Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nick70100]

[nick70100]

[Daniel1981]

Thanks Nick!

[naturegirl321]

[james peters]

i was told last week that the income requirement for f2-99 is now that you earn at least the Korean GNI.$23,000 US was mentioned.No need for 1.5 times that figure.

[naturegirl321]

[Weigookin74]

Is this Visa just a joke? Most E2's won't qualify for this.... I think I read somewhere even Ttompatz didn't qualify and he applied a couple of times? Been here for more than 5 years and never took it seriously.

Of course, I don't meet the savings requirements as I've been paying loans backhome forever with this new crappy exchange rate we've seen over the past four years. Wish I had of come here sooner when things were better, but that's the way it is.

Anyways, except for a few elite individuals is this really acheivable or is it just there for appearance sake? Thought I had read from others, a while back, here that K immi officers had admitted most won't get it.

[naturegirl321]

[Welshguy]

[pacificman]

Just curious about what the definition of five (or seven in my case) years on "the same" visa actually means. I recently renewed my D-8 visa, and was shocked when they didn't give me a physical visa. I was told it was a new method, and my visa was "in the system". I interpreted this to mean they are now using electronic visas. This got me to asking whether the "renewed" visa I just received was truly a renewal, or a new one (I'm concerned because I will be applying for the F2-99 later). I don't think he caught the distincion, so instead I asked the official whether this visa had the same visa number as before. He curtly replied that there is no such thing as a visa number, my visa was a renewal, and don't worry.

Later, I dug around in my passport, and confirmed two things. (a) my original visa and subsequent renewals DID actually have visa numbers, and (b) the numbers were all different, even though these technically are "the same" visa.

So, just curious, how is it established that one has had the same visa over a time span, if the visa number itself changes even when it is renewed? Has anyone run into this before?

Also, now that my visa is electronic, can I assume the visa dates now automatically align with the ARC card dates?

[Wildbore]

[pacificman]

Well, that hasn't been my experience, at least up until last week. Every renewal they put a physical visa in my passport. I assumed it was the same visa number, just with new dates (until I checked this week).

[sm]

I asked at immigration today when I renewed my E2 for the requirements regarding the F2-99 and she told me the following:

1. At least 30 mil won in savings including real estate (like key money)
2. Your salary is at least the previous year's GNI (2011 was 24,920,000)
3. At least STOPIK level 2 or higher OR the social integration program
4. 5 years or more on the same visa & something about if you've left for longer than 1 month they subtract some (I couldn't exactly hear what she said as it was noisy & her voice was low)

If you want to move directly to an E2 to an F5 the requirements are all the same but you need to show 2 times the GNI of the previous year.

I asked her: Once you're able to get the F2-99, how many years do you stay on that before you're allowed to apply for an F5? She said 5 years but that doesn't seem right. Isn't it more like 2-3 years? Anyone know?

[littlelisa]

I have (or can easily get) all of the requirements for the F2-99, but I have one problem. I reach the 5 years on one visa mark in February, however I have an opportunity to teach (should know for sure in the next few days) at an international school, which means that I'd give notice at my current school and switch to the international one. Apparently then I would be getting an E7 visa, but the school (and the teacher I talked to) said that it's possible, with a letter of release from my current school, to transfer my current visa to an E7 one. Would that mean that I'd have to start all over again, or is it possible that with a transfer from one visa to another it might still be counted as one visa? Does anyone know?

I'm assuming that it wouldn't be counted as the same visa.

Also, is it even possible for international schools to sponsor someone on an E2 (in case it makes a difference, it's still an EFL position because it's not an English language international school). I'm fairly sure if it were possible for them to hire me on an E2 that they would try as long as it wasn't much more complicated or costly for them.

I guess it's pretty bad timing for switching schools.

[littlelisa]

Called immigration and they said that as long as the visa is transferred you can combine time between e2 and e7 visas and don't have to restart counting from the start of the e7. Adding the info here in case it helps someone else.