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cassimira
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
Location: Daeso, South Korea
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 Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 1:55 am Post subject: Double-checking... ARC requires ORIGINAL passport? |
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Hey all,
we are about a month into our jobs and still have not received our ARC's. We asked our co-teacher about this (she is the ONLY english speaker at the school,) and she claims that the headmaster applied for them right after our medical exam, which would put it at coming back sometime next week. Only trouble is.... our passports have never left our hands.
Now, I've looked on the Dept. of Immigration's website, and double-checked that yes, they ARE needed (she told us that they weren't...)
Now, is it at ALL possible that the school was able to use the copies they received during the original application process, or do they HAVE to have the originals? We're a little concerned, for, i think, obvious reasons here...
Thanks. |
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The_Source
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 2:03 am Post subject: |
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| Why don't you take a trip to the immigration office and find out for yourself? Don't wait for your school to tell you what's going on. Take a proactive approach. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 2:07 am Post subject: Re: Double-checking... ARC requires ORIGINAL passport? |
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| cassimira wrote: |
Hey all,
we are about a month into our jobs and still have not received our ARC's. We asked our co-teacher about this (she is the ONLY english speaker at the school,) and she claims that the headmaster applied for them right after our medical exam, which would put it at coming back sometime next week. Only trouble is.... our passports have never left our hands.
Now, I've looked on the Dept. of Immigration's website, and double-checked that yes, they ARE needed (she told us that they weren't...)
Now, is it at ALL possible that the school was able to use the copies they received during the original application process, or do they HAVE to have the originals? We're a little concerned, for, i think, obvious reasons here...
Thanks. |
Your K-teacher is NOT being honest with you
OR
she has no idea what you are talking about.
Your ARC application requires the original passport (with visa and entry stamp)
Application signed by you
2 passport type photos
10k won
copy of your schools business registration
Certificate of guarantor from your school.
certificate of employment (to prove you ARE working at said school).
medical certificate
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cassimira
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
Location: Daeso, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 2:23 am Post subject: |
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ok, that's what we thought! Looks like we'll be taking our passports in and demanding (politely, of course) to know what's up tommorrow.
As to the idea of going to the immigration office... well, I don't know what your daily work-week looks like, but our work schedule does not permit us leaving our tiny rural town to make the hour plus trip (not including subway time once in seoul) during the hours that the immigration offices are open (0900-1800 M-F)... Not everyone works in the cities, ya know! |
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pangaea
Joined: 20 Dec 2007
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 2:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Maybe the conflict in hours is why your school is telling you that they are taking care of it. You have to go in person and present your passport and documents to get your ARC. You are required to have it within 90 days of arriving in Korea. Maybe it is a misunderstanding but either way you will have to work out the time off to go to the closest office to have it taken care of. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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| cassimira wrote: |
ok, that's what we thought! Looks like we'll be taking our passports in and demanding (politely, of course) to know what's up tommorrow.
As to the idea of going to the immigration office... well, I don't know what your daily work-week looks like, but our work schedule does not permit us leaving our tiny rural town to make the hour plus trip (not including subway time once in seoul) during the hours that the immigration offices are open (0900-1800 M-F)... Not everyone works in the cities, ya know! |
You won't have a work schedule if Immigration finds out you are teaching illegally.
You MUST go and get a ARC within 90 days of arriving in Korea if you plan on working here for the year. That is the law. The reason they are jerking you around on this is because they have no one to cover for your classes.
And no I would not trust the school to say "Okay we'll take the passports and get it done." They've already jerked you around and put you at risk. For all you know they may not even be allowed to have a native speaker (there are certain regulations and size restrictions they have to follow). Just tell them that you are going to Immigration on such and such a date and if they have a problem...tough. |
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pangaea
Joined: 20 Dec 2007
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 11:46 am Post subject: |
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TheUrbanMyth wrote:
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| You MUST go and get a ARC within 90 days of arriving in Korea if you plan on working here for the year. That is the law. The reason they are jerking you around on this is because they have no one to cover for your classes. |
Seconded. Don't let the school tell you they will take care of it and definitely do not hand over your passports to anyone at the school. They can't get your ARC card for you because you have to show up in person with your documents. The school should already know this. Are you the first foreigners to work at the school? It sounds like they are trying to put you off because they don't want to bother with covering your classes. Insist on having a day/afternoon off to get your ARC card immediately. Sounds like you will have to keep after them or they will continue to put it off until the 89th day with 4 hours to go when it will be an emergency.
If they give you any problems, try to find someone at the immigration office who speaks English or get a Korean friend to call for you so maybe an official at immigration can explain the law to your employers. In my passport, there is also a piece of paper stapled above my visa that specifically states that an ARC must be obtained within 90 days of arriving in the country and lists the immigration offices throughout the country. Maybe you could show that to them and explain that you are just trying to abide by the law. It's not like you just want to take a random vacation day and this is an excuse. |
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cassimira
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
Location: Daeso, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:13 am Post subject: |
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| Just an update on this.... turns out the fault was not with the school at all, but rather with the hospital.... they lost half of our records! Of course, the school should have communicated this to us earlier so we could go ahead and get re-checked (which they are paying for.) BUT just thought it might be good for some of the folks on this forum to know that its not always the worst case scenario... keep plugging away and sometimes the situation will resolve itself. |
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