SOUTH KOREA - Delay in Issuance of Alien Registration Cards
Effective immediately, the government of South Korea has transferred responsibility for the issuance of Alien Registration Cards from the immigration office to the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO), which already mints Korean currency.
Impact on Foreign Nationals
The transferal of responsibility will likely result in a delay to the issuance of Alien Registration Cards, with processing times anticipated to temporarily increase from one to two weeks up to around three weeks.
Foreign nationals remaining in South Korea for longer than 90 days are required to obtain Alien Registration Cards and to carry them as ID at all times. In addition, Alien Registration Cards are a requirement for many aspects of day to day life, for example, for opening a bank account.
Reminder
It is a legal requirement in South Korea (Immigration Control Law and Relevant Rules, Enforcement Decree Article 1, Section 1, Clause 4) that any changes of status (e.g. change in residential address, change in name) must be reported to the authorities immediately, and a new Alien Registration Card issued.
Action Items
- Note that processing time for Alien Registration Card applications is temporarily extended, from one to two weeks up to around three weeks.
