SORA RENTAL NOTE · 12
Moving in?
Check two separate reports.
Your immigration address report and rental contract report serve different purposes. Check your foreigner registration status and contract date separately.
Start with the comic
Distinguish not yet registered, application pending, and registered but waiting for the physical card.
For registered foreigners: report the address change within 15 days of moving. Report a qualifying lease within 30 days of concluding the contract.
Tell 1345 or the competent immigration office your registration status and which documents you have. Waiting for a card does not automatically extend a reporting deadline.
Visiting the community center does not mean both reports are complete. Confirm the result of each procedure with the responsible office.
An illustrative scenario, not a reconstruction of the photographed visit. Check the detailed requirements and exceptions below.
A REAL MOVE-IN VISIT
We visited the community center on move-in day.
Before the tenant moved into the room, Kim Se-min recorded its condition with a 360° camera so the starting condition could be checked if an issue arose later. Use the move-in / move-out condition record to organize capture dates, original filenames and inspection notes.
On September 30, 2026, Sora Realty accompanied an international tenant to a nearby community center to ask about an immigration address-change report and a rental contract report.
The tenant had not received a Residence Card yet. During this visit, staff advised that the community center could handle the address-change report after the card was issued. We planned to check and handle the address-related procedure separately with the immigration office.
This is an account of the advice received during our visit. It does not say that the immigration visit or both reports have been completed. It also does not mean every foreign tenant may wait for a card before dealing with an address change.
TWO SEPARATE REPORTS
Which report, which deadline, which office?
- Address / residence report
- Rental contract report
| Report | Starting date and deadline | Where to file |
|---|---|---|
| Immigration address change 체류지 변경 신고 [1] | For a foreigner who is already registered: within 15 days of moving to the new address | The community center or other authorized local office for the new address, or the competent immigration office |
| Rental contract report 주택 임대차 계약 신고 [2] | For a reportable contract: within 30 days of concluding the lease | The community center for the property, or the official Real Estate Transaction Management System |
For housing in Seoul, check whether the deposit exceeds KRW 60 million or monthly rent exceeds KRW 300,000, along with the other reporting conditions. Renewals with no change in deposit or rent are excluded. Foreign tenants must report qualifying leases too, using identification information verified for the contract, such as a passport. [2]
Your contract date may be earlier than your move-in date. Check rental reporting when you conclude the lease. Confirm the result of each report separately.
WAITING FOR YOUR RESIDENCE CARD?
No card yet? Check your registration status.
- Residence Card status
- Residence records
- Responsible office
Have you not applied for foreigner registration, already applied and are waiting, or been registered but not received the card? Not having the card alone does not establish the correct procedure or deadline.
- Prepare your passport, lease, actual move-in date and full new address including the unit number. Have your registration application receipt ready if you have one.
- Call 1345 or contact your competent immigration office. Explain your application status and ask how to update the address, which deadline applies, which documents are needed and whether a visit reservation is required. The official 1345 service offers multilingual immigration counselling. [3]
- Follow the confirmed procedure and check your rental reporting obligation and result separately.
If you are already registered and have your card, check the local office's document list, including your address-change form, Residence Card and proof of residence such as your lease. [1]
AT THE COMMUNITY CENTER
Ask about both procedures at the counter.
- Contract terms
- Residence records
- Questions to ask
- Rental report: bring your lease and identification information, and check the processing result or reporting certificate.
- Immigration address change: confirm the procedure for your registration status and check that the address update was processed.
A Korean citizen's resident-registration move-in report is a separate procedure. The 15-day rule here concerns registered foreigners under the Immigration Act. If you use another procedure, such as domestic residence reporting for overseas Koreans, check its applicable rules separately.
OFFICIAL SOURCES · 2026.10.03
Official sources
- [1] 출입국관리법 제36조 / Immigration Act, Article 36
Immigration Act, Article 36: registered foreigners, the 15-day deadline and Residence Card
- [2] 찾기쉬운 생활법령정보 / Easy Law: residential lease reporting
Residential lease reporting: deadlines, thresholds, foreign tenants and reporting offices
- [3] 법무부 출입국·외국인정책본부 / Korea Immigration Service
Official multilingual immigration counselling through 1345