Korean Job Discussion Forums

ccikulin · Joined: 23 Mar 2008 Location: Sunae-dong, Bundang

Has anyone renewed a Canadian Passport from Korea?
I wonder how long it took and if there were any problems?
Do the photos have to be notarized?
Do you know if it would be faster to do it here or to send my information to Canada?
Any info would be appreciated!

VanIslander · Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:05 am Post subject:

this canuck here did it in seoul in the fall of 2006 and it was so easy and fast and hassle-free that i barely recall the experience - i took the bus up one morning, went to some building and was on a bus back out of seoul the next day with a new passport done

i do recall spending like ten times as much time worrying about getting it done than it actually took

so don't fret: get the procedures by googling it and go do it

roknroll · Joined: 29 Dec 2007

yeah, google the passport site n get the number here and call. there was a bit longer of a wait in 2007 due to the influx of apps stemming from US policy changes requiring passports and the streamlining of the process here. I believe they no longer process them here in the ROK as was done before, instead it's centralized in Canada. So, your docs are going there anyway. You can get documentation (a paper) to use in lieu of your passport until it has been processed and is ready for pickup at the office here.

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

I did it last year. Straightforward. Just follow the steps on the embassy website.

Skippy · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Daejeon

I had some difficulty but that was because of my own orniness. First off gather your home addresses and work address(details) for the last 2 or 5 years depending on if you go with a guarantor.

Next find a Guarantor - usually a doctor, lawyer, or judge that has known you for at least two years. I am certain if you renew in Korea they will have to be Korean.

Find some references 2 or 4 depending on if you go with a Guarantor. These are easier then a Guarantor but these people have to have know you for at least 2 years. Also I hear they have to be reachable from the issuing authority aka Seoul. References CAN NOT be family or wife or girlfriend.

Yes your photos do need to be signed by the photo place, the embassy recommend one near by. And one photo has to be sign by you Guarantor. Be careful of the photo guidelines. Be careful that where you get your photos done DO NOT photoshop them like get rid of crows feet or whiten the face. As that might get your photos refused.

Canada passport renewal is one of the weirdest and most paranoid I have ever seen.

Good Luck

joyfulgirl · Joined: 05 Jan 2006

i've done it twice, years apart...once in seoul, once in busan.

it was straightforward both times, but i didn't worry about the guarantor (yes, i know that's probably spelled wrong) part...i just paid the extra cash.

go to the embassy website, download the forms, get the info about the picture required, and get it done that way. any photo place will have no problem with it. they do passport photos all the time.

then, go to your nearest embassy. a few weeks later, you go pick up your new passport, or they'll mail it to you.

eirrehs · Joined: 04 Sep 2007 Location: korea

did it last month. just be sure to save your receipt and go directly to immigration after you get the new passport.

immigration has a 2 week time limit (from the issue date) to notify them of passport change. failure to do this might cost you money and could prevent you from being able to work here in the future.

sometimes it takes longer than 2 weeks to get the new passport so i was told that having the receipt to show at immigration would prevent some sort of black mark with immigration should it take longer.

oldsurly · Joined: 05 Nov 2009

You can register you new passport number on www.hikorea.com. I did it there about 6 months ago. Saves you a trip to the immigration Office.

UrbanStyle · Joined: 23 Jul 2009

Ca you also get a new US pasport in seoul? how long does it take?>

SeoulESLteacher09 · Joined: 29 Mar 2009 Location: South Carolina

Lunar Groove Gardener · Joined: 05 Jan 2005 Location: 1987 Subaru

I renewed my U.S. passport last week.
It took around one week to arrive at my home.
Follow the instructions on the web-site
and download the forms there.
Ez-pz.

http://seoul.usembassy.gov/american_citizen_services.html

ESL Milk "Everyday · Joined: 12 Sep 2007

I did it and it was more expensive than back home (about twice as much) but relatively painless. I got two references... I couldn't get a guarantor as I hadn't even been in the country for 2 years, and I worked in a small rural public school so I definitely didn't know any Korean lawyers or judges...

But the two guarantors are only necessary if paying the extra money is completely out of the question. If you can't get them, they give you a guarantor waiver form or something and you pay around 200,000 won instead of 100 (I can't really remember how much it was, but it was a total rip-off). Personally, I think they're probably counting on you not knowing people who can act as guarantors.

The photo shop is right down the road, and they can do it all in about 15 minutes... I think it was ready in a relatively short amount of time...