Korean Job Discussion Forums

cwilliam · Joined: 11 Jul 2005

hello!
last week i went to immigration in daejeon to extend my contract etc...
they put an extension stamp on my alien registration card but did not do anything regarding my passport. after showing them my passport the guy gestured that it was ok, no need or whatever. is this true?
i assume i need a stamp on my passport as well...but hell, this is my first extension dealing, not sure what needs to be done.

any info?

thanks-

kalbi · Joined: 27 May 2003

Check your passport again. Did he possibly put a white sticker in there?

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

No worries. Sometimes they update the passport, sometimes they dont -- doesnt matter.

J.B. Clamence · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

Your ARC is the only thing that needs to be extended. Your visa in your passport is only needed for you to enter the country. It is not necessary for you to stay in the country (that is what your ARC is for), so there is no reason to update the visa in your passport for simply staying longer.

However, you should be aware that now that your visa is expired, if you had a multi-entry visa, that is gone now, so if you plan to take a trip out of Korea and come back in the coming year, you will need to go back to immigration to get a re-entry permit put into your passport. I usually do this at the same time as extending my sojourn because it saves a trip to immigration. There is an immigration office at the airport where you can do this as well.

peppermint · Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 2:56 am Post subject:

When I renewed my contract, they just scrawled something onto the existing visa ( cant read most Korean handwriting)

gypsyfish · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

It's okay, but you need a stamp in in the passport if you want a multiple-entry visa.

SarcasmKills · Joined: 07 Apr 2003 Location: Seoul

BigBlackEquus · Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 5:37 am Post subject:

Sorry, but I believe there is some misinformation being written here.

Actually, when I renewed and got the usual "scribble" in the back of my ARC, and tried to travel, they stopped me at the airport and told me I needed to buy the multi-entry stamp. I couldn't travel without it. I had to buy it right then and there for something like 35,000 won (can't remember the exact price). I have the sticker in my passport to prove it.

I heard that you can pay 2 different rates when you renew. My school renewed me last year, and didn't pay for the multiple stamp. I had no idea I needed it. I could come and go the first year with no problems. But after the extension, the original visa changes. It is now considered an extention, and I was no longer eligible for the multiple entry part of the visa. To get that, I had to pay extra and get a stamp.

SarcasmKills · Joined: 07 Apr 2003 Location: Seoul

No one posted misinformation...

The school is not responsible for getting anyone any kind of re-entry visa..

that's entirely on you to do yourself..

gypsyfish · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

Last year, I renewed my visa. I'd indicated I wanted a mutiple entry visa. When I received my visa, it didn't have a stamp in it. When I questioned it, I was told that it wasn't a problem; that what they put on my ARC was enough. Three months later, I was stopped at the airport in Incheon and told that I didn't have the stamp in my passport. I showed my ARC and was told that it only indicated the ARC was valid for a year. I had to rush around before my flight left and get a stamp in the passport. They could only give me a single entry and I had to go back to immigration and get the multiple entry stamp put in my passport when I returned from vacation.

I agree that the school has no responsibility to get a mutiple entry visa.

If you had a different experience, SarcasmKills, good for you, but when I renewed my visa this year, I made very clear that I needed the stamp in my passport and they put it there.

J.B. Clamence · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

gypsyfish · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

BigBlackEquus · Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 6:45 am Post subject:

weatherman · Joined: 14 Jan 2003 Location: Korea

BBE, chill have a beer.

ontheway · Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2006 7:00 am Post subject:

BBE,

It's not misinformation, really.

The writing on your ARC lets you stay and work legally in Korea. It is proof that you have extended your E2 visa with the same employer. It is not your actual visa. If you lose your ARC you can get a new one.

When you make a new contract with a new employer, you should get a new stamp in your passport, even if you manage to change jobs without a visa run.

The stamp in your passport lets you return to Korea after traveling out of Korea. It's a re-entry permit. You don't need that to stay here. Only to travel and return. If you stay here and work and don't travel, you never need it and you don't have to pay the extra money to get it.