Korean Job Discussion Forums

[billyg]

Has anyone ever waited this long? Tuesday will make it 3 weeks. Everyone initially said it was going to take 10 days?... I've doubled that. I've talked to the school on the phone, all they have to say is, "we'll notify you as soon as we know something."

[endofthewor1d]

where are you waiting? mine took three weeks, and i was stuck in japan with no money in the meantime. there's a whole thread about it. not very interesting... mostly just me whining. but yeah... sometimes they really drag their a$$es. hang in there.

[billyg]

I'm still waiting in the states, it's my first contract.

[plato's republic]

Hey, I'm in a somewhat similar situation. I recently sent all my documents to Korea to be processed by Korean immigration and yesterday I received a call from my recruiter telling me that my new boss wants me to do a visa run now instead because the visa thingy will probably take at least 2/3 weeks then it has to be sent back to me and that would take too long. She now wants me to go over as soon as possible. That kinda sucks cos I was hoping to be able to arrive with my visa already in hand. So I have a few questions for those who have done the visa run...

1)Which place delivers an E-2 visa quicker, Fukuoka or Osaka?

2)Should my boss pay for accommodation as well as the flight to Japan?

3)If I fly into Incheon airport on a single one-way ticket when I first go to Korea, will I face any hassles, questions, proof of return ticket from Korean immigration? I'll be taking a big-ass suitcase with me, so If I say that I'm visiting on vacation maybe they won't believe me!

4)Is it possible to send my suitcase to Korea through a courier service like UPS, DHL etc
How long would it take to arrive? How much would I be looking to pay?

Thanks.
All help appreciated.

[superhal]

iirc, you can't get the visa before you enter korea. basically, you have to have a job before you can get the visa, so it goes something like this: home -> korea -> japan -> korea. this is standard practice, as leaving the country cancels your old visa and re-entering activates the new visa.

from what i hear, there are no more 1 day visa runs to japan. i don't know how they are dealing with it, but apparently you must stay in japan for at least 1 night.

some tips:
at the place you enter japan, pick up two identical maps, one in english and one in japanese. wherever you need to go, find the same place on the japanese map and just point to that when talking to taxi drivers or bus drivers.

you have 60 days to get your visa. get your first month's salary before you go. iirc, you get a slightly better exchange rate on the korean side.

if you are going to fukuoka, the subway station is within walking distance of the embassy. take the subway into town if you need to stay in japan. the hotels around the embassy are extremely expensive.

[margaret]

Yours is the 4th case I've heard of this--all since the TV expose on illegal teachers. It took 4 weeks for my blue sheet to arrive at the recruiter's--it still hasn't gotten here yet. I'm expecting it soon. I suspect that immigration is taking longer now because they are checking our diplomas--maybe even calling our universities.
Margaret

[billyg]

Is there ever a point where the school would just decide your visa is taking too long and decide to process someone else's?

[Kimchieluver]

[billyg]

[just because]

To Plato's Republic
1)Which place delivers an E-2 visa quicker, Fukuoka or Osaka?
By the sounds of it it is now one day osaka, two days Fukuoka

2)Should my boss pay for accommodation as well as the flight to Japan?
Yes, they may procrastinate but if they want you to come immediatley then they should be prepared to pay, don't back down on this as if you do they will start pushing you on other things as well...be strong and you will have a better year

3)If I fly into Incheon airport on a single one-way ticket when I first go to Korea, will I face any hassles, questions, proof of return ticket from Korean immigration? I'll be taking a big-ass suitcase with me, so If I say that I'm visiting on vacation maybe they won't believe me!
You will face hassles on the check-in from your departure airport...it is law that airlines must check you have an outward ticket when you check-in, British Airways are very bad at this, also Qantas as well. It appears North American airlines are not so much stict. In Korea you won't get any questions,

4)Is it possible to send my suitcase to Korea through a courier service like UPS, DHL etc
How long would it take to arrive? How much would I be looking to pay?
yes....but why send your suitcase????? As for cost, I'm not sure

[John Henry]

Hey, for the people that are waiting three weeks plus for your visas...

Did you get your diplomas notarized by a consular before sending it over there?

I hope that would take out some of the time.

[billyg]

[plato's republic]

Just Because,

thanks for the info.

well i wanted to send my larger suitcase over by courier and then just fly to korea with my smaller case because i was supposed to do a visa run and i didn't want to carry my bigger case to japan as well. Since it would weigh too much and be awkward to carry. anyway, that's irrelevant know since my recruiter just told me that immigration would not process my work visa because the school i signed a contract with apparently hired illegal teachers in the past or something to that effect so now i'm looking for a new job again, i just wasted the last two weeks!!! doh!
something to the effect of an immigration clampdown on illegal teachers and dodgy schools.

i'm not sure if this is true because i told my recruiter that i wanted the school to pay for my flight over in advance and also for my accommodation in japan while on the visa run then i didn't hear anything for two days until this morning. so i've a sneaking suspicion that he gave me a BS excuse. plus i sent them my original degree. though he said he would courier it back to my home address.

does anyone know what happens when a school cancels a signed contract? if a teacher did that wouldn't they be in the s***? My contract was torn up i guess...

anyway, check out my post "oh dear....visa clampdown"

[Kimchieluver]

Thank God you got shafted. The academy was no good, if you beleive your recruiter.

When you get your degree back, have the original only when you go to the consulate/embassy. Notorized degrees are a thing of the past from what I heard.

Start looking for a job now, www.eslcafe.com or www.eslteachersboard.com and hold out for a position that suits you. Remember you're going to be here for at least a year. Don't apply to just one... apply to all that you think are good enough for you.

[billyg]