Korea Deportation Order and Objection — Procedure Under the Immigration Act

Overview

If you have received a deportation order, there are two things to check first. One is the date you received the written deportation order. The other is the wording of Article 60(1) of the Immigration Act: an objection must be submitted within 7 days of receiving the order, through the head of the regional Immigration Office to the Minister of Justice. Article 59(4) says the head of the office must tell you, when issuing the order, that you may file an objection with the Minister of Justice.

This article uses only wording confirmed directly in the current text of the Immigration Act and walks through the sequence in article order: investigation (Art. 47) → protection/detention (Art. 51) → review decision (Art. 58) → issuing the order (Art. 59) → objection (Art. 60) → enforcement (Art. 62) and detention pending removal (Art. 63). It does not predict results or promise relief, and representing someone in a lawsuit or similar legal dispute is outside the scope of an administrative agent. For your own case, confirm with the competent Immigration Office.

At a Glance

Scope of Activity

• The procedural flow in the order of the Immigration Act provisions on investigation, protection, review decision, issuing the order, objection, enforcement and protection before removal (Arts. 47, 51, 55, 58-60, 62-63 in Chapter VI)
• Wording on deportation orders that can be confirmed in the MOJ Foreign Resident Stay Manual (Sept. 2026 edition), such as the disqualification lists for D-10-T, change of status and permanent residence
• Out of scope: judging the chance of relief, processing times, representation in lawsuits, deciding whether any item of Art. 46(1) applies to you, and the length of an entry ban

Who Qualifies

• Foreign nationals who have received, or may receive, a written deportation order and want to know the next steps and the objection deadline
• Family members or friends of someone in protection (detention) or deportation proceedings who want to understand the order of steps
• People under investigation by an Immigration Office, for example on suspicion of breaching permit conditions, who want to know what follows the review decision
• Readers who want to see how the manual mentions a deportation record in stay-permit review

Required Documents

• The date you received the written order: the 7 days in Art. 60(1) run from the day you received it. Check the receipt date and keep a copy of the order. Confirm the details of counting with the office
• Whether you are in protection, and the papers: if so, the protection order (if you were given an urgent protection notice, whether the protection order was issued within 48 hours, Art. 51). A separate procedure under Art. 55 lets a protected person ask the Foreigner Protection Committee to review the protection itself
• Which item of Art. 46(1) the order relies on: check which item the order and the review decision cite. When an objection is filed, the head of the office attaches the review decision and investigation record and sends them to the Minister of Justice (Art. 60(2))
• How to submit the objection: it goes through the head of the regional Immigration Office, not directly to the Minister (Art. 60(1)). Confirm the reception method and form with the office
• Whether you applied for refugee status: Art. 62(4) says a person is not to be returned while a refugee application is undecided or an objection under Art. 21 of the Refugee Act is under review (with an exception related to public safety), so sort out where your application stands
• Passport, registration status and stay history: lacking a passport or transport can be a reason for protection pending return under Art. 63(1). Gather the documents you hold
• Preparing to consult: take the papers above and every notice you received to the competent Immigration Office. Representation in lawsuits or similar legal disputes is outside the scope of an administrative agent

Application Process

1. Check eligibility — confirm your current status, career, degree and contract type match the requirements.
2. Prepare documents — foreign public documents need a translator's certification plus an apostille (or consular confirmation for non-member states).
3. Book a visit — reserve a slot at your Immigration Office via HiKorea (www.hikorea.go.kr), or file online where e-Application is available.
4. File and pay — submit the Integrated Application Form (Form No. 34) and pay the screening fee.
5. Review — respond to any request for supplementary documents within the deadline.
6. Result — on approval, the period of stay and status are granted; reissue your ARC if required.

Key Points

• The Act sets out the order of steps like this. An immigration officer may investigate a foreigner suspected of falling under any item of Art. 46(1) (the "suspect") (Art. 47), and when the investigation ends the head of the office must decide without delay whether an item applies (Art. 58). If it finds none applies, it notifies the person and, if protected, releases the person immediately; if it finds one applies, it may order deportation and must issue the written order (Art. 59(1)-(3)). This article does not judge whether any item applies to you.
• The objection (Art. 60) is submitted within 7 days of receiving the order through the head of the office, and the Minister of Justice decides whether the objection has merit. If the decision is that it does, the head of the office notifies the person without delay and releases the person immediately if protected; if it does not, the person is notified of that fact. The Act does not say here how an objection affects enforcement or which grounds are accepted, so this article does not cover them and does not predict results.
• Protection and objection are different procedures. Protection (Art. 51) is by protection order where there is reasonable cause to suspect and a flight risk; a protected person who objects to the protection may request review by the Foreigner Protection Committee under Art. 55. An objection to the deportation order itself is the Art. 60 objection. If a person under an order cannot be returned at once, Art. 63 allows protection of up to 2 months until return is possible, and with extensions the total period may not in principle exceed 9 months (the proviso has exceptions).
• Only part of this appears in the manual. The Foreign Resident Stay Manual (Sept. 2026 edition) lists people for whom 7 years have not passed since leaving the country after a deportation order under Art. 59(2) in the disqualification list for D-10-T , the restrictions on change of status and the good-conduct requirement for permanent residence , and the rules for violators of student part-time work permits say that a second detection of working without permission leads to deportation. This does not mean the same criterion applies to every status. Content whose provisions were not confirmed for this article, such as the length of an entry ban, is left out; confirm it with the office.
• Mind the line between administrative-agent services and consultation. Representation in lawsuits or similar legal disputes over a deportation order is outside the scope of an administrative agent, and how to prepare and submit an objection varies with each case, so this article does not give instructions on that. Confirm with the competent Immigration Office before deciding.
• Documents issued in Korea must normally be dated within 3 months unless another validity period applies.
• Documents already on file in your alien registration record need not be resubmitted.
• Health certificates, drug test results and pre-employment medical reports must be submitted sealed by the issuing hospital (do not open).
• You must be in Korea when applying; leaving the country after filing may result in refusal.
• Screening fees are non-refundable once the application is accepted.
• The head of the Immigration Office may add or waive documents where necessary for review.

Frequently Asked Questions

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