Moving home as an international student in Korea: report your address separately

If you have completed foreign resident registration in Korea, changing the address in your university portal is separate from reporting a change of residence. Telling the university where you live should not be treated as proof that the statutory report has been completed. This also matters when moving from a dormitory into a private rental.

When does the reporting period begin?

Article 36 of the Immigration Act requires registered foreign residents to report within 15 days of moving into a new residence. The receiving authority is the relevant city, county, district or eup, myeon or dong office, or the immigration office responsible for the new address.

The lease-signing date and actual move-in date may differ. Keep the contract, accommodation records and actual date together. If the dates shown in different records do not match, prepare an explanation for the receiving office. A university’s own deadline does not replace the statutory reporting period.

Manage three separate sets of records

This is GEA’s practical moving checklist. Its central point is not to assume that one change updates every organisation automatically. List the services you actually use and check them individually, reducing the chance of correspondence going to your previous home.

What evidence of accommodation should you prepare?

The government’s Easy Law guide for international students identifies documents such as a rental contract as evidence of the residence change. Prepare your residence card, the applicable form and supporting records according to the instructions for your chosen submission method.

If the lease is in someone else’s name, or accommodation is provided by a university or employer, establish how to demonstrate that you actually live there. Do not assume that another person’s lease is sufficient on its own. Match the documents obtainable from the accommodation provider with the receiving authority’s requirements.

Check the road address, building and unit details together. A matching postal code does not make two addresses identical. Resolve an unexplained room-number difference between the contract and accommodation record before submission.

A hypothetical dormitory-to-rental move

Imagine a student who signs a lease, then moves in several days later. The preparation record should show the contract date, dormitory departure date and new move-in date separately. Prepare the residence report around the actual move and its evidence, while also changing the university portal address.

An email sent to the international office is not a receipt for a residence report. Conversely, a processed residence report does not establish that the university’s own records have changed. Check the school system separately.

Follow a clear sequence before and after moving

1. Confirm the new address and intended move-in date.

2. Obtain evidence showing your own accommodation arrangement.

3. Check the available reporting method and documents through HiKorea and the receiving authority.

4. Report within the required period and check both submission and processing.

5. Update the university and the everyday services you use.

Keep a draft application, a submitted application and a processed report as different statuses. If additional information is requested, record the specific requirement and response deadline. When a document may be delayed, contact the receiving authority with your situation and the evidence already available rather than waiting silently for a complete set.

Coordinate moving with a change of semester

A new semester can also mean a different school, accommodation contract or travel schedule. Put academic and moving dates in one preparation record so that each task has an owner and a completion check.

Use the GEA study roadmap to organise your current institution and next study plans before counselling. Where stay-related administrative work is needed, GEA coordinates with its partner, 나우투게더행정사사무소.

• Dormitory or private rental: checks before signing and moving in

Scope: changes of residence by international students who have completed foreign resident registration. Sources checked: 27 October 2026 · GEA