Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mr.Mulder2]

Hi Davers, I�ll be arriving in Korea this summer to tour around and hang with friends for the summer, and maybe job hunt in the fall. If I arrive on a one-way ticket and a tourist visa, will Korean immigration bust my balls? I know a one-way ticket is often a red flag. A few years back I even had a green Air Canada checkout employee hassle me for 20 minutes � she didn�t want to give me a boarding pass because I had a one way ticket and my printed-up contract didn�t seem to convince her that I was going to Korea work for a year. The �Period of Sojurn: 1Y� on my Korea visa didn�t satisfy her either. She eventually made me sign a paper that said if I was deported upon arrival that Air Canada was not responsible. Does anyone know if I can expect a similar VIP treatment if I show up at Incheon with a one-way ticket on a tourist visa?
Thanks in advance for sharing any helpful advice!

[lemak]

Korean immigration likely won't give you grief, although it is a requirement of entry. As you mentioned it's the airlines that will potentially give you trouble for failing to satisfy the entry requirements of the country of destination leaving them open to fines and covering the cost of returning you home. Hence they cover their ass by denying you passage.
Plenty of other posters will chime in and say "It's fine, I've done it!"...I've also driven while drunk, sped, broken windows, publicly urinated, gotten in fights etc. Just because I didn't get caught on those particular occasions doesn't make it legal.
The topic has been discussed quite a lot, and enough people do get turned back by the airlines to make it worth either buying a cheap onward ticket, or something that is fully refundable. Put it on the credit card and cancel it when you arrive in the ROK. Can also buy a one way ferry ticket to Fukuoka and use it if so inclined or just toss it. No huge loss.

[Drew345]

If you have a tourist visa in your passport (or any visa) when you check-in at the airport, then you are fine to go.
I am not clear on what tourist visa you have though. It seems you might be Canadian, and in that case you can enter Korea for 6 months with no visa (visa-free). I don't think there is any tourist visa for Canadians or Americans any more since they started the visa-free entry.
In short:
If you are planning to enter with no visa (visa-free) then yes, you will probably have trouble boarding the airplane.
If you have some kind of tourist visa, obtained from a Korean Embassy or Consulate before boarding the plane, then you are good to go.

I think more details about the tourist visa that you have (you have it already?) are required to answer this question.

[nicwr2002]

I've always noticed that round trip tickets are cheaper than one-way tickets. Why not just buy a round trip ticket and just don't board the plane?

[ttompatz]

[Mr.Mulder2]

Thanks for being my brain trust, guys. I hadn't thought about some of the trickier little points raised. I'm going to go ahead and get a refundable round-trip ticket which should negate problems on either end, and yes, will be cheaper in the end than a one-way ticket. Many thanks! I owe you all a beer.

[sundizz]

This is silly. You may get 20 minutes of grief at the airport if you run into some sort of stick up immigration office but it is a slim chance.

There is absolutely nothing illegal about visiting a country and buying a one way tourist visa.

Just make sure you know of place you plan to stay (e.g Hotel Ramada City Hall), length of time (e.g 75 days), why you are here (e.g touring to see Korean sights), and where u are going next/why no ticket (e.g Australia, waiting for prices to go down and not sure of the dates).

I had a one way ticket to Japan, turned in my ARC card, came back to Korea on a one way ticket from Tokyo, stamped me a tourist visa, and had ZERO problems (this was 2 weeks ago).

[lemak]

[young_clinton]

[fezmond]