Job Discussion Forums

[elizabeth]

Has anyone recently done a trip to Korea to obtain a work visa to work in Japan (not renewal), how much did it cost?

Cheers

[Ange]

Just to let you know - if you come here on a tourist visa and get your status changed to a 'specialist in humanties' visa (teaching) you no longer have to go to Korea to obtain it. You can get your visa from the immigration department in major cities. I got mine from the Immigration Department at F ukuoka airport and paid about 3000yen.

[Celeste]

Ange-

Can you describe the process fully for us? I am certain that it would be helpful for those who are looking to do this.

What forms did you have to fill out?

What forms did your employer have to fill out?

Did you need photos?

Was there a waiting period?

Did you have to make more than one trip to the immigration office to do it?

How long did they have to keep your passport?

Did you pay in cash, or did you have to get a treasury stamp from a postal outlet?

Any other things that it might be useful to know?

[Ange]

OK - here is the deal as well as I can remember.

First you need a company to sponsor you. I provided my company with a photocopy of my degree (they didn't need the original), a copy of my passport, and a couple of photos. They then sent off their info (company information and reasons behind the sponsorship) with the copies of my documents to the immigration department. I then had to wait three weeks for the certificate of eligibility to be sent back from immigration to my company. I heard that the time it takes for the certificate of eligibility to be issued can vary from 1-2 months but in my case it was only 3 weeks.

Once I had the certificate I had to take it in to immigration along with my passport and a couple of other photos. I had to fill out a form which asked personal information and information about the company. The information they asked about the company was general contact details plus info about how much they make per year etc... I didn't know this information but the lady at immigration said that it was no problem to leave it blank. The immigration then looked at all the forms etc and stamped my passport with a stamp marked APPLICATION with the date. I didn't have to leave my passport there, just get the stamp in my passport. They told me I would receive a postcard in a month telling me whether my application had been approved or not. Certificate of eligibility doesn't necessarily guarantee a visa.

Two weeks later I received a postcard from immigration in the mail saying my application had been accepted and I had one month in which to go back to immigration to get my visa. I went back to the airport and had to buy a special stamp at the airport post office which was 3000 yen. I then took that with my passport and postcard to immigration where they then issued my working visa and cancelled my tourist visa.

It was all incredibly easy and painless - the people were very friendly, efficient, and helpful and I experienced no problems whatsoever at any stage of this process.

I hope this helps!!