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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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ytuque
Joined: 29 Jan 2008
Location: I drink therefore I am!
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 Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 8:38 am Post subject: Anybody received a work visa outside of your home country? |
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I am currently in the Ukraine, and the S. Korean embassy in Kiev is telling me that I need something called a "blue paper" from the Ministry of Justice plus it must be the original to get my work visa processed here. The explanation is that this is a result of the embassy in Kiev being small. Have you heard this before? BTW, I am a US citizen and do not want to do the embassy routine in the US that most of you are familiar with.
I should also mention that I am suspicious because the story that I get from the embassy changes with the weather. |
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air76
Joined: 13 Nov 2007
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 8:57 am Post subject: |
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We picked up our visas in Chile no problem, but we'd had an E-2 visa in the past so maybe that made a difference.
At first the embassy was confused and didn't know what to do with the approval number that we'd been sent from our recruiter in Korea....but the following day they had everything sorted out and gave us our visas (albeit for a $50 processing fee each) |
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ytuque
Joined: 29 Jan 2008
Location: I drink therefore I am!
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:03 am Post subject: |
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| I take it you are not a citizen of Chile? Were any documents required of you and how long ago did you get this visa? |
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air76
Joined: 13 Nov 2007
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:15 am Post subject: |
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| No...I am American and my girlfriend is from New Zealand...all we needed was an application that we downloaded from the internet, 1 passport photo, and the Visa issuance number from Korea. Do you have this number yet? |
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ytuque
Joined: 29 Jan 2008
Location: I drink therefore I am!
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:38 am Post subject: |
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I have a visa number. The Ukrainian woman at the embassy at first said there was no problem; later, there is a problem since I am not a resident of the Ukraine; and finally, a visa could be issued, but I would need documents from Korea. I hate to fly back to the US and stay in a hotel just to turn around and fly to Korea.
Between my CBC and Visa problems, it is tempting to just forget the whole thing! I guess this explains the universities still posting job ads just a couple weeks before the start of the semester. |
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Ut videam
Joined: 07 Dec 2007
Location: Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 1:24 pm Post subject: |
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| ytuque wrote: |
I have a visa number. The Ukrainian woman at the embassy at first said there was no problem; later, there is a problem since I am not a resident of the Ukraine; and finally, a visa could be issued, but I would need documents from Korea. I hate to fly back to the US and stay in a hotel just to turn around and fly to Korea.
Between my CBC and Visa problems, it is tempting to just forget the whole thing! I guess this explains the universities still posting job ads just a couple weeks before the start of the semester. |
The "blue paper" is a Certificate for Recognition of Visa Issuance. You don't need (and won't get) one though, because Korean Immigration doesn't issue them for U.S. citizens. Rather, they electronically grant a visa issuance number, which is what you have. The staff at the Korean Embassy in the Ukraine may not be familiar with this procedure, since Ukrainian nationals get a paper certificate. From the Immi web site:
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Nationals of the following countries will receive "Visa issuance approval number" instead of "certificate of visa issuance approval".
* China, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Philippine, India, U. S. A, Canada, Panama, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Mexico, France, Austria, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, England, Germany, Norway, Czech, Portugal, Sweden, Ireland, Finland, Israel, Greece, Denmark, Republic of Hungary, Swiss【List subject to change】 |
Here's the same information in Korean, in case it might help at the embassy:
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아래 해당국가 국민의 경우 "사증발급인정서" 발급 대신 "사증발급인정번호"를 발급합니다.
* 중 국, 일본, 홍콩, 태국, 말레이시아, 싱가포르, 호주, 필리핀, 인도, 미국, 카나다, 파나마, 브라질, 아르헨티나, 칠레, 페루, 멕시코, 프랑스, 오스트리아, 이태리, 스페인, 네덜란드, 벨기에, 영국, 독일, 노르웨이, 체크, 포르투갈, 스웨덴, 아일랜드, 핀랜드, 이스라엘, 그리스, 덴마크, 헝가리, 스위스【사정에 따라 변경가능】 |
Also, be aware that some Korean embassies and consulates will only issue visas to nationals of the country they serve. And finally, under the new regulations, your E-2 must be issued by an embassy/consulate in your home country if you haven't previously worked in Korea on an E-series visa for at least one year. |
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air76
Joined: 13 Nov 2007
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 2:12 pm Post subject: |
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| Try calling the Korean Embassy in Washington DC...maybe they can give a call to the Ukraine and explain how the process works. It's worth a shot. |
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moosehead
Joined: 05 May 2007
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| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:57 pm Post subject: |
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Bangkok does them all the time - you can fly there and then on to Korea - it's my understanding Bangkok, Beijing, Taipei, Osaka and Fukuoka are the most reliable outside Korea for processing E2s
a school once flew me out of Saigon because it was just proving too difficult for the embassy to handle my e2 app - then they went on and flew me to Japan later - I didn't pay for either flight -
good luck |
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ytuque
Joined: 29 Jan 2008
Location: I drink therefore I am!
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| Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:17 am Post subject: |
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There is a cultural issue getting in the way here in the Ukraine - they just love to say "NO!" I haven't spoken with any Koreans just the frontline customer service local hire trolls.
I will try one last time, but a trip to Bangkok might be a reasonable back-up plan. BTW, I am getting an E1 vs. an E2. Perhaps, it doesn't matter, but it isn't clear to me what the difference is.
Thanks for the advice! |
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ytuque
Joined: 29 Jan 2008
Location: I drink therefore I am!
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| Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 7:43 am Post subject: |
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The Ukrainians are sticking to their guns and demanding the original "Blue Paper" from the Korean Ministry of Justice, CV, letters of reference, etc. I mentioned that other teachers are only required to provide passport photos and a completed application I was told that I should fly to Thailand or Chile. Gotta love Slavic customer service!  Apparently, all the other Korean embassies are wrong, and I was given a URL to a non-existent website which has all the information.
Rather than blow a thousand bucks, what is the probability that my uni can Fedex an original "Blue Paper?" I am wary of going to another country and encountering another embassy troll. |
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moosehead
Joined: 05 May 2007
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| Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 7:56 am Post subject: |
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| ytuque wrote: |
The Ukrainians are sticking to their guns and demanding the original "Blue Paper" from the Korean Ministry of Justice, CV, letters of reference, etc. I mentioned that other teachers are only required to provide passport photos and a completed application I was told that I should fly to Thailand or Chile. Gotta love Slavic customer service! Apparently, all the other Korean embassies are wrong, and I was given a URL to a non-existent website which has all the information.
Rather than blow a thousand bucks, what is the probability that my uni can Fedex an original "Blue Paper?" I am wary of going to another country and encountering another embassy troll. |
that doesn't make any sense - you should just have your visa authorization number and then wham bam they issue the visa
an E1 is for univ profs - is that where you are going to teach?
it's not the Korean Embassy's job to review all your paperwork - that's the people in Korea to do - the Embassy is just supposed to verify your passport and then issue the visa - !
I'd get a plane tkt for Bangkok and get out of there - you are just wasting time my friend - Bangkok does them all the time - you have your visa number, just go on and take care of business - who knows what's up there in the Ukraine -
if you need some info on doing the visa run in Bangkok pm me or research it over on the travel forum - there's plenty there. |
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Ut videam
Joined: 07 Dec 2007
Location: Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do
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| Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:02 pm Post subject: |
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As I posted above, Korean Immigration does not issue a "blue paper" (Certificate for Recognition of Visa Issuance) for U.S. passport holders. Your university can't FedEx one to you, because KImmi didn't send them one. They issued a visa issuance approval number, which they likely e-mailed or SMSed to your contact at the university.
The Korean embassy in the Ukraine may be too small/isolated to be connected to Immi's computer network. If that's the case, then they won't be able to check your approval number against the database. This may be why they're demanding a paper certificate from you. But again, as a U.S. passport holder, you're not going to get one.
Bottom line: you probably need to get your visa issued elsewhere. Consider a stop in Japan, Hong Kong, or Thailand on your way to Korea. Any of the Korean embassies/consulates in those countries will be online and thus able to issue your visa with just the approval number. |
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moosehead
Joined: 05 May 2007
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| Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Ut videam wrote: |
| Bottom line: you probably need to get your visa issued elsewhere. Consider a stop in Japan, Hong Kong, or Thailand on your way to Korea. Any of the Korean embassies/consulates in those countries will be online and thus able to issue your visa with just the approval number. |
ummm, I just said that....  |
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Ut videam
Joined: 07 Dec 2007
Location: Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do
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| Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:16 pm Post subject: |
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Yup, I agree with you. I thought it might be useful to explain why the OP would be wasting his time by continuing to attempt to get the Kiev embassy to issue his visa.
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ytuque
Joined: 29 Jan 2008
Location: I drink therefore I am!
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| Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:54 am Post subject: |
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There are a number of reasons that I am trying to take care of things in-country. The first is that it is far easier and cheaper to take care of things in Kiev than travel to a 3rd country. I will also be heavily loaded down with clothes and books since mailing anything from here is out of the question.
In the back of my mind, there is a question of encountering the same problem somewhere else. A visa run is not reimbursed by my school. |
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