Returning your residence card on departure

If you plan to return, you don't hand it in. It depends on your situation — check first.

When you must hand it in

• When you are ending your stay and leaving permanently
• When you leave with your status cancelled or lapsed
• You give it to the immigration officer at departure control.

When you don't

• When leaving briefly intending to return
• When you hold a re-entry permit or are exempt
• In that case you keep the card yourself. See reentry-permit.

The process

1. Before leaving, confirm your situation (whether you'll return) with 1345.
2. If leaving for good, hand the card in at airport immigration.
3. Obtain any certificates you need beforehand — proof of registration, stay records. See certificate-of-alien-registration.
4. Settle bank, telecom and insurance matters — without the card they become difficult.
5. Keep your passport with you.

Get these in advance

• Certificate of alien registration and entry/exit records — you may need them later as proof of career or residence.
• Employment certificates
• Health insurance payment certificate
• Lump-sum pension refund application — check the pre-departure procedure. See tax-clearance-departure.

Where to go

• 1345 Immigration Contact Centre
• HiKorea www.hikorea.go.kr
• Your local immigration office
• Airport departure control

Questions people ask

If I hand it in, can I never return? No. With a new visa you can enter again. You simply reapply for a residence card after re-entering.

What if I leave without handing it in? If it was a permanent departure, failing to return it can count against you in later procedures. Check with 1345.

I've lost my card. Report it before departure and take their guidance. See arc-reissue.

What about my bank account? Better to settle it before you leave. Identity verification becomes difficult once the card is returned.

Take care

Obtain every certificate you might need before handing the card in. Afterwards it is far more troublesome. Proof of career and residence in particular may be needed for another country's visa or for employment.

Related

long-term-departure · reentry-permit · tax-clearance-departure · certificate-of-alien-registration · arc-reissue

Source

Ministry of Justice, HiKorea www.hikorea.go.kr / As of 2026-08