Korean Job Discussion Forums

digirl2956 · Joined: 01 May 2007

Can a public school refuse to give you a signed transfer paper to go to another school? I have heard of this happening at hogwons. Does anyone know if it is legal? I have heard of this happening at several public school when the teacher is difficult

Yu_Bum_suk · Joined: 25 Dec 2004

Do you mean a letter of release for immigration? Yes, they can, though they're usually not as anal about it as hagwons. The one exception is SMOE - they have a policy of punishing teachers who want to change jobs before their contract is up.

digirl2956 · Joined: 01 May 2007

No I am finishing my contract. But the recruiter said I need a transfer letter to go to another school or I will have to return home and start all over. Many recruiters don't know what they are doing. I have already signed the contract with my new school but the recruiter said I needed the transfer letter from my old school

lifeinkorea · Joined: 24 Jan 2009 Location: somewhere in China

Yea, if you go with another school, then you need to do the whole thing over again. I think what the recruiter is trying to do is transfer your visa before your contract period is up.

For example, my contract is up mid-September. Schools might prefer I work from Sept 1st. So, if my current school gave a letter of release so I could leave earlier, I could simply change locations and extend the current visa.

It's a stupid aspect to all this because immigration can see what we are doing, but those are the rules if you want to play the Korean ESL game.

loggerhead007 · Joined: 22 Mar 2009

Nonsense. Start looking for a new gig several months before the end of your current contract. Visit school in person and see what they have. Talk to other westerner(s) and ask if they like the school. If you can't transfer your visa to new school, at worst you'll have to do a visa run, not go home and start over. My last job sucked, (hawgwank, never again) and I transferred my visa to p.s. no prob. Had to pay about 60,000 though. Not exactly sure of the amount. Also it's worth it to pay extra for a multiple entry visa if you want to travel in and out of the country. Enjoy!
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