If you want a record of when you entered and left Korea, apply for a Certificate of Entry and Departure (출입국사실증명). Doing it yourself is the simplest route, and if someone else will collect it for you, a letter of authorization does the job. One caution up front: this certificate does not tell you "how many days of overstay." That part is covered further down.
Key points
- The certificate proves whether you entered or left Korea through the procedures of the Immigration Act. It is issued by immigration offices, city, county and district offices, township and neighborhood offices, and overseas diplomatic missions.
- The applicant is you, your statutory representative, or someone you authorize. In person you can apply online through Government24 (정부24), or visit an office and simply show your ID.
- The form shows departure and entry dates, the reference period and the purpose. Overstay periods are not shown separately.
- It can come up in procedures that count time in or out of Korea, such as marriage immigration (F-6) invitations and status changes for foreign youths raised in Korea.
1. What exactly is written on the certificate?
The layout is simple. The person's name, date of birth, country and passport number sit at the top, and the middle lists departure and entry dates one after another. Below that are the reference period, the purpose and the applicant.
The reference period matters most. You choose the start and end dates yourself, so a period set too narrow can leave out trips you need. If you are not sure where you will submit it, setting a wide range is the safer choice.
One more point: a person who has never entered Korea can, in some cases, receive a certificate stating that no entry occurred. The law limits this to cases recognized as especially necessary, so it is not available to everyone on request.
2. Who can apply?
The default is the person themselves. A statutory representative, or someone authorized by the person, can also apply.
The circle widens a little when the person cannot speak for themselves.
- Where the person is missing, deceased or otherwise unable to express their wishes, or the use is clearly in their interest: a spouse, direct ascendants and descendants, or siblings. If the spouse has died and none of those exist, the spouse's direct family and siblings are also covered.
- Where the foreign national has fully left Korea: the person who employed them, or that person's agent.
- Anyone else the Minister of Justice recognizes as needed in the public interest.
A point that causes confusion: the rule letting a creditor apply for access or issuance exists only for the Certificate of Fact on Foreign Resident Registration, not for the entry and departure certificate. The names sound alike, but they are different documents.
3. Where and how do you apply?
There are four issuing bodies.
| Body | Note |
|---|---|
| Immigration office, branch or sub-office | Competent office |
| City, county or district | Head of the local government issues it |
| Township or neighborhood (eup, myeon, dong) | Head of the township or neighborhood issues it |
| Overseas diplomatic mission | When applying from abroad |
The form's notes say that if you apply for your own certificate, you can get it online at Government24 (정부24), and that in a visit you do not fill in the form but only show your ID. The processing period is marked "immediate."
If you are abroad or cannot visit, you will want to consider applying at an overseas diplomatic mission or authorizing someone in Korea.
4. What do you need if someone collects it for you?
For a proxy application you complete the Application for Issuance of / Access to Certificate of Fact. The back page is the authorization letter, where the principal signs or seals. In the applicant box, the authorized person writes their name, date of birth, phone number and relationship to the principal.
Mistakes often happen in three places.
- Type and number of copies: the entry and departure certificate and the foreign resident registration certificate share the same form, and people tick the wrong box.
- Reference period: write both a start and end date so nothing needed is missed.
- Purpose: writing it to match the place of submission makes later explanations easier.
Whether an office asks for extra documents such as an ID is best checked with the office first. What the law and the form set is the application and the authorization letter.
Certain people are also exempt from the fee by law, for example registered national merit persons and their survivors, basic livelihood recipients, single-parent family support recipients, and people who applied to correct errors in their entry and departure records. If you fit one of these, say so when you apply and either sign the consent form or submit proof.
5. Can this certificate show my overstay period?
This is the most common misunderstanding. The certificate shows departure and entry dates but does not calculate "you exceeded your period by this many days."
The sequence is this. Find the expiry date of your permitted stay first, then compare it with the actual departure date on the certificate. If you need history of status or address changes, the application for the foreign resident registration certificate has boxes asking whether to include past status changes.
What consequences follow from exceeding the period is a separate matter. If fines or departure procedures worry you, read Missed Your Visa Extension? Overstay Fines in Korea and What to Do Next alongside this.
6. Where is it used?
The purpose is something you write in the box yourself, so there is no fixed list. Among the guidance materials, the certificate appears directly in these cases.
Marriage immigration (F-6) single-entry visa. When a Korean spouse invites a foreign spouse, communication-requirement documents are submitted. To show the foreign spouse stayed in Korea continuously for one year or more, an "entry and departure certificate or handwritten statement (any format)" is listed. If instead the Korean spouse stayed for one year or more in a country where the foreign spouse's language is official, a certificate from that country or a handwritten statement is submitted. That one is issued by that country's authority.
Status change for foreign youths raised in Korea. For the requirement of seven or more years in Korea before age 18, periods of departure lasting 91 days or more are excluded. The applicant checklist states "based on the entry and departure certificate," so this certificate works as basic data for checking time abroad. If you left for 6 months or more at one time within the past seven years (counted from age 18), or your total time abroad is 2 years or more but under 3 years, you also submit a statement and supporting materials about the long overseas stay.
Proof of a relationship. In deciding whether someone is exempt from the international marriage guidance program, materials such as entry and departure records are reviewed together with a relationship narrative, photos and emails.
Whether you need it for permanent residence or naturalization depends on the type of application and its document list. Ask the office that will take your application for the list first.
Some stay-period calculations also exclude stays abroad of 91 days or more, periods after full departure exceeding 30 days, and overstay periods (the stay-period rule for changing to Other Long-term, F-2-99). If you are worried about such calculations, getting a certificate with dated entries and exits in advance and working through it yourself can help. This is a preparation tip, not a rule that sets submission documents.
7. A checklist in order
- Decide where you will submit it and which period of records that place looks at.
- Decide whether to apply yourself or authorize someone. Yourself: Government24 or a visit. Authorizing: application form and authorization letter.
- Set the reference period generously to cover what is needed.
- Write a specific purpose.
- If the record differs from reality once you have it, ask the office whether a correction can be requested.
8. What an administrative agent can do
At Sunshine Administrative Agent Office (선샤인행정사사무소) we help prepare the application and authorization letter, guide you through gathering documents and applying, organize your stay periods based on entry and departure records, draft written statements, and organize and translate supporting documents. Investigation and criminal trial defense is outside the scope of an administrative agent and we do not handle it.
If the record does not match what you expected, or you find days past your permitted period, it helps to line up the dates before submitting anything. You can reach us at 02-309-3107 or [email protected], and our consultation hours are 09:30~17:30 on weekdays.