Korean Job Discussion Forums

dodgybarnet · Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 6:05 am Post subject: Immigration ate my Degree

Hey all,

PROBLEM:
Immigration is being a big bully and wont give my stuff back. I wanna tell a grown up coz the bully just wont play nice.

SIMPLE QUESTION:

Immi has my degree certificate and wont give it back. How can I get them to give it back? It's not quite as simple as it sounds - there's more to it:

SOME BACKSTORY ON MY DEGREE CERTIFICATE:

I dont own an original copy of my degree certificate. As in: I do not own a "real", pretty, printed-on-parchment-and-stamped-to-look-nice degree. I put it somewhere safe, so safe in fact that I cant find it.

My University (Edinburgh) does not reprint degrees. They are purely for putting on your wall in a frame. They say "If an employer needs confirmation of your degree, they can call/email/fax us. We dont print more degrees as they are made in bulk by a third party printing company".

So. What's a boy to do? Well (take a deep breath) I made a colour scan of a friends degree, photoshopped it with my details, printed it on nice paper, went to the London Chamber of commerce, got it notarised as a "true and genuine copy", went to the Korean embassy and got them to notarised it also as a "true and genuine copy", and so had the legal version of a "real" degree.

Phew.

So, I then gave this certified "copy" to Immigration. They said thanks, here's your E2.

So far so good.

Then I asked for my Degree back. They said "No - Its a copy, therefore we are going to keep it"

Shocked

Me: "What about if I want to work in Korea again?"
Them: "Then you will need to supply another degree certificate copy"
Me: "But you have it. To get one in the first place involved travelling to two different countries and spending large cash and time and stress getting it!"
Them: "Tough. we are keeping it. Next!"
Me: Crying or Very sad

Any ideas? doing the whole "travel to scotland and london and waste lots of time and money" thing really doesn't appeal.

Surely the degree, copy it might be, is STILL MY GODDAMN PROPERTY!
Grrrr...

.

dulouz · Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Location: Uranus

dodgybarnet · Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 6:30 am Post subject:

ontheway · Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 7:26 am Post subject:

Seems you're in a tough spot. Immigration always keeps "copies" of diplomas used for visa applications. They look at the "original" diplomas and hand them back. If you had known, you could have made several of your "copies" at the same time. Next time, make several copies.

Sage Monkey · Joined: 01 Nov 2004

Maybe you can take a Korean with you and ask them to make a copy of your copy and allow you to take your original copy home with you. Phew!

dodgybarnet · Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:59 pm Post subject:

Dan The Chainsawman · Joined: 05 May 2005

I think they are just being to embarrassed to admit they ran out of toilet paper are your diploma was the first thing laying around.

wylies99 · Joined: 13 May 2006 Location: I'm one cool cat!

Yeah- something about this story does smell rotten. OP- did you actually earn a degree or just print one up?

rothkowitz · Joined: 27 Apr 2006

Quite.

How the heck do you "forget" where you put your degree?

And you said at the beginning that you borrowed a friends degree and photoshopped it,meaning yr illegal,yes?

You're dodgy,Barnet.

ChopChaeJoe · Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Location: Seoul

Shouldn't the title of this thread be, Immigration ate my forgery?

Julius · Joined: 27 Jul 2006

British universities will give copies of the original degree.
But only 1 copy at a time. To get one..you have to prove it was damaged or stolen.

To prove it was damaged/soiled, you have to send the damaged orignal back to them.

If you've lost it, then you need a written statement signed and stamped by 2 Justices of the peace confirming that you are of good character and likely did actually lose your original.

Then..they supply you with ..an original copy.

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

Well, hindsight is 20/20 and all, but you should have scanned or made color copies of the notarized and certified copy. Well, next time you make an international forgery, you'll remember.

I gave immigration a notarized and certified copy of my diploma, which they photocopied and returned to me. I have four more of these copes, and also two "original" diplomas. (And I suspect this immigration office has two more original degrees of mine in their archives...)

Dan The Chainsawman · Joined: 05 May 2005

When I sent in a certified copy of my degree that I had stamped at the Korean Embassy the immigration people kept it also.

Frustrating yes Dodgy, but it happens.

Now I just send in one of my two authentic copies of my Diploma. Thus far the greatest risk I have encountered to my original diploma is having my boss give it back. He sure seems mighty fond of it. Either I get it back monday or I am going to piss in his Gimchee Chiggae.

ChuckECheese · Joined: 20 Jul 2006

It wouldn't surprise me if the Korean immigration has black market for foreign university diplomas for Korean citizens.

dodgybarnet · Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:10 am Post subject:

Wow, lots of stuff here...

wylies99 - did you actually earn a degree or just print one up?

Both. I spent 4 years drinking and passed exams. I lost the paper diploma. I printed a new one and got it covered in stamps (See previous posts above)

rothkowitz - How the heck do you "forget" where you put your degree?

It's in a box in my sister�s attic. A dirty, dark, cramped, bat-infested attic. I looked, but I couldn't find it. It's probably wedged between two books to keep it flat. I looked, but I get asthma from the dusk, rabies from the bats, and p�off from my brother-in-law whinging about me mucking about in his attic.

I don't know where it is.

And you said at the beginning that you borrowed a friends degree and photoshopped it,meaning yr illegal,yes?

No. I legally earned my degree (I have the student debt to prove it). I had to create a copy of my diploma thing as the University wouldn't give me one. I asked. I tried. I begged. I cried. I photoshopped. Sue me.

ChopChaeJoe - Shouldn't the title of this thread be, Immigration ate my forgery?

"Ate my Certified-by-The-London-chamber-of-commerce-and-the-Korean-Embassy-forgery" if you want to be pedantic. The physical piece of paper was hokey, but the stamps and 4 years earning it weren't. It was therefore legit. Let it go.

Julius - British universities will give copies of the original degree.
But only 1 copy at a time. To get one..you have to prove it was damaged or stolen.

Not that I doubt your info, but I really did ask them this. Fooking about with scanners and chambers of commerce and embassies wasn't for the fun of it you know. Edinburgh Uni, all 500 years old of it, would not supply a new piece of paper. I asked my Department. I asked the Registry. I asked the Dean's office. I asked several pubs. They really really really don�t give more out. I can try asking again but I doubt I'll get a different response. Anyhow, this thread is about Immi not giving back my property.

OiGirl - Well, hindsight is 20/20 and all, but you should have scanned or made color copies of the notarized and certified copy. W

A color copy of a notarised degree is useless � Only 2 things will get you a E2:

(1) Your original degree
(2) A notarised copy of your degree

I gave them number (2) and they have kept it. This is the problem.

Anyhow, thanks for all the advice etc, but here's the main question again:

Immigration has my property - how do I make them give it back to me?

.