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How to get your F-2-S Points Visa - Last updated March 11th
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What's your score at first reading this thread?
<= 10
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
11~25
2%
 2%  [ 1 ]
26~40
13%
 13%  [ 6 ]
41~55
20%
 20%  [ 9 ]
56~70
39%
 39%  [ 17 ]
71~79
11%
 11%  [ 5 ]
>= 80
9%
 9%  [ 4 ]
>= 100
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
>= 120
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
>= 140 (Liar)
2%
 2%  [ 1 ]
Total Votes : 43

Author Message
miljeong



Joined: 07 Mar 2010
Location: Bundang

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:36 pm    Post subject: How to get your F-2-S Points Visa - Last updated March 11th Reply with quote

After an explosion of posts in the "F-2 Point System" thread, I took it into my own hands to visit immigration and get to the bottom of this new supposed 'easy plan' for E-1~7 visa holders to switch to an F-2-S visa.

This no-nonsense thread documents the entire process so that others may benefit. Below in a data list I will either confirm or debunk common theories, gossip and speculation that I see here or on any other thread.

Resources:

[1] http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/8123/ptchart.jpg (Point Chart used by Immigration to decide scores)
[2] http://pcrm.moj.go.kr:9129/mailing/click.php?lid=11985.c77732309e&rid=13176157.W-dYB893uM (Immigration Official Announcement/Newsletter)
[3] http://pcrm.moj.go.kr:9129/mailing/click.php?lid=11984.d84482900f&rid=13176157.W-dYB893uM (Original Korean Point Chart)

The Data
Confirmed Truth, B.S., and Speculation.

    F-2-S visa applicants must have lived in Korea for at least 5 years
    F-2-S visa applicants must have lived in Korea for at least 5 years consecutively.

    F-2 visa applicants need be married

    F-2-S visa applicants must have had their E-* visa for over 1 year
    Immigration has released a new F-2-S visa law that all Immigration officers should know about
    You only need 80 points to qualify for an F-2-S visa



Please recommend more to confirm as I make the rounds to their offices daily and hound them for answers and action!


Last edited by miljeong on Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:52 pm; edited 9 times in total
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miljeong



Joined: 07 Mar 2010
Location: Bundang

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

March 9th, 2010

Upon hearing about the new visa law I immediately phoned immigration to get 'my score'. I was told that if I went ahead and completed some basic easy-to-complete procedures, there should be no reason why I couldn't easily get 61 points. The passing score is 80.


Due to a special case that I thought might help my situation, I visiting the closest presiding immigration office for a consultation on the subject.

Workers were friendly, but completely ignorant of the new F-2S's existence. I was told to return once it has "come into effect".
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miljeong



Joined: 07 Mar 2010
Location: Bundang

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

March 9th, 2010

After a final 'discussion' with immigration over the phone I was recommended to return to the same office once again and insist upon the application, regardless of their knowledge of it.

(In lamens terms, teach them how to do their job.)

I received a forwarded e-mail from the user tabbyfoof containing the original 'announcement' sent out by immigration. The e-mail contains a downloadable .hwp (한글) file that outlines the points system. (Thanks again, tabbyfoof!)

After taking a screen shot, I translated it into English and uploaded it.


http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/8123/ptchart.jpg



(Use this chart to calculate your own scores in the poll!)


According to this chart and without any additional work on my part, my current score for the F-2S visa is a measly 35 points.

Part of the purpose of this thread will be to document my attempts to raise the score through various methods.


Last edited by miljeong on Tue Mar 09, 2010 2:07 pm; edited 1 time in total
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miljeong



Joined: 07 Mar 2010
Location: Bundang

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:51 pm    Post subject: March 10th, 2009 - Score 35 (+0) Reply with quote

Today I will visit immigration again to 'teach them' about the new F-2S policy and put in my official application for it. I will be attempting to utilize a very important volunteer job with the National Police Agency that I have held for almost 3 years now to earn some major volunteer credit or additional points.

According to the form, an additional 35 points can be tacked on to the existing tally, seemingly at the will of the presiding Chief of Immigration. We will see how that flies in the real world though.

I will update this exact post with the results and continue posting daily/eventful updates until I have obtained my F-2S visa.

Fighting!
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English Matt



Joined: 12 Oct 2008

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So looking at the form.....An additional 35 points cannot be added onto the form at will. 30 additional points can be earned by completing a Social Integration programme, by obtaining an MA or PhD in Korea, as well as doing volunteer work and spending several years working overseas as a specialist (whatever that means). Up to 5 points can be deducted from your score for illegal activities during your time in country. Anyhow, without those additional 30 points from this 항목 section it's nigh on impossible to qualify for this visa.....and I'm guessing that not many English Teachers will have done an MA or PhD in Korea or have spent over 2 years volunteering (particularly as it is illegal for us to do so on an E2). Also what does 'specialist' mean?

So therefore (assuming you score little to nothing in the 항목 section) if you are between 30 and 34 this means you need 2 MAs and a yearly income of more than 100,000 Won. If you are between 25 and 29 or 35 and 39 years of age you need 2 PhDs and a yearly income of over 100,000 won. In all situations you need to be fluent in Korean. Once you hit 40, you may as well give up applying for this visa. So, I'm guessing that there is a snowball's chance in hell of an English Teacher ever obtaining one of these things.

By the way 현소득 means current income, not volunteer.
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TheUrbanMyth



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Speaking of hounding...this is something ATEK should be doing.
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toadkillerdog



Joined: 11 Nov 2009
Location: Daejeon. ROK

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent! I got around a 65 on the chart and I have my F-5.
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dharma bum



Joined: 15 Jun 2004

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Would a "specialist" simply be someone working on an E-7 visa? (I think I've seen the E-7 activities described as specialized activities in the past...)

How do they determine one's Korean proficiency?

I realize there are probably no answers to these questions as of yet, but they are two things I'd like to know about if you can find any information during your search, OP. Also, thank you for starting this thread and working to find definite information.
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English Matt



Joined: 12 Oct 2008

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dharma bum wrote:
Would a "specialist" simply be someone working on an E-7 visa? (I think I've seen the E-7 activities described as specialized activities in the past...)

How do they determine one's Korean proficiency?

I realize there are probably no answers to these questions as of yet, but they are two things I'd like to know about if you can find any information during your search, OP. Also, thank you for starting this thread and working to find definite information.


There's a TOPIK test for Korean skills I think.....I guess it would go off whatever score you get from taking that.
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miljeong



Joined: 07 Mar 2010
Location: Bundang

PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 8:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

EDIT
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miljeong



Joined: 07 Mar 2010
Location: Bundang

PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:53 am    Post subject: March 10th, 2010 - 35 (+0) Reply with quote

English Matt wrote:
So looking at the form.....An additional 35 points cannot be added onto the form at will. 30 additional points can be earned by completing a Social Integration programme, by obtaining an MA or PhD in Korea, as well as doing volunteer work and spending several years working overseas as a specialist (whatever that means). Up to 5 points can be deducted from your score for illegal activities during your time in country. Anyhow, without those additional 30 points from this 항목 section it's nigh on impossible to qualify for this visa.....and I'm guessing that not many English Teachers will have done an MA or PhD in Korea or have spent over 2 years volunteering (particularly as it is illegal for us to do so on an E2). Also what does 'specialist' mean?

So therefore (assuming you score little to nothing in the 항목 section) if you are between 30 and 34 this means you need 2 MAs and a yearly income of more than 100,000 Won. If you are between 25 and 29 or 35 and 39 years of age you need 2 PhDs and a yearly income of over 100,000 won. In all situations you need to be fluent in Korean. Once you hit 40, you may as well give up applying for this visa. So, I'm guessing that there is a snowball's chance in hell of an English Teacher ever obtaining one of these things.

By the way 현소득 means current income, not volunteer.




I am a horrible insomniac sometimes and wrote this AND made that chart at about 5am. Nice catch!

To address my mistakes in order...

Quote:

An additional 35 points cannot be added onto the form at will.


You're right. I was misreading the form.

Quote:

By the way 현소득 means current income, not volunteer.


I obviously knew this as I translated it correctly on the bottom. (sigh) It's either working at 5am or the ADHD that does it to me.

----------------------------------------------------


To reiterate, my current score is a 35. I do have a strategy to get the remaining points, and that is what this thread is about.

10 pts - Social Integration Program

20 pts - Highest Difficulty S-TOPIK Test

5 pts - Existing 2+ years of service to the National Police Agency*

10 pts - Some quick and easy online Masters degree program
+______________

80 pts


Given the possibility of not receiving a high enough score on the TOPIK test and my volunteer work not sliding through, I could come up 15 points or more short, which I can't see any other way to recover other than going straight into 2 quickie online PhDs.

As I am not sure of the outcome, I will begin researching cheap, quick and easy online Masters and PhD programs and regardless of the outcome of my next meeting with immigration, I will be actively pursuing this as it seems about time to get a better degree anyway.

On a side note, I will also investigate into the necessity for the degrees to be accredited or not.

(*As I did not visit Immigration yet, I cannot say whether A) this will be beneficial at all, or B) whether I will even need this scoring system at all to obtain an F-2 visa if I can prove this public service)


Last edited by miljeong on Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:16 am; edited 2 times in total
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miljeong



Joined: 07 Mar 2010
Location: Bundang

PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

dharma bum wrote:
Would a "specialist" simply be someone working on an E-7 visa? (I think I've seen the E-7 activities described as specialized activities in the past...)


I think a specialist is any person who has been required by immigration to prove they are a specialist in a specific field to receive employment, so yes, E-7 probably. I doubt E-2 visa holders are considered specialists, although I could try to tell them that I'm the best E-2 visa teacher in the world and maybe they'll give me some points for gall.

Quote:

How do they determine one's Korean proficiency?


It's the S-TOPIK test, which is one of two types that I know of. The traditional TOPIK test I believe is split up into 5 levels, but considering there are only 3 sections on the scorecard for a proficiency rating, I think it is separated into basic, intermediate and advanced levels.

I think the main difference is that one TOPIK is for business, sort of like how we have TOEFL for normal English usage and TOEIC for business.

I could be wrong. I'll find that out soon enough as I'm planning on registering for the September test at the nearest university to me in July.

Aside from the obvious difficulties ahead of convincing a group like immigration (regardless of the 'new procedures') to get any work done at all, I am seriously thinking that earning 80 points should not be that difficult for most people to do if they're serious enough about staying here and achieving something.

I'm still worried and disenchanted with the confusion over 5 years semi-consecutive (including vacations and other visa delays) or 5 years consecutive as in 1,825+ days consecutive. That will probably be their way out of giving the visa in the end. Not to worry though, I'll be probing about that one as well and if I succeed (considering I have had a different visa 4/5 years in a row with some immigration downtime and statelessness due to a hagwon canceling my visa without notice), then I will have set the precedence and I can be used as an example to show other immigration officials what is and is not really allowed.

I am suddenly humbled and slightly discouraged by the daunting question--- do you think anyone in the entirety of Korea has yet to receive an F-2S visa since it was passed into law in January and announced in February?

Due to the time it will take me to get all my points up, I bet I won't have the honor of being the first. Too bad.


EDIT: To be eligible you only need to have had your existing E-series visa for more than 1 year.
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miljeong



Joined: 07 Mar 2010
Location: Bundang

PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 10:04 pm    Post subject: March 11th, 2010 - 35 pts (+0) Reply with quote

After another round of inquiries I have confirmed that eligibility for the F-2-S visa does not require 5 or more years, consecutive or otherwise. ANY E-series visa holder who has had their visa for more than 1 year will be eligible, so longer as they meet the other criteria for the remaining 80 pts.

Considering I reset my visa in December, I need to wait the rest of the year out before applying. I will focus on the language test and being a part of the social integration program.

I will update with instructions on how to take the TOPIK and what the Social Integration Program is like.

More updates by next week!
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TheUrbanMyth



Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired

PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

miljeong wrote:
dharma bum wrote:
Would a "specialist" simply be someone working on an E-7 visa? (I think I've seen the E-7 activities described as specialized activities in the past...)


I think a specialist is any person who has been required by immigration to prove they are a specialist in a specific field to receive employment, so yes, E-7 probably. I doubt E-2 visa holders are considered specialists, although I could try to tell them that I'm the best E-2 visa teacher in the world and maybe they'll give me some points for gall.

Quote:

How do they determine one's Korean proficiency?


It's the S-TOPIK test, which is one of two types that I know of. The traditional TOPIK test I believe is split up into 5 levels, but considering there are only 3 sections on the scorecard for a proficiency rating, I think it is separated into basic, intermediate and advanced levels.

I think the main difference is that one TOPIK is for business, sort of like how we have TOEFL for normal English usage and TOEIC for business.

I could be wrong. I'll find that out soon enough as I'm planning on registering for the September test at the nearest university to me in July.

Aside from the obvious difficulties ahead of convincing a group like immigration (regardless of the 'new procedures') to get any work done at all, I am seriously thinking that earning 80 points should not be that difficult for most people to do if they're serious enough about staying here and achieving something.

I'm still worried and disenchanted with the confusion over 5 years semi-consecutive (including vacations and other visa delays) or 5 years consecutive as in 1,825+ days consecutive. That will probably be their way out of giving the visa in the end. Not to worry though, I'll be probing about that one as well and if I succeed (considering I have had a different visa 4/5 years in a row with some immigration downtime and statelessness due to a hagwon canceling my visa without notice), then I will have set the precedence and I can be used as an example to show other immigration officials what is and is not really allowed.

I am suddenly humbled and slightly discouraged by the daunting question--- do you think anyone in the entirety of Korea has yet to receive an F-2S visa since it was passed into law in January and announced in February?

Due to the time it will take me to get all my points up, I bet I won't have the honor of being the first. Too bad.


EDIT: To be eligible you only need to have had your existing E-series visa for more than 1 year.


Since the typical E-2 visa is only exactly for one year, does that mean you have to renew it (and therefore stay at your school) to qualify?
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miljeong



Joined: 07 Mar 2010
Location: Bundang

PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are a few ways I can imagine getting this done--

1) Renew your visa in-country by working at the same school for a second year.

2) Add an additional working place to your E-2 visa near the end, and thus have your visa renewed for the new location only without needing to leave.*

(This is not an easy thing to do at all, but I've had it happen to own of my very own teachers so I guess it depends on the immigration official.)

3) Near the end of your E-2 visa, ask for a month extension to the E-2 visa for the express purpose of applying for the F-2-S.*

(*No confirmation yet as to whether this will work for everyone or not.)

As with all information in this thread, I will be trying all things proposed here by myself and others for the purpose of further educating those here on what is and what is not -actually- possible.


Last edited by miljeong on Thu Mar 11, 2010 12:06 am; edited 1 time in total
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