Korean Job Discussion Forums

Hodizzle · Joined: 13 Jun 2009

So, I have a slightly complicated situation. I am pregnant and the father us a Southeastern Asian man on a general work Visa. I have an E-2 Visa that expires a month after my due date. Rather convenient if I decide to leave as soon as the baby is old enough, however, the father would like to stay here a while longer than that. As of now, the father and I are not married, and while we plan to be in the future, we are not sure if that will be before or after the baby is born. So, my question is, if I have my baby here, will I be eligible for some kind of Visa extension, or change is Visa so that I can stay a few months longer here without working?

Oh, I am American, if that helps. I would appreciate any help you could give on this matter.

Mr. Peabody · Joined: 24 Sep 2010 Location: here

Check this info out...

http://www.medicalkorea.or.kr/eng/patients/medical_visa.jsp

hondaicivic · Joined: 01 Jul 2010 Location: Daegu, South Korea

crossmr · Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul

since you're not married, no.

He is not eligible to sponsor you for a dependent visa. Your kid however could be sponsored. The only way to solve that is to get married.

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

Lolimahro · Joined: 19 May 2009

You could also try negotiating extending your contract for say, another 6 months, and then negotiate maternity leave with your employer. You are entitled to 60-90 days of paid maternity leave in Korea.

Then all you will have to do is extend your visa, I believe.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Location: Home sweet home

Start prepping your paperwork. The US embassy will require you to prove that you can pass on citizenship. Contact them for more info.

Troglodyte · Joined: 06 Dec 2009

Does your employer know that you are pregnant?

If not, you might want to be careful when you bring it up. And be ready in case they fire you soon afterwards. It wouldn't be the first time a school fired a foreign teacher after they found out she was pregnant.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Location: Home sweet home

YOu could fight it if you go to the Labour board though.

50ptoes · Joined: 05 Jan 2011

good luck with this first of all.
I was in a similar situation a while back. I didn't know if I should stay or go or what the laws were regarding this. I ended up kinda sick and had to stay in the hospital for a week where, without my permission, they told my boss I was pregnant.
He was visibly not happy, and without ever mentioning the pregnancy, implied I should have an abortion (which, by the way, are plentiful and probably easily attained in Korea, should you decide to go that route). I quit shortly thereafter and had my child in the States.
So, indeed, be very careful when you inform your employer. Know all your options first.
And if you're sure about it, then go ahead and get married. It's quick and easy and will make it easier on everyone involved.

I hope you have support there and/or at home and someone to talk to about this. It can be the best time of your life, or the worst, depending.

naturegirl321 · Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Location: Home sweet home

Unfortunately, if you inform your employer too early than you could lose your job early on. INform them too late, and you'll be yelled at for trying to hide it, might be too late to go home, and will lose your job right before you have a baby.

You might luck out and get a nice boss though. Maybe if you found an F2 or F5 to cover your classes while you were on maternity leave that would help.

I would definitely go to the Labour Board now and find out a bit more.

Troglodyte · Joined: 06 Dec 2009

They probably won't fire her for being pregnant. Not officially. They'll fire her because the mothers are complaining about the quality of the classes or because they had complaints from little Minju that he's not learning enough. Or some other BS. If she's been there less than 6 months then they don't even need a reason.

If the baby is due 1 month before the contract ends (presumably a 12 month contract), then it means that the baby is due in month 11 and hence we can guess that it was conceived in month 2 of the contract. So by month 6 of the contract (month 4 of the pregnancy) there's a chance that the teacher will start to show. Not necessarily, but it IS quite possible that it will be obvious by that point.

They don't want to employ someone who is going to be on maternity leave. It sucks and it's totally irresponsible on their part to skirt the law like that, but most hogwan owners would do it in the blink of an eye because it's the type of people they are. If they did do something stupid like fire her and cancel her visa (and kick her out of her apartment) then she's got the added problem of having to deal with that stuff and go to the labor board all while recovering from the birth.

If it's a PS, I have no idea how they'd react. I've heard of them trying to get rid of a pregnant teacher before. Even if she's not fired, I highly doubt that she's going to get paid for the time off.

OP. One other thing that you need to check into. Do you have national health insurance? Not some private insurance that the company chose - those are always worthless. If you aren't paying pension, then the answer is "no. you don't have national medical."

Hodizzle · Joined: 13 Jun 2009

Yes, I have national health insurance. And I just got a kind of "mommy card" from the bank that helps with a little of the medical costs too.

I actually told my employer today. I am 3 months along and they had no idea. I've been at the same school for over two years and they really like me. Technically, my contract continues quite awhile longer, but we had an agreement that I would leave at the end of the school year. I had another contract that I had to cancel because I wouldn't be able to finish it. My employer is considering whether or not to keep me on for the extra time, but I don't expect maternity leave. That's just how hagwons are (and considering their financial situation, it's not going to happen). Maybe if I could get them to sign that I was on maternity leave through them, I could stay during my actual leave (even if not getting paid). If they decided to keep me until then, I suppose it's worth asking.

The baby being able to stay through daddy may not be an option so I really need to find out what I can do to stay. The medical/maternity visa thing seems like a good option, and then I guess I can fly out to get a tourist visa (too bad there's no cheaper way to leave the country since NK is blocking the way).

jrwhite82 · Joined: 22 May 2010

There is going to be a big Baby Expo at Kintex Convention Center in Ilsan starting on Thursday if any parents or parents to be are interested.

http://www.kintex.com/english/schedule/exhibit_v.jsp?p_from=all&lease_no=19680

Hodizzle · Joined: 13 Jun 2009

There's also one next weekend in Seoul. I'm going to be going to that one.

http://expopromoter.com/Redirect/lang/en/event_id/108329/