SORA RENTAL NOTE · 31
An address-only lease for immigration: is it safe?
Use evidence of the place where you really live. A paid paper address is not a solution to missing housing documents.
Content checked · 3 October 2026
The key points
- A document should describe your actual accommodation, not an address chosen only for an application.
- Immigration Act Article 26 prohibits specified permit applications using false information or forged documents, and arranging or encouraging that conduct.
- Genuine accommodation with a friend is different from a fictional lease for a home you do not occupy.
01 — 04
Start with the comic
Documents and screens are simplified illustrations. Check the sources below for actual forms and steps.
Someone offered me a lease for a room I will never live in.
Stop before signing. Your application must match the facts.
I’ll compare the papers with the place where I actually stay.
Ask the real accommodation provider for truthful evidence.
A convenient document can create a serious problem
- Actual home
- Registered address
- Residence evidence
An advertisement may offer an address or lease “only for visa purposes.” The key question is not whether the document looks official, but whether it truthfully describes your accommodation. Paying for a paper address does not make it the place where you live.
Article 26 of Korea’s Immigration Act prohibits false applications and the submission of forged or altered supporting documents in the permit applications it covers, including stay extensions. It also prohibits arranging or encouraging that conduct. A helper’s assurance that “everyone does it” does not change the rule.
A friend’s real home is a different situation
- Living at a friend’s home
- Consent
- Residence evidence
You may genuinely stay with a friend even though you are not the named tenant. That situation needs accurate evidence connecting you to the home and the accommodation provider. KU’s extension guidance, for example, lists an accommodation confirmation and supporting documents for leases in another person’s name.
By contrast, a lease for a room you never occupy does not prove your real accommodation. Do not ask someone to sign a statement they know is untrue or submit a booking that has been changed to hide the actual dates. If the housing provider cannot supply a requested document, ask the receiving office what truthful alternative it accepts.
Pause, explain the facts and correct genuine mistakes
- 01What happened
- 02Seek advice
- 03Check facts and correct
Before submitting, compare your actual living place and dates with every document. Keep the provider’s replies and the originals you received. If someone presses you to use false information, stop that part of the process and explain your actual accommodation to the university or immigration office.
A spelling mistake or a document that needs updating is not automatically the same as intentional fraud. If you discover an error, ask the receiving office how to correct or supplement the application promptly. Do not silently alter a signed document, destroy the record or assume a false submission has no consequences.
What to check
- Confirm that the address is where you actually live during the stated period.
- Ask what each document proves and who will sign it.
- Keep the original documents and the provider’s messages.
- If evidence is missing or inaccurate, ask the receiving office for the proper correction or alternative.
Common questions
Is living with a friend itself a false-address arrangement?
No. The issue is whether the stated accommodation is real and accurately documented. A lease in your friend’s name needs the appropriate supporting evidence.
I already submitted a document with an error. Should I replace it myself?
Ask the receiving office how to correct or supplement it. Explain what is wrong and preserve the original; do not independently edit another person’s signed document.
Official sources
Korean laws and guidance from public agencies, universities and service providers. Most originals are in Korean or English. School and product examples apply only within their stated scope.