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Caught as Illegal, then what?
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genaureliano



Joined: 04 Jan 2004
PostPosted: Wed May 17, 2006 8:08 pm    Post subject: Caught as Illegal, then what? Reply with quote
for the record I am not working illegally, but I have thought about it. What happens if you get caught? Fine, deportation? Are there severe controls? Thanks
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spliff



Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
PostPosted: Wed May 17, 2006 9:03 pm    Post subject: Re: Caught as Illegal, then what? Reply with quote
genaureliano wrote:
for the record I am not working illegally, but I have thought about it. What happens if you get caught? Fine, deportation? Are there severe controls? Thanks


Don't know about the above but I'd bet a free haircut could be had!

Last edited by spliff on Wed May 17, 2006 9:53 pm; edited 1 time in total
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genaureliano



Joined: 04 Jan 2004
PostPosted: Wed May 17, 2006 9:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
And they can keep it!
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
PostPosted: Wed May 17, 2006 9:33 pm    Post subject: Re: Caught as Illegal, then what? Reply with quote
genaureliano wrote:
for the record I am not working illegally, but I have thought about it. What happens if you get caught? Fine, deportation? Are there severe controls? Thanks



There are a few scenarios, none of which are nice.

IF you are VERY LUCKY and the hakwan likes you (enough to catch the sh?t, take the cr?p, pay a bribe AND their fine, then YOU may get off with a LARGE fine and a black mark in your file. This was the experience of an acquaintance of mine.

If you are caught breaking some other immigration law you will PROBABLY (every case that I have heard of that didn't involve working for a hakwon while WAITING for the visa run-AND the documents were in progress) be taken to the immigration detention center.

There you will be held until a determination on your case is made by the officer in charge of the Immigration district.

At that point you will PROBABLY be fined and kept in detention until the fine is paid. After the fine is paid you will be given an exit order and required to leave the country forthwith.

You will PROBABLY be escorted to the airport. If you cannot arrange your own flight they will keep you in detention until you can.

You WILL be allowed to contact your respective embassy.

Did that answer your question?
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capebretoncanadian



Joined: 20 Feb 2005
PostPosted: Wed May 17, 2006 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
If you're on a tourist visa and you get nabbed....you'll get smacked with a 500,000 fine, an exit order and you can be back teaching illegally in no time flat. Don't ask me how I know Wink Not sure what happens the second time. You probably dont want to know. Wink
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Peter Jackson



Joined: 23 Apr 2006
PostPosted: Wed May 17, 2006 11:41 pm    Post subject: They can do what they want.. Reply with quote
From very little to severe punishment. In one case, a teacher was working on a tourist visa, just doing privates. When he got hauled in, he had to pay a 2 million won fine and he was a guest at the Immigration Detention for nearly a week. (They can hold you up to 15 days). He then received an exit order and was on the blacklist for a year. Not the worst case, not the best.

Just be careful and watch who you tell.
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Homer
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PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2006 3:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Quote:
You WILL be allowed to contact your respective embassy.


Forgot to ad: and your Embassy will be powerless to help you as you will have broken a local law and they have zero juristiction.

To the OP:

Basically if you are caught working illegaly you get fined and deported. The severity of the fine will vary. You employer could help you if you have a very good relationship with them but think about the fact that if you get busted your employer has to pay a hefty fine....
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2006 5:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Homer wrote:
Quote:
You WILL be allowed to contact your respective embassy.


Forgot to ad: and your Embassy will be powerless to help you as you will have broken a local law and they have zero juristiction.


They can do lots of things to help you.

+They can give you a list of lawyers if you want one.
+They can help you get money from home to pay your fine and/or air ticket home.
+they can contact your family for you to get their moral and financial help.
+they can ensure that you are treated no worse than a Korean in a similar situation.
+they can get you a new travel document (passport) to get you home if yours disappears during your ordeal

Homer is VERY CORRECT in that the embassy CANNOT get you a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card.

If you do the crime... be prepared to do the time...
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Homer
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PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2006 6:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Good clarification there Tom!

I was talking about the no get out of jail free card thing.

They will also not send in Marines to rescue a teacher who broke the law nor raise the point at the UN... Laughing
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braunshade



Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Location: Somewhere better!
PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2006 6:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
But most people probably never get caught. Who would really be looking for illegal teachers anyways? Just use your gut instincts.
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
 </
PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2006 6:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
braunshade wrote:
But most people probably never get caught. Who would really be looking for illegal teachers anyways? Just use your gut instincts.


Who would be looking???

Might be the immigration dudes that wander into hakwans to check the credentials of the foreign staff?

Bank deposits from an employer and no ARC on file...Perhaps the bank staff person who gets a reward for turning in illegal foreigners?

The immigration guy that checks the ID of foreigners travelling on the subway?

The hakwan down the street that would love to see your boss and his competition closed.

The security guard that sees you going in to do your personal?

You must have missed the roundup last fall.... or the one the spring before that.... or the one before that... or the link on the immigration website that lets people make reports and collect a reward if the foreigner they report really is an illegal.

Yup... VERY SAFE here to work illegally. You have (I'm guessing here) a 25% chance to get caught.

Just remember... if you do the crime... be prepared to do the time...
It's YOUR ASS on the line.