Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Harpeau]

Well, I took a dumb pill & so did my school~ but that's another story over a different bottle.

Here's the story that I'm dealing with now. My F-2-1 VISA is expiring soon, and want to get it re-newed. The problem is~ I heard two different stories. (1) The lady at Immigration told me a while ago to just to come in and a simple proceedure and 20-30,000 won will renew it for a few more years.

But today on the phone, (2)this guy said that my wife would have to go through the same rigamaroll as the last time. (E.g. gu office, proof of support, and other forms from my wife.) I have a feeling that the latter guy hasn't gotten back from lunch and is full of it. Could someone please help me? Going to Mokdong in the morning and it is a tad urgent.

In addition, I need to get my E-@ VISA status re-newed for my uni. The latter guy told me to bring in degrees, transcripts, etc. But I thought that if you're continueing at the same place that you didn't need to go through that process. (Just bring in my new contract, & proof that the school hired you.) Thank you in advance for all of your help.

Cheers!
Harpeau

[lush72]

Sorry I cant help- however my F2-1 & E-7 expire in a few months- I would appreciate it if you would share what you needed/went through at immigration.

[Kyrei]

I just renewed my F2-1 for the first time in January. Here is what I found out:

The first F2-1 is good for one year.
The second F2-1 (first renewal) is good for one year.
The third F2-1 (second renewal) is good for two years.
The Fourth F2-1 (third renewal) is good for two years.
Now, one qualifies for the "Green Card visa" or F2 (???), which only requires you holding an F2-1 for 5 years, but it takes 6 years to get it apparently.

Anyway, to the OP's question:
For the first renewal your wife will need to provide the proof of marriage certificate, proof of residency (where you live), etc. These documents are easy to come by now - any district office will provide them. You will need the same proofs as before (passport, ARC, etc.).

If you are planning to work under the provisions of E2 (teaching) then you will need to provide the same E2 documents. The catch is, you fill out the Visa Renewal form twice - once with F2-1 as the primary visa and once with E2 as the secondary visa. Each one has its 30,000 fee. The E2 seems to take a week to process. One friend of mine got the F2-1 renewal in 20 minutes. I renew both at once so I had to leave my passport/ARC with Immigration and pick it up a week later.

That is what happened to me. What happens to you there will probably depend on the position of the moon, whether or not the Immigration agent got lucky the night before, and how much soju was consumed in the past 48 hours.

Kyrei

[Stunted Wookie]

My fist F2-1 is good for two years...
issued 2002.12.14
expires 2004.12.12

funny huh?

Harp..I didn't show much information when I got mine the first time..just went to imm with the wife and the basic marriage forms.

I didn't have my ARC or a place to live at that time as we had just returned from winter vacation.