9 Korean phrases for the 주민센터 and the immigration office
Living in Korea means a few afternoons at a counter: the 출입국관리사무소 (immigration office) for your residence card, the 주민센터 (community service centre) for registering your address and printing certificates. The staff are efficient and mostly kind, and they speak quickly in a register you may not have met yet.
These nine lines are polite 요 speech, which is correct for a civil servant. Bring your passport, your registration card and a photo, because the question about documents is the one that sends people home.
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외국인등록증 신청하러 왔어요.
oegugindeungnokjeung sincheonghareo wasseoyo.
I'm here to apply for my residence card.
Literally: Foreigner registration card, came in order to apply.
-(으)러 왔어요 (I came in order to) opens any counter visit. Swap the noun: 전입신고 하러 왔어요 for registering a move, 체류기간 연장하러 왔어요 for a visa extension.
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번호표 어디서 뽑아요?
beonhopyo eodiseo ppobayo?
Where do I take a number?
Literally: Number ticket, where pull?
Nearly every office runs on a ticket machine, and 뽑다 (to pull) is the verb for taking one. You will hear it back as 번호표 뽑고 기다리세요 (take a number and wait).
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필요한 서류가 뭐예요?
piryohan seoryuga mwoyeyo?
What documents do I need?
Ask before the number, not after. The answer usually includes 여권 (passport), 등록증 (registration card) and 사진 (photo), and 사진 is the one people forget.
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이 서류 어떻게 작성해요?
i seoryu eotteoke jakseonghaeyo?
How do I fill out this form?
작성하다 is the official verb for completing a document; 쓰다 (write) works in speech too. Staff will usually point to each box in turn, and 여기요? (here?) carries you through.
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천천히 말씀해 주세요.
cheoncheonhi malsseumhae juseyo.
Please speak slowly.
말씀 is the honorific word for speech, used for the other person's words; 천천히 말해 주세요 is fine too but a shade less respectful. Ask early: staff switch to a faster, more formal register once they start explaining, and many will reach for a translation app if you ask.
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영어 하시는 분 있어요?
yeongeo hasineun bun isseoyo?
Is there someone who speaks English?
분 is the respectful word for a person, which is the right choice toward staff. The immigration office is likelier to have someone than a neighbourhood 주민센터, so treat this as a backup, not an opener.
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여기 사인하면 돼요?
yeogi sainhamyeon dwaeyo?
Do I sign here?
Literally: If I sign here, is it okay?
-(으)면 돼요? checks any instruction. You will be handed a pen or a tablet; 서명 is the formal word for signature printed on the form, 사인 is what everyone says.
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수수료 얼마예요?
susuryo eolmayeyo?
How much is the fee?
수수료 is the processing fee named on every government form. Cards are accepted almost everywhere; a printed certificate at the 주민센터 costs only a few hundred won.
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언제 나와요?
eonje nawayo?
When will it be ready?
Literally: When does it come out?
나오다 (to come out) is the verb for a card, a certificate or a decision being issued. Expect a date and 문자로 알려 드릴게요 (we will let you know by text), which is how most offices now notify you.
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One register note: the form in front of you will be in the formal 합니다 style and dense with Sino-Korean nouns (신청인, 체류지, 발급), while the person behind the counter speaks ordinary polite Korean. Read slowly, speak normally, and when in doubt point at the box and say 이거요? (this one?).