Newcomer guide
New to Korea?
A step-by-step guide from arrival to settling in.
1 Stay and ID
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Securing Your Stay and Identity
Apply for refugee status or complete alien registration to receive your Residence Card (Alien Registration Card), which you will use as your everyday ID.
- New to Korea? ① Status and Stay
- How to Apply for Refugee Status in Korea, and How to Appeal or Sue If Your Application Is Rejected
- G-1 Visa and F-2 Visa
- Residence Obligations and Fines for Asylum Seekers
- How to Make a Visit Appointment at an Immigration Office on HiKorea
- What to Do If You Lose Your Residence Card
2 Health
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Health and Medical Care
Health insurance enrollment depends on your status of stay. Asylum seekers (G-1-5) cannot enroll as regional subscribers; they become workplace subscribers when they work for an employer. In an emergency, call 119.
3 Money and housing
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Daily Settlement: Money, Housing, and Communication
Work through opening a bank account, signing a housing contract, paying utility bills, getting a mobile phone, and using public transport.
- New to Korea? ③ Settling into Daily Life
- How Asylum Seekers and Migrants Can Open a Bank Account and Apply for Livelihood Support
- Basic Financial Life in Korea
- Eligibility, Amount, and Application Procedure for Livelihood Cost Support for Asylum Seekers
- Korea Immigration & Foreign Residents Support Center Dormitory
4 Work
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Working
Check what kinds of work are permitted under your visa, then learn your labor rights, including labor contracts and the minimum wage.
5 Rights
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Protecting Your Rights
If you experience discrimination, workplace harassment, or sexual harassment, you can report it and receive help through official channels.
6 Life in Korea
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Adapting to Life in Korea
Learn about Korean daily culture, and take part in free Korean language education and the Korea Immigration and Integration Program (KIIP).
If You Have Children
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Timeline After You Apply for Refugee Status
After you apply for refugee status, what you can do and the support you can receive change as time passes. The table below summarises MAP's PEACE-Board videos, updated to the current rules. Check whether each period is counted from the date you applied for refugee status or from the date you last entered Korea.
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Right after you apply
Apply to extend your stay before your permitted period ends (usually 6 months at a time). Living allowance, housing and medical cost support each need a separate support application, apart from the refugee application; apply for the living allowance within 6 months of the date you applied for refugee status. During this period you cannot work and cannot join National Health Insurance as a regional subscriber, so use the Medical Support Program for Foreign Workers and Others for hospital stays and surgery, and free clinics for minor illness. If you move, report your new address within 15 days.
Duties and fines while you stay, Living allowance, Free clinics and medical support
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From day 91 after your last entry
The Korean Red Cross Hope Clinic Centers (희망진료센터) can cover part of your out-of-pocket medical costs. Refugees are a priority group.
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6 months after you apply for refugee status
You can get a permit for activities outside your status (work permit, Refugee Act Article 40) and work; if you work for an employer, you join National Health Insurance as an employee subscriber. The living allowance is paid only up to 6 months from the date you applied for refugee status. Six months after your last entry into Korea, you can join WeFriends Aid.
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After you receive the decision
If you are recognised as a refugee, you receive F-2-4 status. If your application is rejected, you can file an objection within 30 days of the day you received the notice; if the notice grants humanitarian status, change your status to G-1-6. If the objection is dismissed, you can file an administrative lawsuit within 90 days. Recognised refugees and humanitarian status holders become regional subscribers of National Health Insurance after living in Korea for 6 months or more.
Refugee application and objection, Objection deadlines and materials