Sadly, I don't have any pictures to add to this post. I went down to the Seoul Immigration Office to finally apply for my alien registration card today, and wanted to just jot down my experience and any helpful tips!
I believe any foreigner in Korea must apply for alien registration if they're going to be in the country for over 90 days. It's quite a long process, but you use most of the time waiting for your turn to come up.
Things you'll need:
- Valid passport
- Copy of both passport and visa
- Certificate of Enrollment
- Alien Registration Application
- One 3.5cm x 4.5cm photo
- Money for fees
A couple of my friends still needed to apply for their alien registration cards, so we planned to go together after their classes. One of my friends had already went and already knew the process, so that definitely helped. I'd say the immigration office is about 20-30 minutes away by subway from Ewha. You stay on the first floor to apply for the alien registration card, but need to go to the other floors to pay for things and such. By the time we got there, their lunch hour was still in session, and we just pulled our numbers. I believe we selected "Student" for the service we were wanting.
I went to take my pictures and get copies of my passport and visa while we waited, and there's a photobooth and someone there to make copies on the third floor of the immigration office. It's in the same room, and there wasn't a line when I went but I heard there can be, but the wait is pretty quick. It costs 6,000 won for a sheet of six 3.5cm x 4.5cm photos (That's the only option even if you only need one for the application). And I think the copy of one sheet of your passport and visa was about 100 won only.
After I got the pictures and copies, we decided to go to the second floor to pay for our fees. You'll need your passport for this process. You pay for the 20,000 won application fee through an ATM at the back of the room near the end of the seating area. When I was there, someone was helping assist pay for the fees at the ATM. I'm not sure if there is a way to translate the ATM in English, but since he just asked for my passport and money, he zoomed through it in Korean and just gave me my receipt. That was easy!
If you want to have your card mailed to you, you must go to another desk at the back of the seating area. Right around the ATMs on the second floor still. Anyways, she asked us what school we went to and what dorm building and room number we lived in. You then just write out your name and phone number on what I believe is the mailing slip. To have it mailed to your address, it costs 4,000 won. If it's not worth it to you to go back out to the immigration office, just get it mailed to you.
After all of that, we were finally ready to just wait and turn in our application and documents on the first floor. When we got down, there was about 15 people ahead of me, and that wait is much longer than what it seems. So get comfortable and maybe bring something to do. I was just sitting there... But someone no longer needed her ticket number and gave me two tickets like 9 spots ahead! Maybe after 30-45 minutes, my number was finally called and I originally just gave him my passport, application, copies, and certificate of enrollment. He'll also need the mailing slip and your receipt from the ATM. He actually just grabbed my folder and took whatever else he needed. If you have everything, you're good. I was sitting at the desk for maybe 5-10 minutes?
He then directed me to the desk for fingerprinting. I'm not really too sure what it's for, but once you're done with the fingerprinting, you're done! I believe the same desk for fingerprinting, is the same desk for picking up your alien registration card if you choose to pick it up yourself. So make sure to choose the right service when you come back to the immigration office.
We were only out for maybe a few hours, but we were seriously exhausted after all of that. At least it's done finally!
No comments:
Post a Comment