Extension of Sojourn Period

Who needs this

• ✓Any registered foreign resident who wants to keep living in Korea beyond the expiry date printed on their Alien Registration Card / stay permission, without changing their status.
• ✓For students: D-2 and D-4 holders who are continuing their studies at the same school.
• ✓You MUST apply BEFORE your current period of stay expires.
• ✓For students, immigration also reviews your recent academic record — attendance rate and grade average (GPA) of the most recent semester(s) — so staying enrolled and attending class is part of being eligible.

Documents you'll need

• Common documents (all applicants): integrated application form (통합신청서, 별지 제34호 서식)
• passport
• Alien Registration Card (외국인등록증)
• proof of your residence/address in Korea (체류지 입증서류, e.g. lease/dormitory certificate)
• fee. For D-2/D-4 students, typically also: certificate of enrollment (재학증명서) or standardized admission/enrollment document
• academic transcript (성적증명서) and/or attendance record (출석증명서)
• proof of financial ability to cover tuition and living costs (재정입증 서류, e.g. bank balance certificate). Exact documents vary by status and school — confirm the current list in HiKorea’s status-by-status guidance manual (체류자격별 안내매뉴얼) before applying.

How to apply

• HiKorea online (e-application, 전자민원) or in-person at the competent immigration office (출입국·외국인관서) with advance reservation (방문예약).
• Must be applied for before the current period of stay expires (generally accepted from up to 4 months before expiry).
• WHERE/HOW: Apply either

1. online through HiKorea (하이코리아 전자민원, www.hikorea.go.kr) without visiting an office, or
2. in person at the immigration office (출입국·외국인청/사무소) that covers your address — visits require an advance reservation.
   • WHEN (application window): you can apply from about 4 months before your stay-expiry date up to the expiry date itself; for online e-applications the last accepted day is the day BEFORE the expiry date.
   • Apply early — do not wait until the last day.

Sub-types

This is a single procedure applied across stay statuses. Student-relevant variants: D-2 (degree study) and D-4 (language trainee / general training).

The required documents and how academic performance is reviewed differ by status; always use the matching section of the official manual (체류자격별 안내매뉴얼).

2025–2026 policy updates

• (1) From 2026-01-02: applicants who reserve an immigration-office visit for sojourn-period extension (and certain other services) must pre-report employment information online via HiKorea during the reservation — job type (직종), business type (업종), and annual income (연간소득).
• Source: immigration.go.kr press release dated 2025-12-16.
• (2) From 2025-01-01: Alien Registration Card issuance fee raised 30,000 → 35,000 KRW (IC-chip mobile card); this is the card fee, separate from the 60,000 KRW extension fee.
• (3) Online extension via HiKorea e-application continues to be available with a fee discount vs. in-person (exact current discounted amount unverified — confirm on HiKorea).

Common mistakes

• Missing the deadline — applying after the expiry date = overstay, resulting in a fine and possible refusal of future applications.
• Poor attendance or low grades in the recent semester can block or complicate a D-2/D-4 student extension.
• Forgetting the address/residence proof (체류지 입증서류) or an up-to-date enrollment/transcript.
• Assuming extension is automatic — it is a permission that immigration reviews and can deny.
• Not reserving an office visit in advance (walk-ins are generally not accepted).

Official source ↗  Official manual ↗