Renewing your passport (embassy)
Passports are renewed at your embassy or consulate, not a Korean government office.
Why start early
- Immigration procedures such as extension of stay need a valid passport.
- An expired passport blocks everything requiring identity verification — banking, telecoms, contracts.
- A change of passport number must be reported to immigration. Failing to report can bring a fine.
Steps (general flow)
- Check the required documents and booking method on the embassy website. It differs by country.
- Book an appointment. Many require one.
- Attend with your documents and photographs.
- Pay the fee.
- Issue takes time — some countries take several weeks.
- When you receive the new passport, report the change to immigration.
What you need (typically)
- Your current passport
- Application form and photographs (specifications vary by country)
- Alien Registration Card
- The fee
- Additional documents depending on the country
Where to go
- Your embassy or consulate — see embassy-contacts for addresses
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.mofa.go.kr (list of missions in Korea)
- 1345 Immigration Contact Centre (reporting the passport change)
- HiKorea www.hikorea.go.kr
Questions people ask
My passport expires soon and I need to extend my stay. A short remaining passport validity can limit the extension. It is safer to renew the passport first, then extend. Confirm the order with 1345.
I lost my passport. Report it to the police, obtain the loss report certificate, then apply to the embassy for reissue. See lost-passport.
My embassy is only in Seoul. Some countries offer postal filing or mobile consular services. Ask the embassy.
I have the new passport — what else? Report the passport change to immigration, and update anywhere you registered it as ID, such as banks and telecom providers.
Take care
Your passport expiry and your stay expiry are separate dates. Put both in your calendar and start the renewal several months before the passport expires.
Related
embassy-contacts · lost-passport · extension-application · fine-for-late-reporting
Source
Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.mofa.go.kr / As of 2026-08