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cherrytree3003
Joined: 23 Mar 2010
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 Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 10:01 am Post subject: Can my boyfriend stay in Korea for longer than 90 days? |
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Hello,
I am from the UK and will be moving to Korea at the beginning of July to teach. My boyfriend is coming with me but he will not be teaching and will therefore only be on a tourist 90 day visa. How easy is it for him to stay longer than 90 days? I've read that you can just travel to Japan and then re-enter Korea - is this true?
As he is intending to stay for 6 months - 1 year, we are planning on buying open/flexible return plane tickets to Korea - will this cause him an issue at immigration when we get to Korea? i.e. why would someone with a tourist visa have an open return ticket?
I might just be over-thinking things but I thought I should check. Don't want to make a costly mistake!! |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 11:40 am Post subject: Re: Can my boyfriend stay in Korea for longer than 90 days? |
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| cherrytree3003 wrote: |
Hello,
I am from the UK and will be moving to Korea at the beginning of July to teach. My boyfriend is coming with me but he will not be teaching and will therefore only be on a tourist 90 day visa. How easy is it for him to stay longer than 90 days? I've read that you can just travel to Japan and then re-enter Korea - is this true?
As he is intending to stay for 6 months - 1 year, we are planning on buying open/flexible return plane tickets to Korea - will this cause him an issue at immigration when we get to Korea? i.e. why would someone with a tourist visa have an open return ticket?
I might just be over-thinking things but I thought I should check. Don't want to make a costly mistake!! |
Last question first - the airline loves the 1 year-open return ticket; it takes the responsibility off them. They would usually be the ones to give you the problem with the return ticket and an open ticket is their favorite).
Immigration won't care unless they need to remove him or refuse entry for some reason (unlikely, unless he is on a terrorist list or blacklisted from a previous stay or something).
Can he just jump to Japan (or any other cheap destination) and get a new 90 day stamp = YES.
Can he do it for a year (4 times) = yes (entry + 3 x 90 days is less than 1 year so 4 visa runs in a year will be needed if he plans to return/leave with you).
It is not a problem for immigration as long as he has an address in Korea and a means of support that does not include him working (being supported by you is acceptable).
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allovertheplace
Joined: 02 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 3:34 pm Post subject: |
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Not on topic but if he plans on coming for that long why doesnt he teach as well.
On topic, yes you can do the visa run but its expensive to fly anywhere. Personally Im now in Italy so Im flying to Romania to renew tomorrow-36 euros. Cheapest flight to Japan is 400 bucks. So thats over 1,000 bucks just in flights. Food for thought. |
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Marissa0687
Joined: 26 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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He's probably not teaching because he doesn't have a degree.
OP, as mentioned, you should have no problem. My boyfriend has been staying with me since last summer and we've had no problem with the visa runs for him, though it helps if you plan your vacations to coincide with his visa expiration dates.  |
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Paladin Brewer
Joined: 25 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 4:37 pm Post subject: |
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I need to find me a sugar momma too  |
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cherrytree3003
Joined: 23 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 1:57 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the responses  ) Don't know what I would do without Dave's!! He does not want to teach. He is an architect and has his own design company which he will continue to run from Korea. I am relieved that it should be relatively easy for him to stay!! And a weekend over in Japan every 3 months can be no bad thing! |
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young_clinton
Joined: 09 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 3:11 am Post subject: |
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| allovertheplace wrote: |
On topic, yes you can do the visa run but its expensive to fly anywhere. Personally Im now in Italy so Im flying to Romania to renew tomorrow-36 euros. Cheapest flight to Japan is 400 bucks. So thats over 1,000 bucks just in flights. Food for thought. |
Ferries to Fukuoaka Japan out of Busan are reasonably inexpensive. I believe they take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours depending of the ferry. The ferries are easy to reach from the Busan Subway and the Busan Subway is right at Busan Station. Take the train from Seoul, Taejon, Daegu to Busan Station. |
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ChilgokBlackHole
Joined: 21 Nov 2009
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| Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 3:30 am Post subject: |
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| young_clinton wrote: |
| Ferries to Fukuoaka Japan out of Busan are reasonably inexpensive. I believe they take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours depending of the ferry. The ferries are easy to reach from the Busan Subway and the Busan Subway is right at Busan Station. Take the train from Seoul, Taejon, Daegu to Busan Station. |
The Beetle takes 3. Go out Busan Station and look to the left, you'll see Arirang Hotel. The shuttle to the port (1000 won, might be more now) is right there. When you get to the port, go to the Beetle desk and ask for a round-trip ticket. Fill out your customs declaration, check for your passport, and pay the nice lady. Jump on the boat, and three hours later, you're in civilization. |
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Drew345
Joined: 24 May 2005
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| Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 3:33 am Post subject: |
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It is not quite clear to me whether you mean your boyfriend is getting a tourist visa from the UK before coming, or if you means he plans to enter and get a Visa free Entry (Visa waiver) 90 day stamp here in Korea.
You mention "tourist visa" in your question, but somehow I think you mean entering on a Visa free Entry. The two cases are a little different as far as the airlines are concerned.
If he does not have any visa in his passport when checking in (planning on Visa free Entry), the airline MAY insist that he have a departure date from Korea within 90 days before letting him board the plane. When I bought a ticket before from Asiana, I was advised of that rule. Then after landing in Korea you can change the return flight to be at the end of the year.
I would say don't change your return date just yet, but be ready at the departure airport that they may insist you have the return date within 3 months.
Another option is that maybe you can get a tourist visa in the UK before coming. They used to offer a 5 year tourist visa (good for 3 months at a time) in the USA. I don't know what tourist visa options exist nowadays and in the UK, maybe call the embassy and check. With that tourist visa already in the passport, you are good to go, the airline doesn't care when your return flight is if you have a visa already in the passport. Again, those tourist visa are probably different from country to country and may not even exist anymore (but I used to have one). |
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cherrytree3003
Joined: 23 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 6:10 am Post subject: |
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drew345 - thanks for the clarification. yes, he is just intending to enter via the visa free entry. i got my mum to call up the korean embassy in london (she's korean) and according to them he does have to buy a return ticket with a return date within the next 3 months  does anyone know if it would be possible to buy a ticket with a return date within the next 3 months and then, once we were safely in korea, change the return date to a later date? i'm guessing yes...but with some sort of fee involved. |
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mimis
Joined: 24 May 2009
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| Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 8:35 am Post subject: |
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Yes, of course you can change the return date, but the airline will charge a fee. KLM for example charges W100,000 for changing and W200,000 for cancelling.
But honestly, I don't understand the problem. Of course embassies are going to state the rules, that's what they are supposed to do, but in my case, having been living with my K-boyfriend for almost 2 years now and not working nor studying, I've been doing the visa-runs every 3 months. I've NEVER had a return ticket, and K-immigration has NEVER asked me about it. Obviously I understand each case is different and maybe other people have gotten questions, but I've done half a dozen visa-runs and never any problems. Maybe immi doesn't care as they see I always leave the country on time? I always go on a trip on the exact date my tourist stamp expires and come back a couple days later.
**The only time I got a few questions was when in Thailand, getting ready to board a flight back to Korea. But my boyfriend was with me plus a couple of Thai acquaintances and it was fine.
Really, don't worry so much. He's from the UK, not a potential illegal immigrant from Thailand or the Philippines. I think you'll be fine. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 9:14 am Post subject: |
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| cherrytree3003 wrote: |
| drew345 - thanks for the clarification. yes, he is just intending to enter via the visa free entry. i got my mum to call up the korean embassy in london (she's korean) and according to them he does have to buy a return ticket with a return date within the next 3 months does anyone know if it would be possible to buy a ticket with a return date within the next 3 months and then, once we were safely in korea, change the return date to a later date? i'm guessing yes...but with some sort of fee involved. |
The one year OPEN RETURN DATE ticket satisfies the requirements for both the airline and immigration (since you can use it any time within the 90 days or up to one year from the original date of travel).
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kinerry
Joined: 01 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 10:09 am Post subject: |
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| cherrytree3003 wrote: |
| Thanks for the responses ) Don't know what I would do without Dave's!! He does not want to teach. He is an architect and has his own design company which he will continue to run from Korea. I am relieved that it should be relatively easy for him to stay!! And a weekend over in Japan every 3 months can be no bad thing! |
Look into an investors visa |
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Drew345
Joined: 24 May 2005
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| Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 2:31 pm Post subject: |
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The one year OPEN RETURN DATE ticket satisfies the requirements
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That's good to know. I never knew that before, thanks.
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| I've NEVER had a return ticket, and K-immigration has NEVER asked me about it. |
Good point. K-immi will not be the ones to ask about it. It is the check-in counter getting on the flight. It is HIGHLY dependent on what country you are coming from and which airline. Western countries, specifically Australia, seem to be the worst about checking on this.
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| safely in korea, change the return date to a later date |
It is free to change the date on most Asian carriers, (Asiana, Korean Air), but western carriers usually charge.
It seems you don't have a problem with the open ticket, ttompatz is about our highest source of information here. |
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cherrytree3003
Joined: 23 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 8:21 am Post subject: |
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hi! thanks for all of your further comments
i have now booked his ticket - he has a one year open return, which currently has the return date of our arrival date + 90 days. He will be able to change it to a later date (for free!) once we're in korea. woohoo! Feels so good to know that we are actually going now |
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