Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Daniel1981]

Hi~~

I received my results for the last exam of the KIIP program, so I believe I have the required number of points to apply for an F2 points visa now. Pretty excited about that. I want to apply next week. I went into immigration last week to get a list of required documents which I have here, but I have some questions about the documents that I'd like to run by anyone who has gone through an application for the points visa already.

1) KIIP / Socinet program completion verification - I see the '점수표' on the socinet website which confirms my score for the final test, along with a '합격' / passed status. Is this document sufficient for the KIIP completion component? Does this document serve as both the KIIP 10 points and the language 15 (16?) points? I may eventually get a paper certificate of completion from the KIIP/Socinet group, but I need to apply sooner rather than later for work reasons. Is there another online document that can be used?


2) Income and Tax confirmation - 소득세 납세 입증서류 - I am heading to the tax office in a few hours to try and get this document. I am going to ask for the last 12 months, and for the year 2012. I'm not sure if they will give me both, but can anyone confirm what they used, and if there was a proper title for this document? The list from immigration lists 근로소득원천징수영수증 'Withholding earned income receipts' - but no indication of time period. Was this one document for both income and tax remitted?


3) Education documents - I have my university degree here. Does this document need to be apostiled / notarized ? Do they keep the original or is a copy sufficient?



Thanks a lot for any confirmation on these items. If you can share what other documents you provided, that would be a great double-check as well. Thanks again!

[Daniel1981]

Ah, two more questions


4) Can anyone provide insight on timelines from when they applied for the visa at immigration, to when they received the visa? How long did it take and, did you just call the immigration hotline after a certain period to check status? Or, did they call you and let you know? Then, once it is ready, I assume it's just a visit down to the immigration center with passport, arc and application fee?


5) As a new ARC is being issued (I believe?), are new ARC/passport photos required at time of application as well?


Thanks a lot!

[spaceman82]

Congrats on passing the test! I went through the process a little earlier this year, and my experience, in regard to the questions you asked, was as follows:

1) I printed out the sheet you mentioned and also brought my certificate of completion, which I picked up from the center where I took my KIIP classes. The immigration officer also checked online at the time I was "interviewing" to verify that I had passed. I brought in a TOPIK score report also, but the KIIP print-outs should be sufficient to get both the language and KIIP points.

2) Even though it wasn't required, I brought in proof of income issued by my company in addition to the tax form. The tax form does include information on your income earned as well as taxes paid, however. I ended up just showing the wording of the immigration requirement to the lady at the tax office and seeing what she thought in terms of the dates, as it's possible to get a report on any set of dates. I don't remember which dates she chose to use now or the exact name of the form, unfortunately.

3) I brought in my undergraduate diploma and transcripts, and they didn't even want them because they already had them on record. They did want my graduate school stuff, on the other hand, as they did not have it on file and I was getting points for it, but they did not require an apostille or notarization.

4) I submitted my ARC and fees at the time of application and also filled out (and paid for) one of those courier slips they have. I didn't have to go back down to immigration, and my new ARC arrived in the mail a couple of weeks later. I never called and never received a phone call, and overall, it was a pretty straightforward process (submit an application with documentation and then wait for the mail).

5) They required a recent photo for the new ID.

I tried to cover everything, but let me know if I missed any questions--or if you're curious about anything else. Good luck!

[Daniel1981]

Thanks a lot spaceman! Very happy to have passed and I hope you are happy with the freedom / security of your visa~~ I will of course follow-up with my results of the application process for anyone else that is interested, and I will merge my final results into the larger F2 points system thread~~

[spaceman82]

No problem at all. It's great to have the visa and not have to worry as much about immigration issues. Let us know how it goes!

EDIT: I double-checked and it seems that my tax report was for the previous calendar year (January 2012 to December 2012). For anyone interested, the KIIP thread (http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=196858&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=) has more information about my and others' experience.

[Capo]

You can get the tax form from your employer. If you have had the same job for the previous 12 months, it doesn't have to be totally up to date so long as it has your monthly income and tax payments for some months listed in the last 12 months they can figure it out. it just confirms that your income matches your contract. As for tax most E2s won't pay enough to get any points towards their F2. Also unfortunately, if you receive housing allowance this will not be counted as part of your income.

When I applied it took forever to confirm my KIIP level 4 score despite having the certificate saying i passed, in addition to level five cert.


As for the process...once i got there they asked me to add up how many points I think i have, then they go about proving or disproving each point. If you are claiming points for technical/scientific degree, more important than course content is the school it was taken in, which should be a science or engineering school to get the extra points. Once the application was accepted it took about 3 weeks and I had to pay for a new alien card.

In the end I scraped by with 80 points:)

Be aware you will have to go through the points system again when you renew your visa and visa length is issued at their discretion which could be 1 to 3 years.

[furtakk]

[Daniel1981]

I applied last Wednesday and they said I could pick up my ARC on December 24th. I fully intend to update this thread and the main thread once it is 100% done and I have ARC in hand. I'll update with what documents I provided etc.. But overall, I had a very positive experience.


I wonder, has anyone actually gone through the renewal process for the points visa?

Are we sure that we have to go through the points criteria again everytime? With the age points, it seems like eventually people would fall out of their brackets, and then, after being in-country for 2, 3 or 4 years are now required to leave? I am not sure I believe that.. Am I in denial?

[furtakk]

[Daniel1981]

I've got 2 years left until I need to renew.

Question 1 - Has anyone renewed their points visa yet?

Question 2 - What is the process like? Do they recalculate the points to see that you havent lost any points?

Question 3 - Would they take back the visa if they point system has changed or your income or circumstances cause you to have less points?

[slee44]

Does anyone know where I could get the list of the points and how much is awarded for each section?