Study in Korea September 2026 checklist

Study in Korea September 2026 checklist

by

For an international student arriving in Korea for a new term, the checklist comes down to four filings and one budget line: the arrival card before you fly, alien registration within 90 days of entry, a report whenever your address changes, health insurance, and a plan for the cost of each. Your university’s international office usually handles part of this, so the first task is to ask exactly which steps they do for you.

Before you board: arrival card and entry papers

Orange Travel’s entry-requirements summary says that a free electronic arrival card has replaced the paper form, to be submitted online within three days before arrival with your accommodation address and passport details. It is a secondary source, so confirm the current requirement and the official site with the Korean immigration authorities. Students on a long-term visa should also carry the visa, the admission letter and proof of where they will stay on the first night.

Because you need an address for the arrival card, arrange at least temporary accommodation before you travel. If you plan to move into a private rental later, see the notes on address reporting below.

Alien registration within 90 days

Jung-gu Office in Seoul states that foreigners staying 91 days or longer must apply for alien registration within 90 days of entry. It lists the application form, passport, a colour photo of 3.5 cm by 4.5 cm, documents matching the visa type and payment, and says appointments are reserved on the HiKorea website. Mason Korea, a university campus, gives the same 90-day deadline for its students and says the university submits applications to the immigration office, with fingerprints registered there and a card collected from the school office when it is ready.

Mason Korea’s page also lists a rental contract or residency certificate for students living off campus and a TB test result for citizens of specified countries. The fee is stated differently: Jung-gu Office gives 30,000 won, while Mason Korea gives 35,000 won (cash only). Ask your school or immigration office which amount applies. Both pages mention long processing, so apply early and carry your passport until the card arrives.

Report address changes

Mason Korea’s page says address changes must be reported within 15 days, and SeoulStart’s first-month guide cites the Immigration Act for the same 15-day rule for registered foreigners after moving. It also says this registration matters for tenants because, for foreigners, registration and place-of-stay change reports stand in for the resident registration used by Koreans when establishing deposit protection. If you move from a dormitory to a private rental, check the date you move and file within the window.

Health insurance

The rules for national health insurance changed in recent years, and the sources describe them differently, so confirm with your school. Korea.net reports that foreign residents must live in Korea for at least six months before becoming eligible for National Health Insurance, and lists visa categories, including D-2 and D-4-3, under which dependents such as minors and foreign spouses of Koreans can qualify immediately. It does not spell out how this applies to a student on their own, so ask the insurance service or your school. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies’ exchange-student page, on the other hand, says its international students are automatically registered once they apply for a residence card, that this takes one to two months, and that the monthly fee averages 70,000 to 80,000 won, with invoices around the 10th and payment due by the 25th.

Since these accounts differ, do two things: ask your international office whether you will be enrolled automatically, and buy private travel or student insurance to cover the gap before enrolment starts, as the HUFS page itself suggests for the first one to two months.

A first-weeks checklist

  1. Submit the electronic arrival card before you fly, if it applies to you.
  2. Meet your international student office within your first week and ask which filings they do for you.
  3. Gather registration documents: passport, photo, visa-related papers, and a residence certificate or rental contract if you live off campus.
  4. Reserve or confirm your alien registration appointment, within 90 days of entry.
  5. Report any address change within 15 days.
  6. Ask when your health insurance starts and what it costs, and cover the gap privately.
  7. Keep copies of every receipt and form.

Work, extensions and re-entry

Mason Korea’s page says students must obtain permission before any off-campus employment, should apply for an extension at least two months before the card expires, and need a re-entry permit if leaving Korea for over a year. These rules vary by visa and school policy, so ask the office before you accept a job or book a long trip home.

Common mistakes and what to verify

  • Waiting until the end of the 90 days to book a registration appointment.
  • Assuming the university will take care of everything without confirming which steps are yours.
  • Missing the 15-day address report after a move.
  • Assuming insurance starts on arrival and having no cover for the first weeks.
  • Treating a fee quoted on one page as the fee for your office.
  • Starting part-time work without permission.

    • Rules change: confirm with the official body

    This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Deadlines, fees and insurance rules are revised, and universities apply their own procedures. Confirm current requirements with your university’s international office, HiKorea and the immigration office for registration, and the National Health Insurance Service for insurance.

    Sources