Korean Job Discussion Forums

[robja]

Hi,

Does anyone have experience of applying for a non-working visa for a spouse in Korea?

I am planning to travel to Korea and work on the standard E2 visa and am wondering how easy it would be for my wife (a Thai national) to get a one year visa.

I read somewhere that schools are generally willing to supply the appropriate documentation for non-working spouses but wanted to hear if anyone had first hand experience of the process.

Any information gratefully received.

Cheers.

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

[robja]

Thanks, will do.

[spliff]

The school doesn't have to be involved. You can get the spouse visa in Thailand or just have wife come here on tourist visa and then apply at the immy office in Korea. Just make sure you have all your paperwork proving that you are married.

[mrsquirrel]

All depends though.

THe consulate in Thailand are twats when it comes to the visa if you don't hav e your ARC card already and you are present.

Spliff got his without any problems but was with his wife

My wife on the other hand went on her own and they were complete cnuts to her and even after her running around getting the documents they asked for would NOT issue her with an F-3. They were demanding an ENGLISH marriage certificate. No such thing in Thailand. A translated copy or nothing. The wouldn't accept a cetified by my embassies translation

They did tell her to go to Korea on her own because she was Thai and they have a reciprocal visa agreement and she could enter on a tourist and change it (BS locked her away in the immigration holding for an hour whilst calling me - still didn't believe she was married to me and I had to guarantee her here on my visa)

Once in though they have been excellent. They did change the tourist to an F-3 without any hassles.

They were still a little off about the translated stamped copy of our Thai certificate from the embassy but once I pointed out the embassies stamp on it they were happy to accept it

IMHO if you can be with her at the airport and take her in or get your school to issue the letters of sponsorship as suggested by ttompatz.

Good luck.

Get a job in Yongin and you me and spliff can have somtam parties

[lastat06513]

When I was married, I brought my wife (who was a Chinese national) to Korea for the last few months of my contract.

The best thing to do is to bring her to Korea on a tourist visa and then change it to a F3 visa.

Things I brought to immigrations to prove I was legally and gainfully employed:

~ Copy of Passport
~ Copy of ARC
~ Copy of bank statement
~ Letter of Employment
~ Copy of Tax statement
~ Copy of marriage certificate
~ Rental Agreement/ Lease Agreement
~ Copy of marriage certificate traslated into Korean (if not Korean)
~ Affidavid stating that the US embassy or any US governmental agency does not issue a marriage certificate if one was already issued by a competent agency in the country where the marriage took place (they tried to give me a circlejerk until I showed them that letter)
~ 60,000 won for the F3 ARC


....that was about it........
I think others will post additional stuff

[robja]

Cheers gents, helpful all. I'll be with my wife so we might try and get it before we leave Thailand, just for her peace of mind.

If we do go down the tourist visa route, do you know if there any requirements in terms of personal cash carried or return air ticket for entering the country? I know this reciprocal visa thing can sometimes be a little one-sided between countries with a large income gap.

PS mrsquirrel, funnily enough somtam is about the only Thai food I don't like. Given that it's usually the favourite dish of around 50% of any given class, my students tend to look at me like I'm mad when I tell them that! My wife is going to pine for it like nothing else though, so if we find ourselves in your neck of the woods you can expect a knock on the door followed by a woman bearing papaya...

[lowpo]

[robja]

Just in case anyone else is in a similar situation and their search comes up with this thread, here's what eventually happened....

I talked to my school about getting an F3 visa in advance for my wife and they said that they could get a visa issuance number for her from the Ministry of Justice once they had been issued mine.

I sent them (my school) a copy of my wife's passport, two photos and our original wedding certificate with British Embassy sworn translation.

They thought it would take about a week after my visa issuance number was...erm...issued; in the event, we got them both on the same day (7 working days after I had sent my and her docs over).

The Korean Embassy in Bangkok provides a next day service for people wiith visa issuance numbers and all went smoothly - my wife dropped off her passport Monday morning, picked up the visa Tuesday morning. The visa is free for Thai nationals.

All went smoothly at immigration (she went through on her own the day after me as I had to come direct from England), it seems to be politeness all round when you have the right number/docs.

So here we are, trying and failing to develop a taste for gimchi but otherwise enjoying ourselves...

[mrsquirrel]

Once she has the ARC card she can also use the Koreans immigration line at the airport as well.

They are decent when you have the right documents.

Glad to hear it went well.