Student Visa Issuance

• For a foreigner staying in Korea for the purpose of study, he or she must be issued a form of identification (Student visa).

  Student Visa Issuance

  Status of Stay		Qualifications	Entry	Staying in Korea	Departure
  Less than 90 days	Temporary Visit (C-3)	• Those seeking short term stay for short study / training session, academic research, or other similar reasons.	Passport, Visa and disembarkation Card	Extension of Stay(Immigration Office)	Passport
  More than 90 days	Overseas Study(D-2)	• Those seeking a short term stay for training session, lessons, academic research or other similar reasons.		Extension of Stay, Change of Status(Immigration Office)	Passport, Registration Card, Re-entry permit if necessary
  	General Training(D-4)	• Those studying Korean at a university affiliated language institute		Alien Registration, extension of stay, re-entry permit, change of status or activities beyond the status(Immigration Office)
  		• Those being educated in educational facilities other than academic research organizations or educational organizations that fall under overseas study(D-2) status.
  		• Those learning technology or skills at a national or public research organization.

• Procedures for applying for students cards
  • Apply : In person
  • Location : Embassy or consulates of the Republic of Korea
  • Required documents : passport, visa issuance application, fee(one copy : UDS 30, multiple copies: USD 80), 1 color photo
• Procedures for the extension of stay and change stay status
  • Location : Immigration Office with the jurisdiction over the registered address
  • Registration period : Starting 2 months prior to the expiration of the stay and the date of expiration. After the expiratory date, penalty will apply.

    Standard for the Review of Permission for Extension of Stay

    Status of Stay		Required Documents	Standard for the Review of Permission for Extension of Stay
    Less than 90 days	Temporary Visit(C-3)	• Passport, application(form by Ministry of Justice), fees (tax stamp 30,000 won)	• her or not of unavoidable necessity for continuous stay due to the cause not expected at entry • Extension of stay is possible up to 90 days since the date of entry(Extension exceeding 90 days not permitted)
    More than 90 days	Overseas Study(D-2)	• Passport and alien registration card, , application(form by Ministry of Justice), certificate of attendance, transcripts, the proof of tuition payments or scholarships, fees (tax stamp 30,000 won)	• Reasonableness of continuous activities of abroad study or research • Limits on the extension of stay will be applied in the following cases - A foreigner that intends to supply learning expense etc through domestic employment activity - A foreigner that intends to do employment activity rather than learning - A foreigner with temporary absence from school
    	General Training(D-4	• Passport and alien registration card, application(form by Ministry of Justice), certificate of attendance(showing the length of the training and attendance records), A document verifying the proof of funds for the stay, or reference, fee(tax stamp 30,000 won)	• Reasonableness of continuous general training • Limits on the extension of stay will be applied in the following cases - A foreigner receiving salary from the organization giving training - A foreigners receiving training from private organization or individual - A foreigner that intends to do employment activity to earn stay expenses such as training expenses - A foreigner that intends to receive Korean language training in whole-life educational facility or private educational institute Other common training

Issuance of International Student Cards

• Required documents for International Student Cards
  • ID photo(3cm*4cm)
  • Proof of identification (Choose from resident registration card, driver’s license and passport)
  • Supporting documents (only documents issued within a month are deemed valid)

    - In case of language study abroad and international students, a student visa or Admission letter+Proof of tuition

    - Payments(Full time Student)

• Discounts available with International Student Cards
  • Discounts for lodging(Youth Hostel), museums or ancient palaces (Deoksu Palace, Gyeongbok Palace and National Museum of Korea and etc), movie ticket discounts (CGV, Megabox, Lotte Cinema), discounts on theme parks (Everland, Lotte World, Carribean Bay and etc), discounts at the family restaurants (Outback Steak House, VIPS, TGIF, Bennigans, Sizzler, Marche, Kahunaville, Uno and etc.), discounts on coffee(Starbucks, Coffee Bean), discounts for TOEIC registration fee, specials on currency, discounts on airline tickets and etc.

    - ISIC discounts within Korea : http://www.isic.org/

    - ISEC discounts within Korea : http://www.isecard.co.kr/dc_national.html

New Vehicle Registration( Purchased in Korea)

Vehicle registration ( Purchased overseas)

• For more information, direct your inquires to Transportation Policy Division of Gangnam-gu Office. (1F lobby Reports Division, TEL: 02-3423-6492,6493)

Free legal counseling

Health Insurance Card

Every citizen is covered by National Health Insurance. All foreigners living in Korea must register for a medical coverage in a form of Workplace Health Insurance or Community Health Insurance. For insurance benefits, 80% of the medical cost for the hospitalization at a hospital or clinics for the treatment of illness will be covered by National Health Insurance. For out-patient treatments, 50~80% of the medical cost for a hospital or clinics will be covered.

Free legal counseling

• Who is eligible?
  • The applicant must be a foreigner or Overseas Korean working in a workplace that is enrolled in national health insurance or an appointed or hired civil servant or faculty, who has the alien registration or the declaration of the residency.
  • Foreigners (Overseas Korean), not covered by Workplace Health Insurance but have done the alien registration and have been granted sojourn stay status, may be eligible for Community Health Insurance and the time of acquisition is as follows.
• Time of acquisition
  • Workplace Health Insurance : The insurance is put in effect at the date when the employer enrolls their employees in medical health program (Starting from the date of employment for the employees). Dependents of a foreigner can apply for the medical insurance the same way the dependents of a local residents do.
  • Community Health Insurance : Foreigners may apply for Community Health Insurance individually. (If applying after certain time has lapsed, the insurance will be covered retroactively since the date put into effect.

    ※ For individuals who entered before 2008.12.16, the date of Alien Registration or a date of domestic residence registration.

    ※ For individuals who entered after 2008.12.17, three months after the entry. For those who have not stayed over three months but have definite reasons for the stay such as studying abroad or employment, the date of entry.

• Apply for Health Insurance Card at National Health Insurance, Seocho/Gangnam Branch(5~7F Mijin Plaza, 825 Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul).
• For more information, call 02-2186-4114, http//www.nhic.or.kr

Korean Education

• Gangnam-gu is known for a great zeal for education within Korea and it has relatively higher acceptance rate for prestigious schools compared to other regions. Korea’s educational system requires that students attend a school belonging in the district of their residence, and in many cases, affluent families move to Gangnam-gu to give them an access to better universities. As a result, it has become a social issue, with clever and wealthy students or clever and highly enthusiastic students flocking to high schools in Gangnam district. Notably the alumni from prestigious universities, who are Gangnam natives, have made important contributions to the society.
• As a highly Confucius society, Korea has placed a great emphasis on education. Many parents have made sacrifices for their children’s education and students stay in school for the bulk of the day, studying. To be admitted to top universities, high school students spend bulk of their time studying for college entrance examination(the scholastic aptitude assessment) and after graduating from universities, they may attain employment, leave for language training or pursue higher education.
• Korean Education System
  • Korea adopts 1-6-3-3 system (a year in kindergarten, 6 years in elementary school, 3 years in middle school and 3 years in high school), and a new academic year starts in early March and ends in February of next year, with about 40 days for summer vacation and about 45 days for winter vacation.
  • In Korea, secondary education is mandatory while post secondary education is not. However, currently high school enrollment is 99.5%, indicating that almost all Koreans attend high school.

Admission for children of foreigners

• For children of foreign nationality wish to attend schools in Korea, the assessment of the academic level will based on the previous educational records. Prospective students must be competent in Korean.Children of overseas Koreans or foreigners who wish to attend or transfer to elementary schools in Korea, must present the proof of entry/departure or the proof of Alien Registration issued by the head of the immigrant office.
• Furthermore, in the light of international agreements on the children's rights and respect for human rights, to expand the educational opportunities provided for the children of illegal immigrants, the admission to elementary and middle school is allowed
• In such case, to prove the child’s residence in the given district, the supporting documents(contracts for JeonsaeㆍWolsae, proof of residence, inwoo warranty and etc) can be submitted.
• For a foreigner who wants to attend or transfer to schools in Gangnam-gu, call the Education Department of Gangnam-gu Office for more details. (TEL 02-511-6129)

Colleges/Universities in Korea

• A few universities in Korea offer degree programs in English, and Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS). Some Korean universities run undergrad program in conjunction with their sister schools from countries around the world, and have international exchange program such as credit interchange of exchange students, visiting professors and the exchange of academics.
• Foreign students with competency in Korean may apply for regular degree programs in universities. For details and information on application procedures, make inquires to the school.
• Before coming to Korea, students must apply for a student visa. For foreigners in possession of other long-term visas to be admitted to universities, they must apply for a change of visa status to get student visa issued.

Admission for Children of Foreign Nationality