Which Korean Government Office Do I Go To? 시청 vs 구청 vs 동사무소 vs Immigration

You need to register your address, or get a certificate, or handle something with your visa—and Korea hands you four different offices with similar-sounding names. Do you go to the 시청? The 구청? The little 동사무소 down the street? Or all the way to immigration?

This guide clears it up: what each office is for, and which one to walk into for the things foreign residents actually need.

The structure, in one picture

Korean local government is layered. Bigger units contain smaller ones:

시 (City) / 도 (Province) → 구 (District) / 군 (County) → 동 (Neighborhood) / 읍·면 (Town·Township)

Each layer has its own office. As a resident, you'll almost never deal with the top layer—most day-to-day paperwork happens at the smallest, closest office.

💡 Rule of thumb: for paperwork about where you live, start at the 동 주민센터 (the closest small office). For anything about your visa, that's immigration.

동 주민센터 (Community Service Center) — your default office

This is the small neighborhood office you'll visit most. Often signposted as 행정복지센터 (the newer name) or still called 동사무소 by locals. There's one for every 동 (neighborhood).

What you can do here as a foreign resident:

• Change of residence report (체류지변경신고) — report your new address after moving (also available at 구청 and immigration; see below)
• Fixed date stamp (확정일자) — timestamp your lease contract for deposit protection
• Request certificates you're eligible for (e.g., foreign resident registration facts, 외국인등록사실증명)

💡 Most certificates can also be printed online for free via Gov24 (gov.kr) if you have a Korean financial or joint certificate (공인인증서/간편인증).

• General local civil-affairs questions

💡 The 확정일자 and the 체류지변경신고 are two separate things, even though you might do both at the same counter. One protects your deposit's legal priority; the other updates your registered address. Doing one does not automatically do the other.

→ How to Register Your Address in Korea After Moving In: A Guide for Foreign Renters

구청 (District Office) — the mid-level office

The 구청 serves a whole district (구), which contains many 동. You'll go here less often than the 주민센터, usually for:

• Services not handled at the neighborhood level
• Certain permits and larger civil-affairs matters
• Change of residence report (also accepted here)

In many everyday cases, whatever you'd do at a 구청 you can also do at your 동 주민센터—which is closer. Check before making the longer trip.

시청 (City Hall) — usually not your stop

The 시청 handles city-wide administration and policy. For individual residents, it's rarely the right destination for routine paperwork—those are pushed down to the 구청 and 주민센터 so you don't have to travel far.

You might interact with a 시청 for city-run foreign resident support programs or specific services, but for the standard "I moved / I need a certificate" tasks, go smaller and closer.

💡 In smaller cities and rural areas the structure differs slightly: instead of 구/동 you'll see 군 (county) and 읍·면 (towns and townships). The logic is the same—go to the smallest, closest office first.

출입국·외국인관서 (Immigration Office) — anything about your visa

This is a completely separate track from the city/district/neighborhood offices. Immigration handles your legal status in Korea:

• Visa (체류자격) extensions and changes
• Foreign resident registration (외국인등록) and getting your ARC
• Reissuing a lost ARC
• Change of residence report (체류지변경신고) — immigration also accepts this, and it becomes the required place if you've missed the deadline

Many immigration services now run through HiKorea (hikorea.go.kr) online, and in-person visits usually require a reservation. The foreign resident information line is 1345 (no area code)— available in over 20 languages including English, Chinese, and Vietnamese.

⚠️ Immigration offices book up fast. If you need an in-person appointment, reserve early on HiKorea rather than showing up.

The one that trips everyone up: reporting your address

This is where foreign residents most often go to the wrong place, so it's worth spelling out.

When a Korean citizen moves, they file a 전입신고 (jeonip-singo) at the 주민센터. Done.

When a registered foreign resident moves, that's not the process. Yo u file a 체류지변경신고 (change of residence report) instead. The good news: you have three options for where.

Deadline: within 15 days of moving in. Missing it can cause problems later—especially at visa extension time—so treat it as a must-do, not a maybe.

⚠️ Online (HiKorea) filing may be blocked once you're past the deadline. In that case you'll need to go to an immigration office in person.

Quick reference: "I need to..."

Moving and not sure you can handle the counter conversation in Korean? Membership includes settlement support—we help you figure out which office you need and what to bring, so you're not guessing at a service window. Get Daily Assistance during your life in Korea →