Free legal advice on residence
Before paying anyone, use the free services.
Where to get free advice
- 1345 Immigration Contact Centre — residence and visa guidance in 20 languages. Start here.
- 132 Korea Legal Aid Corporation — free legal advice, litigation support if you qualify. See legal-aid-overview.
- Foreign residents' support centres and family centres — help with forms and interpretation.
- Migrant support NGOs — residence and rights advice. See ngo-support.
- Local government legal clinics — run on set days at city, county and district offices.
- Immigration office civil affairs desk — procedural guidance.
What you can ask about
- Whether a change or extension of status is possible
- Whether you can appeal a refusal — see visa-refusal-appeal
- Whether there is a route out of overstaying — see overstay-consequences
- Residence after divorce or bereavement — see f6-divorce-stay and f6-spouse-death
- Unpaid wages entangled with residence — see unpaid-wages
- How a criminal case affects residence
What to prepare
- Passport and alien registration card
- Related documents (copies of applications, refusal notices, contracts)
- A chronological summary
- Request interpretation in advance if needed
Where to go
- 1345 Immigration Contact Centre (multilingual, free)
- 132 Korea Legal Aid Corporation
- 1577-1366 Danuri Call Centre (multilingual)
- 1577-0071 Foreign Workforce Support Centre (labour and residence)
- Local foreign residents' support centres
Questions people ask
I'm overstaying — can I still get advice? Yes, you can be advised. Find out your options, including voluntary departure and relief measures. Don't decide alone; take advice first.
I speak no Korean at all. 1345 advises in 20 languages. Local centres can also send someone to accompany you.
Is free advice actually useful? Official services give you accurate information — far more reliable than a broker's "guaranteed method".
It looks like litigation is needed. Check your eligibility for legal aid with 132. If you qualify, a lawyer can be assigned.
Take care
Don't respond first to "pay me and it's sorted". Establish the facts through the free services; considering a paid agent afterwards costs you nothing. Record what you were told and the adviser's name.
Related
immigration-lawyer-vs-agent · legal-aid-overview · visa-refusal-appeal · immigration-1345 · ngo-support
Source
Korea Legal Aid Corporation www.klac.or.kr / As of 2026-08