Your first month in Korea

Most everyday infrastructure in Korea asks you to prove who you are, and for a foreign national that proof is the residence card. If registration is late, your bank account and phone are late with it.

1. 1

   Apply for foreign resident registration. Book a visit through HiKorea and go to the immigration office with jurisdiction over you. Many universities handle this as a group, so ask the international office first.

2. 2

   Get a temporary phone number. Before the card arrives you can use a prepaid plan or SIM. Without a Korean number in your own name, most of what follows is blocked.

3. 3

   Collect your residence card. It can take several weeks from application to issue.

4. 4

   Open a bank account. The basics are your passport, your residence card and a Korean phone number in your own name.

5. 5

   Start paying your health insurance. Enrolment is automatic; payment is on you.

6. 6

   Report your place of residence once it is settled, and report a change every time you move, within the set period.

International students staying six months or more are enrolled automatically as regional subscribers to National Health Insurance. You do not apply for it and you cannot opt out of it. In return, the scheme covers a substantial share of your medical costs.

• D-2 holders, and D-4 holders attending primary or secondary school, are enrolled on the date of entry. For a first entry, the date of foreign resident registration applies.
• D-4 holders on general training courses are enrolled six months after the date of entry.
• For 2026 the student premium is 79,320 won a month. Students receive a 50 per cent reduction on the standard regional premium.
• Payment is due by the 25th of each month, and can be made by direct debit, virtual account, at a bank, at an ATM or at a convenience store.
• Leaving premiums unpaid for a long period adds late charges and can count against you when you apply to extend your stay.
• The premium changes every year. The figure above is for 2026 — check your university notice or the NHIS for the current year.

A dormitory means a smaller deposit and much less contractual risk, but places are limited. If you rent outside, understand the Korean structure first. Wolse means a deposit plus monthly rent; jeonse means a large lump sum held by the landlord with no monthly rent.

• Before signing, obtain the property register and check that the landlord is the person named in the contract and what debts are secured against the property.
• Never send money for a place you have not seen. Photographs may not match, and some listings are for rooms that do not exist.
• "Pay today or it goes to someone else" is a standard pressure tactic. If you are being rushed, stop.
• Do not hand over your original passport as a condition of a contract. A copy is sometimes needed; there is no reason for anyone to hold the original.
• Moving-in notification and a fixed date stamp are what protect your deposit. Do not put them off after you move in.
• Report a change of residence to immigration when you move. There is a deadline — confirm it on HiKorea or with your university.

• Opening an account usually needs your passport, your residence card and a Korean phone number in your own name. Some banks also ask for an enrolment certificate or a lease.
• Try a branch on or near campus first. Branches used to international students move faster.
• A first account is often a limited account with caps on transfers and withdrawals. This is an anti-fraud measure, not a mistake. Submitting documents such as an enrolment certificate or a lease will often raise or lift the cap.
• To open an account through an internet bank app you need both the residence card and a Korean number in your own name.
• Never hand your bankbook, debit card, PIN or certificate to anyone else. If you were paid for it, the risk of prosecution rises sharply.