Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

Korea Needs Long-Term Plan for Visa Requirements
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2008/11/139_34649.html

By Brian Deutsch
Contributing Writer

It has been reported recently that Korean immigration has been requiring a Vulnerable Sector Screening (VSS) check of Canadians applying for the E-2 teaching visa, and has had these requirements in place since Sept. 1. The VSS is required of Canadians in Canada who are working with children or the elderly.

According to a Joongang Ilbo article, however, many Canadians were unaware of this new requirement and experienced lengthy delays while getting this paperwork in order or, in some cases, were denied visas outright.

The Canadian Embassy was never informed of this change in policy, and could thus provide no assistance or information to its citizens trying to obtain teaching visas. More alarmingly, the immigration requirements were for services the embassy could not provide, and which would come at great costs to the applicant.

A friend recently emailed the embassy and received a reply that said the Canadian government does not issue VSSs for the purpose of overseas jobs, and that the embassy is thus not equipped to provide them.

It also reiterated that Korean immigration implemented the requirement without checking with or alerting the Canadian government, and that the embassy and the Ministry of Justice were working on a solution to the problem.

A component of the VSS is fingerprinting, something that can be done at police stations all over the country. However, Canada does not accept fingerprints for the VSS that are taken overseas, meaning applicants would have to return to Canada for the simple procedure at their own expense.

This is akin to another recent requirement, an in-person interview, which requires the applicant to travel to the nearest embassy or consulate ― often hundreds of miles away ― at his own expensive for a five-minute interview in broken English.

While there are many satisfying things about working in South Korea, it is difficult to justify spending several millions of won fulfilling hasty requirements that will probably be repealed in a few months anyway.

This is just the most recent example of immigration disorganization to come about after new visa regulations were put in place for E-2 teachers last fall. When they were first implemented, in response to a teacher arrested in Thailand for molesting children, they were done so rather hastily and, quite frankly, in an offensive manner.

Although the teacher arrested was working in South Korea on an E-7 visa, the new regulations were aimed solely at E-2 visa holders. They included new health exams, new criminal background checks, redundant degree verifications, and in-person embassy interviews.

Local newspapers were quick to engage in yellow journalism to justify these new measures, with sensationalist stories about dangerous foreigners, or on the threat of foreign sexual predators or drug-pushers. As a result of the extra paperwork and of the negative media response, many native speakers decided to leave South Korea, making it quite difficult for public and private schools to attract English teachers.

And when these new requirements were implemented, they were done rather last minute and without consulting the appropriate embassies. As a result, many embassies said they were either unable or unwilling to cooperate with South Korea's demands, or could not provide its citizens the services the Korean government required.

For instance, the U.S. Embassy issued an email alerting citizens to misinformation being spread by immigration on the topic of background checks and affidavits, and reaffirming that the best source of visa information for American citizens was the embassy and not immigration.

A Korean Ministry of Justice official was quoted as asking why foreign governments just couldn't try harder to fall in line with Korea's demands.

But as quickly as these demands were put in place, they started changing. Requirements for health exams and criminal background checks were in constant flux.

This past summer, online criminal background checks for American citizens considered acceptable were suddenly deemed no longer valid. As always, requirements varied by immigration office, with some asking for redundant paperwork and others not checking paperwork at all.

The problem isn't merely that these requirements are inconvenient. Everyone will agree that all precautions must be taken when it comes to teaching children or when trying to work in a foreign country. Nor is the objection merely to bureaucratic disorganization, which is something you'll find in any country.

And let's remember that until recently, South Koreans wanting to travel to the United States had to go through an expensive and inconvenient process to obtain visas.

While those are all important considerations, what is most troubling is the stubborn and arrogant commitment to dictating what foreign workers must do and demanding their governments comply, without so much as checking to see whether these governments are willing or able to comply in the first place.

As a result of the lack of planning, the subsequent ever-changing requirements and the constant round of moral panics makes fewer and fewer foreign teachers trust in the reliability of immigration to commit to a single policy. And given the economic situation and the sometimes unfriendly environment toward things foreign, many are choosing to simply go elsewhere.

Recently, the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement has been in the news, with the Korean side reiterating it will not renegotiate any terms, and imploring the U.S. to accept it as is. Ironic considering the Korean side renegotiated the agreement on beef imports after panic over mad cow disease.

The point is, the head of the Korean side said numerous times that trying to renegotiate a treaty will violate a trust established by the two countries, and will go against international protocol and decorum.

It is the same with immigration wildly implementing policies it has no way to see through, and making demands of foreign governments they have no way of meeting.

In addition to driving away teachers, such neglect of long-term planning and such inconsiderate and reckless behavior toward other countries and their citizens also chips away at the international reputation South Korea is always so eager to promote.

The writer is an English teacher. He can be reached at [email protected]. His blog is http://briandeutsch.blogspot

[ttompatz]

Stupid immigration procedures and policies are the primary reason I am leaving and NOT returning....

Their loss... another one bites the dust.

.

[wylies99]

It's understood that the Korean government just changed hands from one party to another, but no one in the Korean government seems to have any ideas other than "throw money at English education" and "foreign teachers are evil and hagwon owners are saints."

[Bucheonguy]

Honestly, I can't stand this place. I'll never come back.