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Porksta
Joined: 05 May 2011
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 Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 1:46 am Post subject: Leaving Korea |
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I will be leaving Korea soon (school closing) and will be returning to the USA where I will start the paperwork over again. My questions are as follows:
My ARC card and Visa expire in May. Do I need to go to immigration and cancel them? Or can I just not reapply until they expire or...?
Pension - Do I need to wait until I get my final paycheck to go for my pension? Or do I just give my employers my transfer info?
My cell phone is Korean, but I don't want to be phoneless while back in the USA. Can I somehow put my Korean phone on a US plan? |
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cincynate
Joined: 07 Jul 2009
Location: Jeju-do, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:13 am Post subject: |
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You need to hand in your arc card when you leave. That will cancel your visa. You can begin reapplying immeadiatly.
You need to go to a pension office.. Your employeer has nothing to do with it. You have to show your plane ticket out of Korea to get the pension. Then give them your account information that you want the money to go into.
If you have a smart phone, you may be able to use it with T-Mobil. Verizon and ATT are locked down.. I am sure there is a way to 'hack' it, but not sure. If you have a regular Korean phone, you won't be able to use it. Buy a cheap pay-as-you-go phone and trash it when you leave.
Good luck! |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:23 am Post subject: Re: Leaving Korea |
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| Porksta wrote: |
I will be leaving Korea soon (school closing) and will be returning to the USA where I will start the paperwork over again. My questions are as follows:
My ARC card and Visa expire in May. Do I need to go to immigration and cancel them? Or can I just not reapply until they expire or...?
Pension - Do I need to wait until I get my final paycheck to go for my pension? Or do I just give my employers my transfer info?
My cell phone is Korean, but I don't want to be phoneless while back in the USA. Can I somehow put my Korean phone on a US plan? |
Why are you leaving Korea? If the reason is visa/job related you can either do a transfer of visa if you have a new job lined up or change your status to D10 (looking for work) while you are in-between jobs then back to E2 when you find work.
To specifically answer your questions:
1) If you plan to return before May on a new visa you will need to hand in your ARC to cancel your current status. If you don't you will NOT be able to apply for a new visa until it expires.
2) You can apply for your pension refund any time within the last 30 days of your stay in Korea. They will ensure that all contributions are made (30-90 days) and forward the funds to the designated bank account. You will need your ARC, passport and plane ticket to file for the refund.
3) Don't know about your phone however, usually (not always) NO.
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:36 am Post subject: |
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| As for the phone issue, if you signed some year contract, I would put it up for sale immediately. Maybe another teacher could make use of it. If you go home, get something new. If you stay, go with a new plan. Also, if you stay, you could just get a pay as you go arrangement until you know for certain if you will stay. |
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Porksta
Joined: 05 May 2011
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:37 am Post subject: |
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Oh, so the pension office waits for the last contribution from my employer before transferring it? Nice.
How about my last paycheck? Should I wait and leave until after I get paid or have them send my money to my US account?
Hand in my ARC card - to immigration? That's in Mokdong, right? I don't need it to buy a plane ticket?
I'm basically just wanting to cancel everything and start over from scratch. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 4:15 am Post subject: |
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| Porksta wrote: |
Oh, so the pension office waits for the last contribution from my employer before transferring it? Nice.
How about my last paycheck? Should I wait and leave until after I get paid or have them send my money to my US account?
Hand in my ARC card - to immigration? That's in Mokdong, right? I don't need it to buy a plane ticket?
I'm basically just wanting to cancel everything and start over from scratch. |
Don't leave with your employer owing you money unless you are prepared to kiss it goodbye.
Hand in your ARC at passport control (immigration) at the airport as you get your passport stamped on the way out when you leave.
You need your ARC to get out of the country (and for your boarding pass). Handing it will will effectively cancel your E2 and let you start again from scratch after you get home so don't lose it or give it away before you get to passport control.
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 4:39 am Post subject: |
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| How about my last paycheck? Should I wait and leave until after I get paid or have them send my money to my US account? |
I wouldn't leave the country until I was paid.
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| Hand in my ARC card - to immigration? That's in Mokdong, right? I don't need it to buy a plane ticket? |
No, we mean the airport, before you leave. Just as you entered, you had to talk to some officer at a computer. In this case, it is right before you enter the terminal areas.
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I'm basically just wanting to cancel everything and start over from scratch.
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Your choice. If you do that, you have to get all documents again and should follow the advice given in this thread. It will take 2 months easily. I would only do this option if I was certain I needed to leave. I was 98% and regret it a little because now if I enter, I have to get a new visa and I have to work in Korea for 5 more years in order to get an F visa. I was in Korea for 2.5 years before I left, so that means I will have put in 7.5 years for something I could have accomplished in 5.
If you want to make it easier on yourself, you will try to get a letter of release from your current employer. This means you don't need to get new documents and can work within 1 week or month depending how soon you get a new school. I would highly recommend looking into this option.
If we are at the same level of qualifications, you will get hired instead of me merely on the basis of you being in the country. The new school won't have to pay airfare. |
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Porksta
Joined: 05 May 2011
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:01 am Post subject: |
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| Our school month ends Dec 28 (which will also be my last day), but payday isn't until the 5th. So I shouldn't leave Korea until after the 5th assuming they even pay me? |
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Skipperoo
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:41 am Post subject: |
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| As a UK citizen I know I can't reclaim my pension, but what actually happens to the cash there? Does it just sit in pension limbo forever or is there some way I can at least release it to the Korean treasury properly? |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 1:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Porksta wrote: |
| Our school month ends Dec 28 (which will also be my last day), but payday isn't until the 5th. So I shouldn't leave Korea until after the 5th assuming they even pay me? |
I already commented on this, I WOULDN'T, that means WOULD NOT, NEVER EVER, leave the country until I was paid. Talk to the school and agree to move out earlier if they pay earlier. Don't be as forceful as that, ask them when the most convenient time to pay and leave is. TALK TO THE SCHOOL.
Asking us is not going to help you get your money. |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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If you open a remittance account with KEB and give your school the account number, they can deposit your last check into that account after you leave. As the others have mentioned above, you do so at your own risk. However, it did work for me. I got my severance and my housing deposit sent to my account after I'd already left the country.
If you're coming back to Korea anyway, you could give them the idea that if they don't pay you your money after you leave, you'll be back to haunt them. |
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cincynate
Joined: 07 Jul 2009
Location: Jeju-do, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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| 'Outta Sight, Outta Mind'. If you leave before you get paid, the chances greatly diminish that you will get paid. Koreans don't think foreigners will go through the hassle of going to the labor board, or that we don't know how to do so, so some (not all) will try to pull a fast one. However, I got my last paycheck and severance after I left, so its not always the case. Only you know your boss, and, especially if you're breaking a contract, I wouldn't leave until money was in hand. |
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JeffersonDarcy2010
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 10:32 pm Post subject: |
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RE: Leaving Korea
I left Korea last week. I'm so happy!  |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:58 pm Post subject: |
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| JeffersonDarcy2010 wrote: |
RE: Leaving Korea
I left Korea last week. I'm so happy! |
Yet you continue to lurk around on a Korean ESL teachers' forum. Hmmm.....  |
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JeffersonDarcy2010
Joined: 05 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Do me a favor - look out your window right now. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! |
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