Extending your stay or changing its purpose
An extension gives you more time under a status; a change of status concerns a different purpose. Explain your next activity clearly before choosing an application.
By Seemile · Sources checked
Describe what is changing
- Write down your current status, permitted stay end date and intended next activity.
- A language-course-to-degree transition is not the same question as extending the same course.
- Ask immigration whether the application can be made inside Korea for your circumstances.
Leave room for processing
- Check the application window and document list through HiKorea or 1345 before the deadline approaches.
- Ask your school or employer which supporting documents they must issue.
- A booking confirmation is not the same as an application receipt or an approval.
Wait for the right confirmation
- Do not start a newly restricted activity just because you submitted a form.
- Keep official receipts and record any further-document requests.
- Before travelling abroad during processing, ask how departure and re-entry would affect the application.
A little Korean goes a long way
- 체류기간 연장을 신청하고 싶어요. — I would like to apply to extend my stay.
- 체류자격 변경이 필요한가요? — Do I need to change my residence status?
Official information
- My Seoul+ · Change of residence status — Seoul Metropolitan Government
- HiKorea · Immigration services — Ministry of Justice
Keep going
Before you fly: check your entry purpose
A holiday, a degree course and a paid job need different checks. Start with what you will actually do in Korea, rather than the name of a visa you have heard about.
Getting your residence card organised
For many long-term arrivals, foreigner registration is the next administrative task after finding an address. Book early enough to leave room for missing documents.
Before your first immigration appointment
A reservation is only one part of the visit. The right office, the right service and a complete folder matter just as much.
Moved home? Update your registered address
Changing the address on a delivery app does not update your immigration record. Make official address reporting an early part of your moving checklist.