Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lugnaquilla]

What are the chances of obtaining an E2 teaching visa for Master's degree holders and English fluent speakers who wish to teach English but who are not from one of the main 7 English speaking countries? My friend does not have a passport from any of these countries. If it is not possible to get an E2 visa, then what are the chances of getting an E7 visa?

I saw a table containing data of E2 visa holders in the Korean Times last week sourced from the Immigration office. The vast majority of E2 visa holders were from the US and Canada, but there were something like 1,600 E2 visa holders from countries other than the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. How did these people get their E2 visas?

Can anyone shed any light on this?

[prairieboy]

The E-2 Visa is for Language teachers. Those E-2 holders from countries other than the 7 officially recognized English speaking countries are countries like China, Spain, Japan, etc.

Those E-2 holders would legally be teaching their respective native languages, not English as that would be illegal.

Cheers

[overq64]

I think it is possible to get an E-2 if your degree is from a country in one of the 7 native speaker countries - even if you are from somewhere else.

Maybe someone can clarify this - but I read that somewhere once upon a time.

[jlb]

I've been around the block a few times (3 years in Korea) and have never met someone who was working here legally that wasn't from one of the big 7 countries. I think you need a passport from one of these countries in order to get your visa and it doesn't matter so much where you went to school.

[cdninkorea]

I can't confirm if this is true, but my manager said he tried getting an E2 visa for someone with a PhD in English linguistics. He couldn't- can you guess why? Because she was an Indian citizen. She may have a PhD in English linguistics and be as fluent as you and I, but because she's not from The Immigration 7 she can't teach English in Korea.

On the other hand, my old boss had a woman from Ukraine on an E2. Apparently he was able to persuade Immigration by being persistent and showing them how qualified she was (and she was). So it is possible...

[jlb]

Like many things in Korea, it probably depends a lot of which immigration office you go to and which officer you talk to. A boss with a lot of influence and/or $$$$, may be able to work out something a little on the sketchy side.

[lugnaquilla]

Thanks for the replies.

How about getting a visa to teach a subject other than English at a priate institution? I'm thinking about someone wanting to teach music for example through English. Would they qualify for an artist/cultural visa or even an E7 visa?

[on_me_head_son]

[Juregen]

The E2 Visa clearly states that ANYONE can get an E2 visa to teach, as long as the proper conditions apply.

The E2 does not have a "language" written on it. The responsibility lies with the immigration office, not the MoE.

The conditions are:
1. Native speaker
2. BA on an accredited university

The contract is an important communication tool. It states WHAT you will be teaching, and based on that, they can issue your VISA.