After discovering the joys of the French-Korean marriage process (which involves twice as much paperwork, a lot of translation, and a few visits to embassies), Her and I decided I would be moving to Korea. This was really exciting, but we also knew we were in for a lot of administrative hassle, even though in the end things went on pretty smoothly.
Being married to a Korean national, I had to apply for an F6 visa (spouse visa), which made a few things easier for me (for instance, I didn't need to prove that I can speak Korean -I can't- we simply had to prove that we can communicate in English). However, when I went to the Korean embassy in Paris to apply for my visa, it took me quite a while compared with the many young people who were applying for a student visa and usually went through the application process in five minutes.
There was no "interview", as you would expect at the US embassy for instance, but I had many more documents to produce than other applicants (about myself, Her, our parents and families, our jobs, our sources of income, and so on). Fortunately, Her had prepared everything for me, and she had done it perfectly (which is good since I had no idea what some of the documents were about) and I finally left the embassy after 45 minutes knowing that I would get my passport back, with a visa in it, in the mail within ten days. And it actually took about five days, as far as I can remember.
Being married to a Korean national, I had to apply for an F6 visa (spouse visa), which made a few things easier for me (for instance, I didn't need to prove that I can speak Korean -I can't- we simply had to prove that we can communicate in English). However, when I went to the Korean embassy in Paris to apply for my visa, it took me quite a while compared with the many young people who were applying for a student visa and usually went through the application process in five minutes.
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| Korean embassy in Paris |
There was no "interview", as you would expect at the US embassy for instance, but I had many more documents to produce than other applicants (about myself, Her, our parents and families, our jobs, our sources of income, and so on). Fortunately, Her had prepared everything for me, and she had done it perfectly (which is good since I had no idea what some of the documents were about) and I finally left the embassy after 45 minutes knowing that I would get my passport back, with a visa in it, in the mail within ten days. And it actually took about five days, as far as I can remember.
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| Needless to say Her was delighted that her name appeared under "Remarks" |
However, this visa was only valid for 90 days. Which means that within 90 days following my arrival in Korea, I had to visit an Immigration Office to get an Alien Registration Card (a.k.a. ARC, a residence permit, if you will). This was all the more important since I needed that card to be able to open a bank account, get a phone plan, and enroll in the Korean Health Care system. So, a few days after I landed in Korea, we visited the Immigration Office in Busan.
First, we shouldn't have gone there without making an appointment beforehand. This is explained on the sign below.
The problem is, Her didn't have that information (the website they mention is for foreigners, and she got her information directly from Korean services, and no one mentioned the appointment to her). Also, you will have noticed that the sign is written in Korean only. That was a big surprise to me, and a little bit of a disappointment too, to be honest, because most of the time in Korean cities you can find signs in Korean and in English. And I certainly would have expected that in a place which by definition is full of foreigners. And yet, there was hardly a sign or document in English there, and I believe that if it hadn't been for Her, I would still be there trying to figure out what I have to do or where I have to go. There are a few Chinese-Korean interpreters, and that's it. Anyway, foreigners who start by visiting the hikorea website may have an easier time than me. I also found two sites that provide useful information :
I'm only writing about my personal experience here. But I must say it was a little more complicated for me than these sites suggest (maybe it's easier in Seoul than in Busan, too).
Long story short, we made an appointment for the next week. Again, I applied for an F6/spouse visa, so things may be a little different if you're on a work visa. For instance, one of the above sites mentions medical tests results, which is not something I was asked to produce. The following week, we showed up for the appointment, with all the forms and documents and KRW 30,000 (the processing fee). We learnt that we actually had to pay KRW 30,000 more for the card itself. Once again I was happy I wasn't there by myself when they explained that, because I had no idea what was happening. Then they told Her that the "family record document" we had brought was not the one they wanted and we had to get a more detailed one at the nearby "Dong" office ( "dong" is the smallest administrative division in Korea). When we finally got everything sorted out, we were told to come back and pick up the card in exactly three weeks (it is possible to have the ARC delivered by mail with an additional charge). So we waited for three weeks, went back and got the card (I saw that it had actually been issued the next day, but I guess three weeks is the standard waiting period for all applicants).
Long story short, we made an appointment for the next week. Again, I applied for an F6/spouse visa, so things may be a little different if you're on a work visa. For instance, one of the above sites mentions medical tests results, which is not something I was asked to produce. The following week, we showed up for the appointment, with all the forms and documents and KRW 30,000 (the processing fee). We learnt that we actually had to pay KRW 30,000 more for the card itself. Once again I was happy I wasn't there by myself when they explained that, because I had no idea what was happening. Then they told Her that the "family record document" we had brought was not the one they wanted and we had to get a more detailed one at the nearby "Dong" office ( "dong" is the smallest administrative division in Korea). When we finally got everything sorted out, we were told to come back and pick up the card in exactly three weeks (it is possible to have the ARC delivered by mail with an additional charge). So we waited for three weeks, went back and got the card (I saw that it had actually been issued the next day, but I guess three weeks is the standard waiting period for all applicants).
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| This is not me... |
With Her's help, I then could get a phone number, open a bank account, and enroll in the National Health Insurance program. And the coverage was effective immediately. Very simple, probably because I'm on a spouse visa, so I was simply added to Her's insurance. Now, I will have to renew my ARC every year (maybe at longer intervals of time after a few years). Also, it's required that you let them know if you have a new address. After we moved house this year, we just dropped by our new Dong office so they could update my information and add my new address on my ARC.
So now I'm a legal resident in Korea. And the cool thing is I can sail through immigration at the airport! I have experienced endless lines at immigration at Incheon (like in most major airports), so last time when I just cleared it in five minutes, I was thrilled! Originally you needed to register for that Smart Entry Service. But no longer. (At least I didn't do it, and it worked). All I needed to do was follow the signs to the kiosk, scan my passport and Korea opened its gates to me!
So now I'm a legal resident in Korea. And the cool thing is I can sail through immigration at the airport! I have experienced endless lines at immigration at Incheon (like in most major airports), so last time when I just cleared it in five minutes, I was thrilled! Originally you needed to register for that Smart Entry Service. But no longer. (At least I didn't do it, and it worked). All I needed to do was follow the signs to the kiosk, scan my passport and Korea opened its gates to me!
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| Smart Entry System |
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