immigration office fun

Visiting the Seoul Immigration Office

Alien Registration

Just in case someone stumbles across this thing via a google search for Immigration help, I’ll post my experience and suggestions.  Skip it if you don’t see yourself needing an Alien Registration Card anytime in the near future.

Getting to the Seoul Immigration Office is pretty simple.  First of all, if you live outside of Seoul, see if you can go to a branch office instead and save yourself some time.  If it must be the Seoul office, just get yourself to Omokgyo (Line 5.)  Wander around the subway station until you find Exit 7, and head out that way.  From there, just walk forward on your sidewalk for about twenty minutes.  The road will curve to the right at one point – this is fine, just go with it.  No need to cross any roads until the very end, at which point you’ll see Seoul Immigration Office written in big (blue?) letters on a large building off to the left.

Once you get to the building, go in the main entrance and talk to the Information people if you like.  They were out to lunch when I came (12:00pm – 1:00pm according to the sign), so I didn’t get to chat with them.  If you go up to Floor 3 – marked Visas, I think, you can check out the place where Visa action happens.  I bought a 10,000 won Revenue Stamp from the nice lady at the counter to the far left.  It also appears that you can have her make copies, if you are in need of copies.  There is a picture machine in the back of the room (in case you came without your photos), and a nice little coffee machine right beside it.  After getting my stamp, I went back to the main floor.  (I later heard people talking about getting revenue stamps on the first basement floor, but I didn’t check that out myself.)

Once I was back on the main floor, I went into the room with “Residence” listed above it – it’s to the right just after you enter the building.  The little number dispensing machine was past the glass topped counters, just to the left.  Push the button according to what you need – in my case, it was 2 for Alien Registration.

They show the numbers as they are called above the desks and above the TV.  I hear you can get a reservation online and save yourself some time, but I don’t think I saw many people that had done that.  I went on a Friday, mid-morning, and waited about 3 hours to be seen.  Since I asked to have my passport and card mailed to me instead of having to come back to pick them up, the lady I talked to gave me an address form and instructed me to go buy a label on the second floor.  When you walk onto that second floor, it looks pretty confusing – I think that by wandering off towards the right you should be able to catch sight of the E Post banner and desk.  They’ll take your filled out form, 4,000 won, and then give your form back in two parts with a sticker on it.  You give the stapled part back to the person you talked to in the Residence room.

That’s it, then.  The process takes about ten days.  I could have avoided the long wait by coming earlier.  The wandering volunteer man said to me, “You come at 8:50, ten minutes. Now, very long.  Monday and Friday are the busiest days.  Next time, you come early, or on a different day.”  So, there’s some advice for you from the immigration volunteer guy.