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Chet Wautlands
Joined: 11 Oct 2008
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 Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 2:24 pm Post subject: Living on a tourist visa |
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Hey there!
I'm planning to come to Korea on a tourist visa and then find a job whilst I'm in the country. Does anyone know of any special requirements for tourist visas? I'm Canadian. Should I just show up in Korea or do I need to arrange that before hand. Also, should I tell them I'll be looking for work or should I lie and say I want to visit friends.
One more thing... I will want a job in Seoul. I'll need a place to live until I find one. Anyone know what options I'll have on a tourist visa? Are there places that one can rent for a month without an ARC?
You guys are the best! |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 3:41 pm Post subject: Re: Living on a tourist visa |
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| Chet Wautlands wrote: |
Hey there!
I'm planning to come to Korea on a tourist visa and then find a job whilst I'm in the country. Does anyone know of any special requirements for tourist visas? I'm Canadian. Should I just show up in Korea or do I need to arrange that before hand. Also, should I tell them I'll be looking for work or should I lie and say I want to visit friends.
One more thing... I will want a job in Seoul. I'll need a place to live until I find one. Anyone know what options I'll have on a tourist visa? Are there places that one can rent for a month without an ARC?
You guys are the best! |
Unless you plan to work illegally there are some potential pitfalls with your plan.
In order to obtain an E2 work visa (for the first time) You must either:
a) have a consular interview in your home country
b) have your academic credentials confirmed by KCUE.
You need to have your criminal background check certified by the Korean consulate in Canada and it must be less than 6 months old at the time of your visa application.
Coming from Canada on a tourist visa waiver stamp (you don't/won't have a visa) you are required to have onward or return passage. You may NOT be allowed to board the plane in Canada without it (Air Canada (and A.C. staff at other airline boarding/check-in counters) are especially anal about this).
Housing without an ARC is not an issue. Yeogwans, Goshiwans or motels don't care.
If you come here on your own dime the school will have to pay for your visa run to Japan so you probably WON'T get reimbursed for your ticket when you land a job.
Perhaps you should do a little more research on the E2 visa process before you jump on the plane.
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Chet Wautlands
Joined: 11 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 4:01 pm Post subject: |
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TTompatz, always lots of good info.
Actually, this will be my second time teaching. I realize that I'll have to have my CRC, diploma, transcripts, etc. Do you know if I'd still have to do the interview if I've been over there once?
Also, I've heard many people talk about going over and finding a job whilst there. Any idea how they would have done it?
Thanks again for your reply. I've come to rely on your info.
Thanks!
Chet |
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ben-ja-mas
Joined: 20 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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Ok - I did it. Came here on a tourist visa and stayed in a love hotel until I found the right job(30K won per night in the hotel). Got the job I wanted. Got my degree verified by KCUE(Korean Council or University Education), got my visa issuance number and I was off to Japan.
All this took about three more weeks to get sorted so I (ahem) travelled around Korea until I had to go to Japan. |
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Chet Wautlands
Joined: 11 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 4:18 pm Post subject: |
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| So, they let you in without a return plane ticket? That seems like good news... |
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ben-ja-mas
Joined: 20 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 4:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Yes but I was flying from another country. The airline I flew with were not going to let me on the flight to Korea but I showed them $1000 cash and signed a waiver form to say I would not be their responsibility if i was denied entry into KLand. |
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Chet Wautlands
Joined: 11 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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Aha! That's the story. Nicely done, though. It seems more and more that the best way to get a good job is to just look at Dave's job board. Who would have guessed? ha ha.
Thanks guys! |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 4:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Chet Wautlands wrote: |
TTompatz, always lots of good info.
Actually, this will be my second time teaching. I realize that I'll have to have my CRC, diploma, transcripts, etc. Do you know if I'd still have to do the interview if I've been over there once?
Also, I've heard many people talk about going over and finding a job whilst there. Any idea how they would have done it?
Thanks again for your reply. I've come to rely on your info.
Thanks!
Chet |
2nd time on an E2 means you can dispense with the interview (unless you had a black mark in your immigration file).
Flying over WAS the best way prior to December 2007. At that time the rules changed and obtaining a new visa became more difficult.
The airline rules have been in place for years but enforcement depends on who is at the check-in counter.
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seoulteacher
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 10:34 pm Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
2nd time on an E2 means you can dispense with the interview (unless you had a black mark in your immigration file).
Flying over WAS the best way prior to December 2007. At that time the rules changed and obtaining a new visa became more difficult. |
Thanks ttompatz: good info, as usual. Just to be specific...
I was on E2 visas from 2001 to March 2007, and have since returrned to Canada. Does that mean that I would NOT need an interview with a Korean consulate back at home (Vancouver)?
ie. I could
(i) come back to Korea now (with the paperwork you've listed above);
ii) look for a job from within Korea (which would allow me to be on hand for any uni interviews: they don't seem keen on doing phone or webcam interviews);
iii) then, once I'd rec'd & accepted an offer, I could simply do a visa run to, say, Osaka (without having to return to Canada for an interview at the Korean Consulate in Vancouver)?
As you can imagine, this point is very important for me to clarify; the universities' not wanting to interview an applicant while he/her is outside Korea has complicated matters given current E2 visa procedures...
Thanks. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 11:41 pm Post subject: |
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| seoulteacher wrote: |
| ttompatz wrote: |
2nd time on an E2 means you can dispense with the interview (unless you had a black mark in your immigration file).
Flying over WAS the best way prior to December 2007. At that time the rules changed and obtaining a new visa became more difficult. |
Thanks ttompatz: good info, as usual. Just to be specific...
I was on E2 visas from 2001 to March 2007, and have since returrned to Canada. Does that mean that I would NOT need an interview with a Korean consulate back at home (Vancouver)?
ie. I could
(i) come back to Korea now (with the paperwork you've listed above);
ii) look for a job from within Korea (which would allow me to be on hand for any uni interviews: they don't seem keen on doing phone or webcam interviews);
iii) then, once I'd rec'd & accepted an offer, I could simply do a visa run to, say, Osaka (without having to return to Canada for an interview at the Korean Consulate in Vancouver)?
As you can imagine, this point is very important for me to clarify; the universities' not wanting to interview an applicant while he/her is outside Korea has complicated matters given current E2 visa procedures...
Thanks. |
i,ii,iii,iv = yes, yes, yes, WITH the proviso that there is no black mark in your immigration file from any time you were in Korea.
If you had a prior E2 you can do what you propose provided your CRC and degree copy are certified by the Korean embassy in Canada AND you have your sealed transcripts.
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seoulteacher
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:15 am Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
i,ii,iii,iv = yes, yes, yes, WITH the proviso that there is no black mark in your immigration file from any time you were in Korea.
If you had a prior E2 you can do what you propose provided your CRC and degree copy are certified by the Korean embassy in Canada AND you have your sealed transcripts. |
No, no black marks on my immigration file (far as I know!  )...
and many, many thanks, ttompatz, for the info and for taking time to pass it on. |
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yingwenlaoshi
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Location: ... location, location!
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:08 am Post subject: Re: Living on a tourist visa |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
| Chet Wautlands wrote: |
Hey there!
I'm planning to come to Korea on a tourist visa and then find a job whilst I'm in the country. Does anyone know of any special requirements for tourist visas? I'm Canadian. Should I just show up in Korea or do I need to arrange that before hand. Also, should I tell them I'll be looking for work or should I lie and say I want to visit friends.
One more thing... I will want a job in Seoul. I'll need a place to live until I find one. Anyone know what options I'll have on a tourist visa? Are there places that one can rent for a month without an ARC?
You guys are the best! |
Unless you plan to work illegally there are some potential pitfalls with your plan.
In order to obtain an E2 work visa (for the first time) You must either:
a) have a consular interview in your home country
b) have your academic credentials confirmed by KCUE.
You need to have your criminal background check certified by the Korean consulate in Canada and it must be less than 6 months old at the time of your visa application.
Coming from Canada on a tourist visa waiver stamp (you don't/won't have a visa) you are required to have onward or return passage. You may NOT be allowed to board the plane in Canada without it (Air Canada (and A.C. staff at other airline boarding/check-in counters) are especially anal about this).
Housing without an ARC is not an issue. Yeogwans, Goshiwans or motels don't care.
If you come here on your own dime the school will have to pay for your visa run to Japan so you probably WON'T get reimbursed for your ticket when you land a job.
Perhaps you should do a little more research on the E2 visa process before you jump on the plane.
. |
Just a side note:
If it were the OP's first time coming to Korea, if he found a job, he may be required to go all the way back home. I saw one guy (American) get his visa refused in Japan before I got mine (I was standing in line). His boss-to-be sent him to Japan and everything. It was pretty sad. I wonder how that could have happened since immi would have started the visa process in Korea? Weird. |
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seoulteacher
Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:36 pm Post subject: Re: Living on a tourist visa |
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| yingwenlaoshi wrote: |
Just a side note:
If it were the OP's first time coming to Korea, if he found a job, he may be required to go all the way back home. I saw one guy (American) get his visa refused in Japan before I got mine (I was standing in line). His boss-to-be sent him to Japan and everything. It was pretty sad. I wonder how that could have happened since immi would have started the visa process in Korea? Weird. |
Ouch, a visa trip to Japan for nothing! And then to have to fly back home to do the visa process there. Ouch, ouch!
The above, simply put, was exactly what I feared could happen to me.
So, good that ttompatz clarified my situation: because I previously have had an E2, I can, in fact, fly to Korea ahead of a job offer & a consular interview.
(And maybe I'd again try a capsule hotel in Osaka, once I got there on a visa run: good facilities and relatively-inexpensive, but with a somewhat-claustrophobic sleeping space. But worth doing at least once...and maybe a concept that 'the west', in these increasingly tight times, might be ready to adopt?) |
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