Before you start

A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
A long-stay visa matching your actual purpose, generally issued at a consulate abroad
A documented Incheon address — lease, dormitory or campus housing contract, or an employer confirmation letter
Category evidence: employment contract and sponsor filing for work visas; foreign employment, income and private medical cover for F-1-D

Step-by-step

1
Fix the visa category before you fly
E-7 carries occupation-code and salary thresholds; E-2 needs a degree and an apostilled criminal record check obtained at home; D-8 requires a registered Korean entity and capital. Most of these are issued at a consulate in your country of residence and cannot be converted into from a visa-free entry. Getting this wrong means leaving Korea and starting again.
Via employerWho: You with your employer, university or a Korean consulate2–8 weeksConsular issuance fee, typically KRW 60,000–130,000
2
Do not confuse the airport office with your district office
The immigration office inside Incheon International handles border control and airport-specific procedures. Residence registration for people living in Incheon is done at the Incheon Immigration Office in Songdo. Turning up at the terminal for an ARC appointment is a wasted morning and a surprisingly common one.
In personWho: YouBefore booking
3
Book the HiKorea appointment in your first week
Registration appointments are booked at hikorea.go.kr and walk-ins are not accepted. Slots tighten sharply in the February and August university and teaching intakes, which hit Incheon hard because of the Global Campus. The ninety-day legal deadline runs regardless of how far out the nearest slot is. The multilingual contact centre on 1345 can help.
OnlineWho: YouBook on arrival; slots often weeks outFree to reserve
4
Register and apply for the ARC
Attend in person with passport, application form, a 3.5 × 4.5 cm photo, proof of your Incheon address and your category documents. Biometrics are taken at the counter. The fee is KRW 30,000, plus a small charge for postal delivery. Overrunning ninety days attracts a fine that follows you into later applications.
In personWho: YouOne appointment, 30–60 minutesKRW 30,000 plus postage
5
Add the mobile residence card while you wait for the plastic
The physical card takes roughly three to six weeks and longer in peak season. A mobile residence card in the government ID app has been issued since January 2025 and carries the same legal weight as the plastic; banks have accepted it for account opening since 21 March 2025 — useful in the gap when everything else is waiting on the card.
Mobile appWho: You3–6 weeksNo further fee
6
Report changes and think about the long route early
Address changes, employer changes and passport renewals are reported to immigration, generally within fourteen days. Staying long term runs through the F-2-7 points visa and then F-5 permanent residence, and TOPIK certification and the KIIP social integration programme feed both. They take years, so start before you need them.
In personWho: YouOngoing

Documents you’ll need

Passport, original plus a copy of the photo page
Completed integrated application form
One colour photo, 3.5 × 4.5 cm, taken within six months
Proof of your Incheon address — lease, campus housing contract or a signed confirmation letter
Category evidence: employment contract, enrolment certificate, or foreign employment and insurance proof for F-1-D
Tuberculosis screening result, required for some nationalities and categories

Things most newcomers don’t know

Ganghwa and Ongjin are designated population-decline areas, which puts a regional residence visa route inside Incheon's own boundaries.

The Ministry of Justice's regional-specialised visa lets designated local governments recommend foreigners for F-2-R residence at thresholds below the ordinary points route, in return for living and working in the area. Both of Incheon's island counties are on the designated list while Songdo and Bupyeong are not, so where inside the city you live can change what you can apply for.

Source: Ministry of Justice — regional-specialised visa operating plan

Your own city's airport does not process your residence registration.

Incheon International's immigration office handles border matters, and residents register at the Incheon Immigration Office in Songdo. Because almost everyone in Korea arrives through the airport, people living in Incheon assume the two are the same organisation and turn up at the terminal. HiKorea shows which office covers your address — check it when you book rather than on the day.

Source: HiKorea — Korea Immigration Service

The Incheon Global Campus intake makes February and August genuinely worse here than elsewhere.

Songdo hosts Korean campuses of five foreign universities plus a large exchange population, and their arrivals land in the same fortnights. Immigration appointment slots for the district disappear accordingly. The ninety-day deadline does not move for it, so if you are arriving in those windows, book the appointment before you have found somewhere to live and change the address later.

Source: community-reported

Visa-free entry is a travel permission and never a trial residence.

Ninety days visa-free covers tourism and business meetings. Working on it, including remote work billed abroad, risks fines, departure orders and re-entry bans, and none of the time counts toward any residence clock. The correct order is always category first, then move — a point worth making because Incheon's airport makes 'just come and see' unusually easy.

Source: Korea Immigration Service; K-ETA portal

Common mistakes to avoid

Turning up at the airport immigration office for a residence registration appointment.
Booking the HiKorea slot late and colliding with the February or August intake surge.
Treating ninety days visa-free as permission to work or job-hunt.
Assuming your category can be switched into from inside Korea when it requires a consulate abroad.
Leaving TOPIK and KIIP until the year you want to apply for F-2 or F-5.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.