Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Toby]

Went yesterday to renew my E2 until december this year. They did it on the spot and gave it back to me, but only dated until july.

Upon questioning them, they said it is because my F2 expires in July so I need to renew my F2 then and also my E2, only it will be for 5 months by that time. So. 2 processing costs. Wonderful. And he said it is now too early to renew my F2.

Pain in the ass.

[Sage Monkey]

[sid]

[Holyjoe]

[Toby]

[casey's moon]

same deal for me, and it is sooooo annoying. There has to be a better way!!!!

[Squid]

Me too...or three, or whatever. You'd think they'd synchronise the two the first time there's an overlap, but no, they're stupid and inefficient. I'm pretty sure it's global though. .

Oh, and W30,000 a pop keeps them in coffee I guess.

Also, what's the deal with the 2year F2?... I tried last time (2nd time) and they said a flat no. On another thread it seemed it was arbitrary... any enlightenment?

[JongnoGuru]

[Holyjoe]

[jaykimf]

[Holyjoe]

[Squid]

Thanks Holyjoe, it'll take me a week to get my pea-brain around that lot

"activities not covered blah blah status of sojourn" is a form of E2 then?

If the E2 simply covers the duration of your contract, upon what status do we reside until the next contract... F2, no work allowed?

I ask because I quit last month and my E2 is still good until 1 May. Until then I'll do a bit of P/T work.

My F2 however isn't up until July...

my question:
can I legally still work after May1, until my F2 needs renewal, or is it Immigration office time again for another E2?

[JongnoGuru]

Okay, okay... I'm starting to get a grasp of this now. I actually have a few ex-pat acquaintances with Korean spouses, and Korean friends with ex-pat spouse. But whenever the conversation drifts into E-dash-? / F-dash-? territory, my mind automatically wanders and I daydream or run through my mental To-do lists.

So, it seems there's a "primary visa" with its own requirements, duration, renewal deadline, procedures and fees....and then there's ANOTHER thing -- a "permission" thingy with its own requirements, duration, renewal deadline, procedures and fees.

To me, it should be an 'either/or' choice, but evidently people want both. That means it's "Stupid Question Time" again!

A foreigner can marry a Korean without first (or ever) having to obtain any particular visa for it, right? (I know, just being married to a Korean does not give someone the right to live here indefinitely -- that's not what I'm saying.)

Putting this in the context of the real world, let's say you're a foreign male teaching here, your university (employer) sponsors your visa, and you meet and marry a Korean woman. Why not just continue with the visa from your employer? Where's the "fun" of complicating your status here with an F-2? If switching to a Spouse/Family (F-?) visa meant that you didn't need additional permission to work for the university, then I could understand it, but that's not the case. Seems like a choice of 1 visa headache or 2.

Another real-world scenario: You're a foreign lady and you've married a Korean man. You want to have & raise some children, start managing a household, begin playing a full-time role in the family life of your husband. You no longer have time for a job, nor need for the Work Visa that you had when you first came here. So, isn't it automatic that you'd drop the Work Visa and switch to an F-2? But no... apparently, people want them both at the same time...

[marlow]

[Toby]