Replacing a Lost Residence Card
Lost your Korean Residence Card? First report it through HiKorea to reduce the risk of misuse. Then apply for a replacement at the immigration office responsible for your registered address. Reporting the loss online is not the same as applying for a new physical card.
Official links 6
- First action
- Report loss through HiKorea
- Replacement request
- Immigration office for your address
- Card fee
- ₩35,000
- Bring
- Passport, application and one photo
- Photo
- 35 × 45 mm; taken within six months
- Old 14-day rule
- Removed from current Article 42
The steps below are for people who already have Foreigner Registration and lost their physical card. Initial registration and obtaining a card for the first time are different procedures. Card replacement does not itself extend the permitted period of stay.
Report the loss before replacing the card
The Ministry of Justice provides a separate online lost-card reporting service to help prevent misuse of lost Residence Cards and F-4 domestic residence cards. Open HiKorea and go to Information Lookup (정보조회) → Report Loss/Withdrawal of Registration or Residence Card (등록증·거소증 분실(철회) 신고). Follow its identity checks and keep the confirmation. If you cannot access or complete the online loss report, call 1345 to ask how to notify immigration by another route; do not mistake an unsuccessful login for a completed report.
This only reports the loss. It does not order, pay for or issue a replacement card. If you later recover the card, check the same service's withdrawal option and confirm with immigration whether you can continue using it. Where the card was stolen or your identity has been misused, consider a police report and contact the relevant bank or account provider.
How to request a new Residence Card
Find the immigration office for your registered address
Card reissuance is handled by the immigration office responsible for your Korean residence, not a regular community service center. Check the responsible office through HiKorea or call 1345. Then use HiKorea's visit-reservation service, checking whether an appointment is required and what to do if none is available soon.
Moved recently? Make sure your registered address is correct first. Reporting a Change of Address explains that separate duty. A loss report does not update your address.
Fill in the application and prepare one photo
Download the Ministry of Justice Integrated Application Form. Check Reissuance of Registration Card (등록증 재발급), rather than initial foreigner registration or a stay extension.
Bring a valid passport, one recent passport-style photograph (35 × 45 mm, taken within six months), and the completed form. Have your registered address and contact details available. Write down where, when and how the card was lost; some offices may request a separate loss explanation (분실사유서). Check the precise document list with your office before the visit, including any additional identity or residence evidence. You cannot hand in a card that was genuinely lost; for a damaged or worn card, bring the old card instead.
Apply and pay the ₩35,000 card fee
Submit the form and photo to your responsible immigration office. The nationwide Residence Card reissuance fee is ₩35,000, following the Ministry of Justice's January 2025 fee revision; it also covers Permanent Resident Cards and overseas Korean residence cards. Ask how to pay at your office and keep the receipt.
An appointment is not a completed application. The separate online loss report is not a replacement application either. Check that the counter has actually received your reissuance request.
Confirm pickup and protect your identity meanwhile
Follow the office's instructions for collection or any offered delivery option. Production and delivery times vary; do not plan around an assumed universal issuance time. Keep your passport and filing confirmation available, and ask immigration what documentation you can use while waiting for the new physical card.
Before arranging bank verification, important travel or immigration transactions, check whether the institution accepts your available documents. A receipt is not automatically a substitute for a physical Residence Card.
Check your new card and your permitted stay
When you receive the replacement, check your name, date of birth, status and other printed details. Resolve errors with the issuing office promptly. Then update any services where you previously provided an image of the lost card, as necessary.
Replacing a card does not grant more time in Korea. If your permitted-stay end date is approaching, use the separate extension-of-stay procedure; an appointment or a replacement receipt does not automatically extend it.
Lost your card overseas, or have an F-4 or F-5 card?
Lost abroad
Do not assume your passport alone, a photograph of the lost card or a HiKorea loss-report confirmation guarantees boarding or re-entry. Before buying or changing your return ticket, contact Korean immigration through 1345 from abroad (+82-1345), your airline, and a Korean embassy or consulate as relevant. Ask which documents and re-entry conditions apply to your nationality and current status. Under the national reissuance rules, the physical card is issued through an immigration office in Korea; consular staff cannot simply print a replacement card for you.
F-4 domestic residence card
HiKorea's loss-report service also covers the F-4 domestic residence card (국내거소신고증). It is not identical to ordinary Foreigner Registration. Ask 1345 about the correct replacement form and office for your domestic-residence record. The updated Ministry of Justice card fee covers this card type too.
F-5 Permanent Resident Card
F-5 permission to reside indefinitely is different from the physical Permanent Resident Card, which has its own 10-year validity and renewal obligation. Losing it is not the same as losing permanent-resident status. If the card is also close to its renewal date, ask the office to handle the correct reissuance process.