Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jonpurdy]

I've been back in Canada almost a year and have yet to do the refund due to my confusion around the issue.

I have the document "Application for Korean benefits..." filled out and stamped by the Korean Consulate here in Toronto. But where to I send this to? To the NPS office or to the NPS International Center? And they didn't mention any supporting documentation but the back of the document says it requires a copy of the airline ticket.

So, any assistance on this matter is greatly appreciated.

[cmr]

Why not give a call to the nearest Korean consulate or embassy? They may be in a better position than anyone else on this board to give you that kind of information.

[jonpurdy]

[some waygug-in]

I am ashamed to admit it, but I am in the same boat.

I tried contacting them through various web links that I was given.
The information I received was so mixed-up and confusing that I couldn't make head or tail of it. I've come to the conclusion that the only way I will
ever get it sorted out is if I return to Korea in person and do it.

Probably not what you wanted to hear.

[jonpurdy]

[jonpurdy]

Update: called NPS International Center (02-2176-8706, for Canada) and gave them my info. They told me to go to Service Canada.

I'll give Service Canada a call tomorrow (which I tried last week but kept getting busy signals).

[jonpurdy]

Update:

Service Canada has nothing to do with the pension refund. The guy on the phone at NPS didn't know what he was talking about.

After filling out the form and getting it (along with a printout of my one-way plane ticket, passport copy, screenshot of bank account with balance and such blurred, and ARC copy) stamped at the Consulate, I mailed it to:

Kukmin-yeonkum Building, 13 Shincheon-no 2Gil(Shincheon-dong), Songpa-gu, Seoul, Korea
and put the Korean address in brackets. (138-725) 서울특별시 송파구 신천로2길 13(신천동)

It's tracked and requires a signature so I'll know exactly when they receive it. I'll update this when I hear back or get new information.

[some waygug-in]

Best of luck to you.

The last information I received, the guy told my I'd have to

send notorized copies of my passport, with the appropriate visa

pages, a copy of my degree (notorized) and a police check?


He seemed to be confusing my situation with someone applying for a

visa. I hope you have better luck.

[jonpurdy]

Another update:

NPS received my documents but they can't process them because they're not notarized. Consulate here said they were fine before I sent them so I was a bit surprised.

NPS is sending the documents back and have given me two options:

1. Take them to Service Canada and have them do it. She was quite insistent that Service Canada has to be able to do it somehow.

2. Get them notarized and apostilled, then send them back.

I'm going to take them to SC and play the recording of the phone call for them.

I assume I'll probably have to get them notarized and send them back for another $70, haha. I'm just glad that I've got the name and contact info of someone at NPS who seems to know what she's doing and seems to genuinely want to help (she mentioned that it's unfortunate that the Consulate gave me incorrect info and that I spent unnecessary money).

Anyway, I'll keep the few people who are interested in this posted. Expect to hear again in a couple of weeks.

[iggyb]

I think you'll get the refund eventually.

I would have figured they would want you to send in all the paperwork they request if you were in Korea - but with it notarized in Canada (or apostilled if in the US), because that is what they want from overseas documents these days.

We can thank the number of ESLers who came over with fake degrees in the ealry 2000s for that...

But I had little problem getting the refund processed while I was in Korea, and I'd expect they'd process it well enough once the notarized documents are submitted.

I don't know why they'd still want you to show an airplane ticket. The whole idea was to prove you were really going to leave Korea and not just get the refund and take a new job while still in Korea. The fact you are in Canada and mailing all the documents from there, with notary, would seem to negate the need for that...

But, its a bureacracy. Things are always going to be smooth in one only if you are a routine case they see everyday. Anytime you move outside the routine, it takes patience and persistance - whether in Korea, Canada, or the US or anywhere.

The only hiccup I had doing it in Korea was that they wouldn't accept just my bank account numbers in the US. They wanted proof I had an account in the US. They told me a receipt of a wire transfer would do.

So, I left the office, went to the nearest branch of my Korean bank, transferred some money, went back and they accepted it all.

It was quick and the woman in Seoul spoke English fine.

She gave me her card and told me to call from the US if I had any trouble.

I would think calling the National Pension Office in Korea would be the best place to call - even if it takes some persistence restating your specific case again and again...

Let us know how it turns out....

[I'm With You]

[12ax7]

"We can thank the number of ESLers who came over with fake degrees in the ealry 2000s for that... "

No, thank local politicians who make decisions based on what they read in tabloids.

[iggyb]

I was there in the early 2000s, and you started to see a growing number of people with fake degrees and no visas in country - because the industry's bad reputation had scared off too many people.

[12ax7]

[jonpurdy]

December 2012 Update:

I emailed NPS a couple of weeks ago because I still hadn't been contacted about my pension refund. They hadn't received anything from Service Canada so I called them. SC couldn't give me any info but put in a request for status and told me to call back in ten days or so. I got a letter a few days later saying that they received my lump sum refund request and sent it to Korea. I'm not sure if it was related to my phone call or coincidental.

TL;DR: Four months after submitting it to Service Canada they finally sent it to NPS.

I'll post another update when I have more info.