Korean Job Discussion Forums

[DJ]

I have a job with a school in Korea and am sorting out the visa for this, however I'd like my girlfriend who is from Bosnia to be able to come with me, so I'd like to find out how to go about doing this.

She isnt a native English speaker so cant teach ESL etc., but I want her to come with me, for entry to Korea, she just needs her passport same as with UK entry requirements.

I'll be getting the e2 work visa, for teaching in Korea, I know you can apply to teach as a couple however she isnt a native English speaker and does not have a degree.

Is it possible to live in teachers accomodation with a girlfriend?

Will she need alien registration card?

What else will she need for a long term legal stay in Korea or finding work there as a Bosnian national?

[crossmr]

Unless you're married there won't be any accommodations made. You're better off taking the housing allowance and getting your own place. Be prepared to have to put down a 5,000,000W-10,000,000W deposit depending on where you at, maybe more.

About the only things she could come in on as a non-english speaker is a student visa, or a tourist visa.
How long is the bosnia tourist visa? I'm guessing 30 or 90 days which means she'd have to pop over to japan (closest and cheapest) every xx days to stay legal. On a tourist visa she doesn't get an ARC.

If you can get her enrolled in a school for a year, she doesn't have to worry about that. Students are allowed to hold jobs, but she wouldn't be able to teach english and unless she spoke Korean she wouldn't have many choices on where to work.

A pure work visa is hard to get. You have to find a company willing to hire her and sponsor the visa.

[big_fella1]

[js99]

Does she need a visa to enter Thailand, Philippines or Indonesia?
If not, those could be awesome places to go with her on weekend visa runs and are relatively the same price as getting a ticket to either Japan or China.
But as for coming to Korea on her own- it is not possible unless she is sponsored for her own visa.
As for thinking about getting an E6 visa, there is a sort've stigmatism attached with women who come to Korea on that visa.

[crossmr]

[big_fella1]

[js99]

I agree and it is noted.
I am not talking about my perception of those who get E6 visas, but the perception of Koreans in general who will ask what a person is doing in Korea and when they hear that the person is modeling, many Koreans raise red flags on that.
True, there are many legitimate models, musicians and performers who are here for their respective purposes. But there are twice as many cases of women brought to Korea, under the guise of the performance visa (E6) who�re doing very questionable things, many times against their will. This is why Korea is one of the countries infamous for trafficking of women, not only their own but also foreign nationals.

No offense intended.

I just don't want to see the OP's gf go through the stigma of being labeled as anything other than a performer, model or musician.

On a lighter note, she might have a better chance at applying to a university and possibly obtain a scholarship (look into that by referring to the various Korean universities' websites).
Is she a Christian or a Muslim?
If she is a Christian, she might be able to come to Korea on a missionary visa. Or if she is Muslim, see what the Itaewon Mosque can do to sponsor her.

There are many different types of visas besides the conventional (and controversial) ones we mentioned here.

Go to www.moj.go.kr and see what requirements she needs to be eligible for a certain type of visa.


I really want to wish you good luck and see you around.

[frankly speaking]

Get married, otherwise it would be too expensive to do monthly visa runs.

She might get a labor/factory job that would give her a visa but that kind of work sucks bad. I had a friend whose husband worked at one factory. He was from Morrocco and made less than 1 million a month.

As far as the apartment goes, don't tell anyone at the school. I have had friends have their girl friends live with them. I am married and my wife has stayed with me.

good luck and I hope that it works.

[wesharris]

[DJ]

Thanks guys

Thats a lot of really useful great information, well if there were going to be visa trips, it would be kinda hard to fly out as I am supposed to be in Wonju City and theres no flight connections, so would have to go over to Seoul.

I say supposed to be going to Wonju City, as I am not too sure about the recruiter, a friend that I recomended to contact the same recruiter has not heard back from them in a while, so I dont want to send off my visa application until I have some conformation from them myself, the person we both have contact with seems to get back to me pretty fast, the agency is Kims Korea.

http://www.kims-korea.com/

I dont know how good they are, but have begun applying to other jobs in Korea just incase this one doesnt work out.

As far as me and my girlfriend getting married goes, well I have to rule that out for the moment, maybe paying to study out there and getting a part time job would be a good option to discuss with her.

As far as language skills go, she doesnt speak any Korean, but does know Spanish also as well as English at fluent level, some Koreans do want to learn Spanish, but dont know about this in Wonju, this city does seem a little out of the way, perhaps if I applied to positions in Seoul, there would be more options.

[Ukon]

I say enroll in college here....she might be able to get a scholarship too and a homestay.

[js99]

Wonju is considered somewhat rural and chances are, they might not want or need a Spanish teacher. For those types of language jobs you might try to apply to while she is already in Korea, not outside.

Having her apply to a college/university is a safer bet. Many of them are literally throwing money at foreigner to attract them to Korea.

But a safer bet is getting married because she would easily get a spousal visa and you would be eligible for housing allowance or couples housing. If you're young, I know this is really not on the table yet, but if you really want her to go with you, then that might be a better option.

[DJ]

Thanks, at the moment we are talking about her applying to an international school, getting married isnt on the cards at the moment lol.

I've been trying to look for a highschool as that would be the best start rather than a University/College.

I have a few questions though.

1. Would age be a problem to applying to an international school or American Highschool in Korea? she is 28 years old.

2. Are there international or American Highschools in Wonju or Seoul?

3. Can you get visa and work like other students if you go for an International highschool rather than a College.

As I'm not too sure what our options are really.

[js99]

Hmm....did she graduate high school?
I am not sure if she would qualify to study at an international high school as I have not heard of any offering anything that is equivalent to an American GED (putting her with regular high school students would be out of the question, especially Korean international school students).
Besides, the cost of putting a child into an international school is exorbitantly high as it is- you might as well go on monthly visa runs compared to the money you would spend on enrolling in an international school, any of them.
I'd research further and make some calls to see if there is a high school equivalency program- chances are, there isn't any.

Are you an American?
If so, you might be able to enroll her at the Seoul American High School as a continuing student (though again, that is iffy at best).


As someone mentioned, she is eligible to go to China visa-free. You can use that to your advantage, as there are boat trips from Inchon to Tianjin or Dalian that leave daily. These trips are about 200,000 round trip. You can apply for a multiple-entry "L" (tourist) visa and go with her and see China together- it is awesome and will be a big change compared to what you will get used to in Korea.

That seems like a better alternative than enrolling her in a high school, which could run anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 a year, which will take a huge chunk out of your pay.

But as for work- well, you guys might be SOL on that one.

[definitely maybe]

If she is a high school graduate, you can look into enrolling her in an intensive language program at a university. They run 10 weeks per session, and Korean embassies/consulates will grant extended tourist visas for the program. I also believe students enrolling in these programs consecutively can qualify for student visa status as long as they can demonstrate financial stability. I think that mark is a minimum of 10,000,000 won, but likely more.

Last I checked, your average intensive program was in the neighborhood of at least 1,000,000 won per 10 week session. However, this was in Seoul. I have no idea whether the Wonju area has a university that offers anything along these lines. Wonju isn't exactly drawing tons of interest from foreign students or tourists.

If you're looking into enrolling her at an international school, I have to think that your prospects are minimal. International schools are expensive and not exactly a piece of cake to get accepted to. Furthermore, I am fairly confident that her age would rule out any luck with any international school.