Yes, someone else can file most immigration applications for you in Korea. For a paid agent, that means a lawyer or a haengjeongsa (행정사, administrative agent) registered with the Ministry of Justice. You must still be in Korea when the application is filed.
The rules are in Article 79-2 of the Immigration Act and in a Ministry of Justice notice on registered agents. Here is what an agent can file, what still needs you in person, and how to check that an agent is registered before you pay.
Who can file an application for you
Rules verified October 2026 · Immigration Act, Article 79-2 · Enforcement Rules, Article 68-3
The law names one group of paid agents. They are lawyers and haengjeongsa, and firms or joint offices staffed by them. Each must finish at least four hours of Ministry of Justice training. Then the agent registers with the immigration office for the area where its own office is.
Not every haengjeongsa can register. The Ministry’s notice on registered agents leaves out technical haengjeongsa and translation haengjeongsa. A registered agent in Korean is 출입국민원 대행기관.
Children are a separate case. If a child under 17 does not apply, a parent must apply for the child (Immigration Act, Article 79). This covers registration, extensions, changes of status and address reports, among others.
If neither parent can do it, the duty passes down a fixed order (Enforcement Decree, Article 89). It goes first to the person who actually supports the child, then a sibling, then the guarantor, then another person living with the child.
For family members and friends, the rules are less clear. Hi Korea’s Korean guide to extensions says you or a proxy (대리인) may apply. Article 34 of the Enforcement Rules says the Minister of Justice decides who may act as a proxy.
What a registered agent can file
The Act and the Enforcement Rules list the work an agent may do. The Ministry’s notice adds first registration and some card reissues, with conditions.
| Application | Korean name | Can an agent file it? |
|---|---|---|
| Visa issuance certificate | 사증발급인정서 | Yes |
| Activities outside your status | 체류자격 외 활동허가 | Yes |
| Change or addition of workplace | 근무처 변경·추가 | Yes |
| Granting of status | 체류자격 부여 | Yes |
| Change of status | 체류자격 변경허가 | Yes |
| Extension of stay | 체류기간 연장허가 | Yes |
| Reentry permit | 재입국허가 | Yes |
| Change of registered details | 등록사항 변경신고 | Yes |
| Change of address | 체류지 변경신고 | Yes |
| Picking up a new or reissued card | 등록증·영주증 수령 | Yes |
| First registration | 외국인등록 | Yes, but you give your fingerprints and confirm your identity yourself |
| Card reissue after a loss | 분실 재발급 | No |
A replacement for a lost card is the one reissue an agent cannot file. You apply for that one yourself.
An agent files at the office that covers your address, not the agent’s own office. If you are not sure which office that is, see the guide to finding your immigration office.
An agent registered for more than three months may also file on Hi Korea e-Application, using a company certificate. The same online rules apply as when you file yourself, explained in the guide to Hi Korea e-Application.
What still needs you in person
Using an agent does not take you out of the process. The notice gives the immigration officer three ways to involve you directly.
Hi Korea’s guide to extensions adds a limit by status. It says some statuses cannot use a proxy, and it names marriage migrants on F-6 as one of them. It does not list the others.
Being in Korea is a rule for every applicant, with or without an agent. The Ministry’s 2026 guide to stay applications says an agent cannot file for a person who has left Korea. Leaving after you apply can also lead to a refusal.
How to check that an agent is registered
List checked October 2026 · Hi Korea list of registered agents (as of 30 September 2026)
Hi Korea publishes the full list of registered agents as a PDF and an Excel file. The list dated 30 September 2026 has 4,236 agents. It gives each agent’s name, address and phone number, sorted by region.
The notice also bars some office names from registration. Examples it gives are Hi Korea Haengjeongsa, 1345 Haengjeongsa and Seoul Immigration Haengjeongsa. Names like these suggest a government link that the agent does not have.
At the immigration office, agents and their staff wear an access badge (출입증) from the office where the agent registered. Registered agents can also use a separate agents’ counter where the office runs one.
What the fee and contract should look like
There is no official price for an agent’s work. The Ministry’s notice says only that an agent must charge a fee that is reasonable by ordinary social standards.
That fee is separate from the government fee for the application itself. The government fee is set by law and is the same whoever files, as listed in the guide to immigration fees.
A paid agent is not the only help available. If your question is about your rights rather than paperwork, free legal advice may answer it first.
What happens when an agent breaks the rules
The Ministry of Justice can cancel an agent’s registration, suspend its work for up to six months, or order a correction (Immigration Act, Article 79-3). Registration must be cancelled when it was obtained by fraud, or when the agent works during a suspension.
Forged documents harm the applicant, not only the agent. The standard procedure in the Enforcement Rules tells agents to make sure clients are not put at a disadvantage by false papers. The office that registered the agent can inspect its records and apply these penalties.
Frequently asked questions
Official sources
The rules and lists below are the sources for this guide. The list of registered agents is updated from time to time, so check the date on the file.