Korean Job Discussion Forums

[modernseoul]

I'm due to be marrying my Korean fiance if the next few months however after taking into account the costs of setting up again in Korea (key money, flights etc) there's not much left. Therefore what is the Financial Capability Proof amount? Is it always required? for a F6 Visa.

Thank you in advance for any and all wisdom provided.

[Carbon]

I can't speak for all, but it was for me. We had a few properties and that was enough. Our bank account sure wasn't full, but owning property appeased them.

I have a few friends with F5s and they too had to show immi the money.

[iggyb]

Does your future wife have family here?

I think you can have them sponsor the two of you ---- use their bank account.

[modernseoul]

[fustiancorduroy]

I'm going to be applying for an F6 visa soon, myself. I have a fairly large deposit (보증금) on my current apartment and over 30 million won in the bank. This should be enough to meet the Financial Capability Proof requirement, right?

[Lazio]

[iggyb]

The best advice is to contact an immigration lawyer.

3 years ago, we decided I'd come back for a year when my father-in-law got terminal cancer and my wife would stay home at her job. We asked the consulate in Atlanta if we could get the spousal visa, and they said no, because she wouldn't be with me and didn't have a job there (and we didn't have money in the bank).

I came over and found a job and got an E-2. While I was still in the process of applying for the job and visa, as an afterthought, I found contact info (somewhere here at Dave's) for an English-speaking lawyer working within the immigration department.

He replied to a couple of emails - telling me that the consulate was wrong.

He said it did not matter that my wife was not in Korea or that I did not have a big bank account. I can't remember the details exactly, but the basic idea was that my mother-in-law (the father having died before I arrived) could be the guarantee that I wouldn't be living on welfare and off the tax payers.

He was clear - he said getting visa would be little problem but I would need to pay a couple hundred thousand won to an immigration lawyer who would do all the paperwork, and if a hearing in court were necessary, help with that.

It is best to get advice from a professional who does this for a living, because on reading, we don't know the flexibility in how the law is applied and regulations change making advice you get from a non-professional very hit-or-miss...

[alongway]

Korean immigration changes daily, and at different times, different things have been okay for different people.
Some people have gotten along with:
1 - work contracts
2 - large deposits on property
3 - money in the bank
4 - they weren't asked at all

For those who were asked, which seems to be the majority, it seems to always hover around 30 million.

Some people though have said that immigration insisted on seeing money in the bank. A deposit on a house wasn't enough.

The good news is that the money doesn't have to stay in the bank. You can have friends/relatives/etc transfer money into an account, get the paper showing it's there, then immediately transfer the money back out. They don't check.