was specifically created for the cities that researchers of the Institute for Basic Science reside in. While this list covers a significant amount of the country, some locations are not mentioned, for example Incheon and Jeju. If you do not see the administrative area in which you live, you will need to visit the Hi Korea website, click on the icon named Office Directory at the middle of the page, and find your correct location. Make sure you access the Hi Korea website using Internet Explorer as some information does not display unless you use that browser.

Seoul and Suwon

Daejeon

Pohang and Daegu

Ulsan

Busan

Gwangju