Korean Job Discussion Forums

[summershredz]

I have worked in Korea for about 2 months now. I currently work in a hagwon from 2-10. I want to look for other teaching gigs that have better hours. How would I go about getting a E2 Visa transfer?

[Overture1928]

[Aine1979]

First you'll need to find out if your employer will give you a letter of release. If they won't (and they don't have to), you're out of luck as you won't be able to transfer to a different employer. Depending on what your employer is like, this could be risky, as once they find out you're planning on leaving, they may not treat you very well - you're still in your 6 month probationary period, so they can fire you and refuse to give you a letter of release to allow you to work elsewhere. Places have also been known to withhold wages and/or request payment for a letter of release.

If you are able to get a letter of release, and you find another job, you can get copies of your original documents from immigration, and submit these, along with your LOR and your new contract etc, to Immigration for the E2 transfer.

Bear in mind, that as you have only been in your job for 2 months, if your employer paid/reimbursed your airfare to Korea, they will most likely deduct that from your last paycheck, which is fairly standard and usually stated in the contract. They may also try to charge you for other expenses, such as the recruiter fee, although this is not legal.

[Guajiro]

[summershredz]

[Aine1979]

No, your school owns your visa. If you no longer work there, you have no visa, and 14 daysbto leave the country (or 30 if you go to immigration for an extension). They have no obligation or requirement to give you a letter of release. Without it, you can't transfer to a new E2 or a D10 (looking for work visa).

I was always under the impression that the 6 month probationary period was Korean labor law, and not a contractual issue, but I could be wrong about that.

The most important thing is to find out if your boss will give you a letter of release without putting yourself in a difficult situation. Otherwise you may have to get a new set of documents and apply for your E2 from scratch.