Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sunshinepostcard]

Hi there - I'm just awaiting my couriered contract but I have a question regarding leave. Can you leave the country i.e. fly home for 5 days and visit your family then return during your contracted vacation? Or are you not allowed to leave the country?

Also, does it affect the Visa I should apply for?

[matthews_world]

This isn't a communist country.


You may go anywhere during the agreed upon vacation days set by your principal.

Just find out what your camp days and/or deskwarming (duty) days are and if you will actually have time to use your vacation, thanks especially to the shorter summer vacation since they did away with Saturday classes last year. Lot's of issues going around due to this and the unadjusted contracts.

They don't care where you go but many a teacher has not come back for the first day of school, which resulted in them being terminatied not being abled to work for EPIK again.

If you want to earn brownie points with your co-teacher, just show them your itenerary.

[schwa]

Of course you can go wherever you want.

No, you dont need a special visa to exit & return, just an alien registration card which your school will help you arrange shortly after you get here.

[matthews_world]

The ARC may or may not be an issue. Whether or not you can get to Immy before your vacation set forth by your school might be a factor.

Teachers can't just go anytime during the summer or winter. They're prescribed by the principal.


Your first week you'll need to go to your nearest Immigration office to get the ARC. At that time you can tell them and they may just make a note of it there so that immy officials at the airport would be alerted.

I wouldn't skip a camp day to get your ARC unless your co-teacher could cover you.

You're not the only teacher in Korea that has been in this predicament so there is protocol in place to go through.

It's up to you whether you could risk taking a hit with the airfare that you may not be able to use.

[sunshinepostcard]

Thanks guys - theoretically then I could just apply for a multiple re-entry visa instead of a single entry visa before I leave for Korea and then I wouldn't have to worry about visiting Immy before I take a vacation back home? Is this the best solution? I'm flexible on when I take the vacation - whatever suits the school, so no air fares at risk, so I don't need to give the employer a heads up until much later in the year when I've discussed when it's most convenient for them.

[JustinC]

[sunshinepostcard]

Thanks ! So I'm worrying about nothing. If I have my working visa and alien registration card, I don't need anything else. Phew.

[JustinC]

[ttompatz]

Arrive on your visa.

Sometime within your first 90-days you are REQUIRED by law to register as an alien at the local immigration office.

Your ARC (alien registration card) determines your status of sojourn (your visa is meaningless at this point), and permitted activities under said status of sojourn.

ALL registered foreigners are allowed to leave and re-enter as often as they want without restriction for as long as their ARC remains valid.

Your EMPLOYER will determine when your vacation dates are. As a teacher you can't just book a week off and leave during the school term. Vacations will be taken during the school breaks.

And lastly, YOU do NOT determine your visa type, class, duration or entries. It is out of your control.

.

[matthews_world]

Tom summed it up better than I could.


I can't remember all of the details as this never happened to me but all we need to do is register with Immy once we arrive to be able to use multiple-entry visa?

[ttompatz]

[Weigookin74]

But what's up with this new stupid vacation rule? Because K teachers get saturdays off, I get less time off in summer now? I use to take a month vacay but now will be lucky to get a week or so. What a bunch of crap!!