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Mashimaro
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: location, location
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 Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:08 pm Post subject: Dammit! I don't have a visa! |
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Went to immigration today to change my tourist visa to a D4 (studying at a korean language institute)..
Turns out I don't have a tourist visa (C3)..
As an australian I just have a stamp that permits me to holiday here for 3 months.
Soooo they said I have to leave the country to get a D4
OR come back on tourist visa(c3) and change it to a D4 in korea..
Not happy!!
Does this sound right? I know I would probably get 3 different answers from 3 different immigration officials and I don't necessary believe what they told me.. |
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peppermint
Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:12 pm Post subject: |
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Umm, isn't a stamp that permits you to holiday somewhere a tourist visa?  |
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Mashimaro
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: location, location
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:16 pm Post subject: |
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| peppermint wrote: |
| Umm, isn't a stamp that permits you to holiday somewhere a tourist visa? |
Yeah, you would think so.... but not according to the joker at immigration.
The visa rules in this country are clear mud.. actually mud would have to be easier to see through. |
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kangnamdragon
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Kangnam, Seoul, Korea
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Immigration is right. Did you actually go to the consulate/embassy in Australia and get a visa or just a stamp when you entered the country? If you just got a stamp, that is not a visa. |
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katydid
Joined: 02 Feb 2003
Location: Here kitty kitty kitty...
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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I wonder if there's some sort of horrible bureaucratic thing going on where they are confused that maybe you came in here on say an E-2, and the C-3 is for *students* who know they will be in Korea for less than 90 days. So maybe they are wondering where your C-3 is? Maybe they are thinking students get a C-3 then a D-4, not an E-2 (or tourist) then a D-4?
I'd think your old visa should be fine, and you sholuld be able to change from that I would think....
http://www.internationaleducationmedia.com/korea/visas.htm
Try this link and I hope it helps in some way. |
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Mashimaro
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: location, location
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:34 pm Post subject: |
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| kangnamdragon wrote: |
| Immigration is right. Did you actually go to the consulate/embassy in Australia and get a visa or just a stamp when you entered the country? If you just got a stamp, that is not a visa. |
Nah I didn't do that.. I just arrived in Korea.. kind of regretting it now  |
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kangnamdragon
Joined: 17 Jan 2003
Location: Kangnam, Seoul, Korea
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Mashimaro wrote: |
| kangnamdragon wrote: |
| Immigration is right. Did you actually go to the consulate/embassy in Australia and get a visa or just a stamp when you entered the country? If you just got a stamp, that is not a visa. |
Nah I didn't do that.. I just arrived in Korea.. kind of regretting it now |
Yes, you'll need a visa. Just take a quick trip to Osaka. |
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Mashimaro
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: location, location
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:37 pm Post subject: |
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| kangnamdragon wrote: |
| Mashimaro wrote: |
| kangnamdragon wrote: |
| Immigration is right. Did you actually go to the consulate/embassy in Australia and get a visa or just a stamp when you entered the country? If you just got a stamp, that is not a visa. |
Nah I didn't do that.. I just arrived in Korea.. kind of regretting it now |
Yes, you'll need a visa. Just take a quick trip to Osaka. |
How much is the airfare? I can be on a plane to Bangkok on Tuesday for 320,000 plus tax. |
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J.B. Clamence
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 3:34 am Post subject: |
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| peppermint wrote: |
| Umm, isn't a stamp that permits you to holiday somewhere a tourist visa? |
No. A visa is a special document you sometimes need to enter a country. It's technically a document, but is usually just a sticker or a stamp in your passport. A stamp is just a record that shows when you entered the country, which is different from a visa. The OP didn't need a visa to enter Korea as a tourist, but immigration still wants something in his passport to say when he entered the country so they know when he should leave, hence the stamp. I get a stamp in my passport every time I go back to the U.S. that says when I entered U.S. customs, but it's not a visa because I don't need one. |
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The Lemon
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 3:53 am Post subject: |
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| J.B. Clamence wrote: |
| peppermint wrote: |
| Umm, isn't a stamp that permits you to holiday somewhere a tourist visa? |
No. A visa is a special document you sometimes need to enter a country. It's technically a document, but is usually just a sticker or a stamp in your passport. A stamp is just a record that shows when you entered the country, which is different from a visa. |
Here's the US's description of what a visa does:
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| A visa does not grant the bearer the right to enter the United States. A visa allows the bearer to apply for entry to the U.S. in a certain classification. |
The stamp, or in the US's case, the I-94 departure/arrival card, is technically the entry document, and the visa is necessary to get that far. It's possible to have a valid visa and be denied entry, though that's rare. The immigration officer at the point of entry has a lot of say in the matter. |
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sadsac
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: Gwangwang
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| Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 5:26 am Post subject: |
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As Aussies we get 90 days free without a visa. You need to get the formal C3 visa from a Korean embassy. Bangkok is as good a place as any. It is confusing, but our entry stamp and the B2, 90 day authourisation doesn't constitute a visa. Enjoy your stay in Bangers.  |
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wylde
Joined: 14 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 5:44 am Post subject: |
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| sadsac wrote: |
| As Aussies we get 90 days free without a visa. You need to get the formal C3 visa from a Korean embassy. Bangkok is as good a place as any. It is confusing, but our entry stamp and the B2, 90 day authourisation doesn't constitute a visa. Enjoy your stay in Bangers. |
ya need to go offshore to change your visa status
170,000 for the hydrofoil to fukuoka (return). if ya get there before 10am ya can get the visa back same day.
i dont know the workings of the visa ya mention. if it be a tourist visa/stamp ya can come back immediately.. a c4 may need to be processed.. so a waiting period is needed.. maybe overnight.. 50,000 won in fukuoka |
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J.B. Clamence
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 6:40 am Post subject: Re: Dammit! I don't have a visa! |
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| Mashimaro wrote: |
Soooo they said I have to leave the country to get a D4
OR come back on tourist visa(c3) and change it to a D4 in korea.. |
If at all possible, I would highly recommend the first option. I could totally see someone leaving the country and returning with their C3, only to be told by a different guy at immigration that you have to leave the country again to change from the C3 to the D4. They're telling you one thing now, but you never know what they're going to tell you later.. |
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Mashimaro
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: location, location
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| Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 7:02 pm Post subject: Re: Dammit! I don't have a visa! |
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| J.B. Clamence wrote: |
| Mashimaro wrote: |
Soooo they said I have to leave the country to get a D4
OR come back on tourist visa(c3) and change it to a D4 in korea.. |
If at all possible, I would highly recommend the first option. I could totally see someone leaving the country and returning with their C3, only to be told by a different guy at immigration that you have to leave the country again to change from the C3 to the D4. They're telling you one thing now, but you never know what they're going to tell you later.. |
Yeah good point. I have been told by a couple of different officials that I can change the C3 to D4 in Korea, but like you I still have my doubts.
I've heard a D4 can take up to a month to process, and I've heard a couple of days.. guess I'll find out when I get there... stressing all the way.. |
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wylde
Joined: 14 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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The Korean Consulate General in Fukuoka city is located at 1-1-3 Jigyohama, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka 810, on Yokatopia-dori Avenue about 500 meters south of the Fukuoka Dome. The telephone number is 092-771-0461; the fax is 092-771-0464. Fukuoka1-1-3 Chuo-Ku Fukuokas Jigyohama
Post code 810-0065
email : [email protected]
Office Hours : 9:00-12:00 1: 30-17:00 (Monday to Friday) No Saturdays. |
maybe a good idea to contact the consulate directly to find out how long it takes. (for japan, fukuoka) |
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