Korean Job Discussion Forums

UberJRI · Joined: 22 Apr 2008 Location: Not where I want to be...yet

I've been here for almost two months now. I had my health check and everything was fine and dandy. Then, my boss takes me to immigration to process my ARC, and they told him that I need to have a second health check, because the rules have changed. They have now had my passport for almost three weeks down at immigration. Is this really a new rule or is something fishy going on? Anyone have any ideas? Either way, if some Korean wants to stick their finger in my bunghole, I'm not cool with that. I don't even know what they would need to do for a second check: they already got my blood and urine...

sojourner1 · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 4:29 am Post subject:

Uh, this is quite interesting.

Imrahil · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 4:31 am Post subject:

How soon after your health check did you boss take you to immigration?

Also, whoever told you that you were fine could have lied to you.

Or, it is possible that you have some minor problem and they want you to get retested.

jessie-b · Joined: 17 Apr 2006

It might be some confusion they have about a new law for teachers who have been here for two years and haven't had the health check. E2 teachers who didn't get the health check last year because of resigning at a job now have to get one. There was some confusion at my work as well. Some teachers who had JUST had their health check one month before were being told that they needed another one. I guess they refused and now management is trying to sort it out with immigration.

Get your passport back though. ASAP.

UberJRI · Joined: 22 Apr 2008 Location: Not where I want to be...yet

Well, I don't think it's about a problem that I had personally with my health or anything like that, thankfully. Myself and two other new teachers went in on the same day for our checks, and the results came back fine, but now all three of us have to get another test, and all three of us are without our passports and have been for about three weeks....it just seems strange when they told us that there was no problem but now all of a sudden we have to get another check.

yingwenlaoshi · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Location: ... location, location!

The health check is good for a specified amount of time, I believe. I would have to be. My health check was done at least a couple of weeks before I applied for my alien card. I don't know what the rule is for this. No one really said anything. Maybe you could get your medical check done as soon as you enter Korea on your visa and you can still wait until the 11th hour to apply for your alien card. Given that it takes immi a certain amount of time (a week?) to get you your alien card. Is it maybe good for 3 months?

Anyway, if they're asking for another medical check (if immi's asking), ask them why your current one is no good and let us know. If it's absolutely necessary, make sure your boss pays for it. No big deal unless you shared a needle shooting heroine and had sex with a ten-hooker or ten since your last test.

UberJRI · Joined: 22 Apr 2008 Location: Not where I want to be...yet

yingwenlaoshi · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Location: ... location, location!

If there was some sort of rule change pertaining to the health check then I guess it would have to be something they test for or how they test for it. And that rule change would've had to have been done sometime recently. I'm not aware of any changes to the health test procedure.

I'd think you'd need some details.

Maybe it's a time-frame thing. Maybe your test can't be any older than 2 weeks or something. Why can't they be more informative about why you need to do another one?

emilylovesyou · Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Location: here

Maybe they want more than just blood and urine? I just went last week to get my health check and got blood and urine, but also a chest x-ray and height/weight/blood pressure/etc. Immi took it with no problems.

hari seldon · Joined: 05 Dec 2004 Location: Incheon

Kurtz · Joined: 05 Jan 2007 Location: ples bilong me

As far as I know you need a health check for your E-2 and another one later for your ARC, I've had 3 in the last 10 months as my school's policy is for everyone to have a health check every two years even though I've only been at the school for 6 months and I was last tested in March.

yingwenlaoshi · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Location: ... location, location!

broken76 · Joined: 27 Jan 2008

You only need one for your ARC. I have seen teachers in the past get retested either to double-check something or because the original hospital they went to wasn't one preapproved by immigration.
I don't believe that there were any changes to the medical tests in the past few weeks.