Alien Registration Card *Updated*

The below information is the more important stuff from an older post with a similar title.  I just summed this up but I am giving an update on my ARC.  So on October 17th, 2016 I went back to the Immigration office and made it for my ARC appointment.  I waited in the room for about half hour until I was called.  Each appointment takes about 2 minutes.  All they ask is for a copy of your passport and your certificate of proof of enrollment at the university and maybe your visa too (they didn't ask for mine but they have asked others for theirs).  They also ask for the application you print out ahead of time.  After that they, they give you a form to take to the atm on the Chinese registration floor and there you pay for the card (30,000 for pick up/33,000 for delivery cash only).  After that, you get a receipt and go back down the window of the same attendant you had.  They will be working with someone else so wait until they finish.  Once they finish, you either sit down to get your finger prints taken or are directed to the security guard table to do it and you're done.  For me, the whole process was about 15 minutes (but that's because a couple there applying for asylum was holding up the attendant because they were having language barriers (one side didn't speak any Korean, the other didn't speak any Arabic).  It was all very fast, easy and straight forward.









The Alien Registration Card (ARC) is for anyone staying in Korea for more than 90 days.  If you do not get your ARC within 90 days, you will be deported from the Korea, so this is pretty important.  Depending on where you are staying in the greater Seoul area/in Korea, your respective immigration office may be different from mine but for me (and anyone living in the general Dongjak-Gu area) our immigration office is located in Omokgyo (go from Heukseok to Yeouido, transfer to the purple line and go north to Omokgyo).  Getting to the immigration office in total (transit and walking) can take anywhere from 45-60 minutes.  I also recommend leaving 2 hours early to avoid any troubles.  I went for my ARC and I was half hour late for my appointment.  However I was able to make a new appointment.  There are also signs posted that state that it will be impossible to be seen without an appointment so you NEED an appointment in order to be seen by an immigration officer to get your residency taken care of.  The ARC is your residency card telling the government that you are a Korean resident and allowed to be in the country for as long as your visa allows.  WARNING: if you miss your appointment 3 times, you will no longer be able to make appointments  If you're from America though, you will see that it very similar to the DMV and Social Security Office so be prepared to wait.  Although these officers do NOT wait for you so pay attention to the screens displaying the appointment numbers.  When you first walk in to the immigration room, the list of appointments for the day will show your appointment number and time.
You need to take a photo in Korea because the photo required for the ARC is a different size than that of an American passport photo.  Don't worry though, there is a photo booth near the bathrooms in the Heukseok station where you can take your photo and print it out in minutes.