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johnnyrook
Joined: 08 Nov 2009
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 Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 10:14 pm Post subject: visa requirements for short-term korean language programs |
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I'm planning to do one of those 10 week courses this year and I'm wondering whether I'll need a visa for it since I can complete the course within the 90 days of visa free entry, and it's not employment related (or otherwise for profit).
I'm sure when I was researching it late last year I read that I wouldn't need one but recently I've been looking online and all these unis refer to getting a C-3 visa, which is the tourist visa for nationals that aren't part of the visa waiver program. |
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nathanrutledge
Joined: 01 May 2008
Location: Marakesh
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| Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 10:53 pm Post subject: |
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| According to the Sogang website, you only need the visa if you're planning on staying longer than the 90 days. As long as you're from a visa-waiver country, you don't need anything. |
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furtakk
Joined: 02 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:03 pm Post subject: |
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| If you only plan on doing one semester, you can just come in on a tourist visa. Most of the Japanese students in my class do so as they go home pretty much every break. |
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nathanrutledge
Joined: 01 May 2008
Location: Marakesh
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| Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:09 pm Post subject: |
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| furtakk wrote: |
| If you only plan on doing one semester, you can just come in on a tourist visa. Most of the Japanese students in my class do so as they go home pretty much every break. |
NEGATIVE.
The visa-free entry is only good for 90 days, at least for the US. A full semester would be 16 weeks, well over the 90 day limit. If you plan on studying LONGER than 90 days, you MUST get a visa, OR plan on leaving the country and coming back sometime during the semester to get another tourist visa. |
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coralreefer_1
Joined: 19 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:15 am Post subject: |
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I tried to do this early last year as I was about to renew my regular student visa, but didn't want to keep making runs to Japan.
The university told me it was illegal for them to admit anyone into the program that did not have at least some type of visa. Either they needed to have some sort of visa, or otherwise they needed to follow the steps to get the normal D4 visa. I was only studying for one semester waiting for admission to grad school, but because of some changes to how immigration processes and issues visas, I spent most of the 10-week semester still on a tourist visa and did not get my passport/visa back until about 2 weeks before the semester ended. |
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nathanrutledge
Joined: 01 May 2008
Location: Marakesh
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aq8knyus
Joined: 28 Jul 2010
Location: London
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:08 am Post subject: |
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If you only intend to do one 10 week course you do not need a visa.
I went to sogang to a level and I just had a tourist stamp. |
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furtakk
Joined: 02 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 2:28 am Post subject: |
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| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| furtakk wrote: |
| If you only plan on doing one semester, you can just come in on a tourist visa. Most of the Japanese students in my class do so as they go home pretty much every break. |
NEGATIVE.
The visa-free entry is only good for 90 days, at least for the US. A full semester would be 16 weeks, well over the 90 day limit. If you plan on studying LONGER than 90 days, you MUST get a visa, OR plan on leaving the country and coming back sometime during the semester to get another tourist visa. |
The language program at every university has 10 week terms...
Nearly half of my class is on a tourist visa. |
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nathanrutledge
Joined: 01 May 2008
Location: Marakesh
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 2:33 am Post subject: |
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| furtakk wrote: |
| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| furtakk wrote: |
| If you only plan on doing one semester, you can just come in on a tourist visa. Most of the Japanese students in my class do so as they go home pretty much every break. |
NEGATIVE.
The visa-free entry is only good for 90 days, at least for the US. A full semester would be 16 weeks, well over the 90 day limit. If you plan on studying LONGER than 90 days, you MUST get a visa, OR plan on leaving the country and coming back sometime during the semester to get another tourist visa. |
The language program at every university has 10 week terms...
Nearly half of my class is on a tourist visa. |
Language program is NOT a semester.
Also, as pointed out on the Yonsei AND sogang pages, a visa is needed. Now, if that's enforced or not is another issue, but why would you tell someone "OH yeah, come on over without the visa" when a C-3 is issued upon application? |
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nate1983
Joined: 30 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:48 am Post subject: |
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| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| furtakk wrote: |
| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| furtakk wrote: |
| If you only plan on doing one semester, you can just come in on a tourist visa. Most of the Japanese students in my class do so as they go home pretty much every break. |
NEGATIVE.
The visa-free entry is only good for 90 days, at least for the US. A full semester would be 16 weeks, well over the 90 day limit. If you plan on studying LONGER than 90 days, you MUST get a visa, OR plan on leaving the country and coming back sometime during the semester to get another tourist visa. |
The language program at every university has 10 week terms...
Nearly half of my class is on a tourist visa. |
Language program is NOT a semester.
Also, as pointed out on the Yonsei AND sogang pages, a visa is needed. Now, if that's enforced or not is another issue, but why would you tell someone "OH yeah, come on over without the visa" when a C-3 is issued upon application? |
You're really picking nits there, considering a number of the language programs themselves refer (at least colloquially) to the 10-week term as a "semester." I think that's what furtakk was referring to, considering pretty much all schools have 10-week terms. |
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nathanrutledge
Joined: 01 May 2008
Location: Marakesh
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:22 am Post subject: |
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| nate1983 wrote: |
| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| furtakk wrote: |
| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| furtakk wrote: |
| If you only plan on doing one semester, you can just come in on a tourist visa. Most of the Japanese students in my class do so as they go home pretty much every break. |
NEGATIVE.
The visa-free entry is only good for 90 days, at least for the US. A full semester would be 16 weeks, well over the 90 day limit. If you plan on studying LONGER than 90 days, you MUST get a visa, OR plan on leaving the country and coming back sometime during the semester to get another tourist visa. |
The language program at every university has 10 week terms...
Nearly half of my class is on a tourist visa. |
Language program is NOT a semester.
Also, as pointed out on the Yonsei AND sogang pages, a visa is needed. Now, if that's enforced or not is another issue, but why would you tell someone "OH yeah, come on over without the visa" when a C-3 is issued upon application? |
You're really picking nits there, considering a number of the language programs themselves refer (at least colloquially) to the 10-week term as a "semester." I think that's what furtakk was referring to, considering pretty much all schools have 10-week terms. |
You have to be specific here - it's not a place to be making "colloquial" guesses. If you come here for a 10 week program, then you CAN enter the country on a tourist visa. The schools say you need the C-3 visa for those, and a few on here are saying that you can do it visa free.
But a semester cannot be done visa free, and it cannot be done on the C-3 as a semester is 16 weeks. Call it nit picking, but I call it not getting fined/thrown in immigration jail for violating the visa rules.
90 days or less - C-3 required, anecdotal evidence that without a visa is okay.
91 days or more - D-2 required.
Refer to the links posted. |
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aq8knyus
Joined: 28 Jul 2010
Location: London
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:55 am Post subject: |
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@nathanrutledge
The OP quite clearly wrote about being intrested in doing one 10 week course.
@johnnyrook
This December I entered SK on a tourist visa to do a 10 week course at Sogang.
I was told beforehand by the Korean embassy in London that I did not need a C3 visa. I imagine it would be the same for Americans but of course you need to check with the embassy/consulate in your country. |
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furtakk
Joined: 02 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 5:18 am Post subject: |
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| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| nate1983 wrote: |
| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| furtakk wrote: |
| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| furtakk wrote: |
| If you only plan on doing one semester, you can just come in on a tourist visa. Most of the Japanese students in my class do so as they go home pretty much every break. |
NEGATIVE.
The visa-free entry is only good for 90 days, at least for the US. A full semester would be 16 weeks, well over the 90 day limit. If you plan on studying LONGER than 90 days, you MUST get a visa, OR plan on leaving the country and coming back sometime during the semester to get another tourist visa. |
The language program at every university has 10 week terms...
Nearly half of my class is on a tourist visa. |
Language program is NOT a semester.
Also, as pointed out on the Yonsei AND sogang pages, a visa is needed. Now, if that's enforced or not is another issue, but why would you tell someone "OH yeah, come on over without the visa" when a C-3 is issued upon application? |
You're really picking nits there, considering a number of the language programs themselves refer (at least colloquially) to the 10-week term as a "semester." I think that's what furtakk was referring to, considering pretty much all schools have 10-week terms. |
You have to be specific here - it's not a place to be making "colloquial" guesses. If you come here for a 10 week program, then you CAN enter the country on a tourist visa. The schools say you need the C-3 visa for those, and a few on here are saying that you can do it visa free.
But a semester cannot be done visa free, and it cannot be done on the C-3 as a semester is 16 weeks. Call it nit picking, but I call it not getting fined/thrown in immigration jail for violating the visa rules.
90 days or less - C-3 required, anecdotal evidence that without a visa is okay.
91 days or more - D-2 required.
Refer to the links posted. |
OK...  Congratulations you win!
OP: If you're doing one of the 10 week 'language sessions,' you can do so on a tourist visa. Your visa status is your problem. The school does not require that you have a C3/D4 in order to enrol or take classes at the language centre, nor does immigration care so long as you exit the country before your 90 days are up. |
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coralreefer_1
Joined: 19 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 6:10 am Post subject: |
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| furtakk wrote: |
| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| nate1983 wrote: |
| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| furtakk wrote: |
| nathanrutledge wrote: |
| furtakk wrote: |
| If you only plan on doing one semester, you can just come in on a tourist visa. Most of the Japanese students in my class do so as they go home pretty much every break. |
NEGATIVE.
The visa-free entry is only good for 90 days, at least for the US. A full semester would be 16 weeks, well over the 90 day limit. If you plan on studying LONGER than 90 days, you MUST get a visa, OR plan on leaving the country and coming back sometime during the semester to get another tourist visa. |
The language program at every university has 10 week terms...
Nearly half of my class is on a tourist visa. |
Language program is NOT a semester.
Also, as pointed out on the Yonsei AND sogang pages, a visa is needed. Now, if that's enforced or not is another issue, but why would you tell someone "OH yeah, come on over without the visa" when a C-3 is issued upon application? |
You're really picking nits there, considering a number of the language programs themselves refer (at least colloquially) to the 10-week term as a "semester." I think that's what furtakk was referring to, considering pretty much all schools have 10-week terms. |
You have to be specific here - it's not a place to be making "colloquial" guesses. If you come here for a 10 week program, then you CAN enter the country on a tourist visa. The schools say you need the C-3 visa for those, and a few on here are saying that you can do it visa free.
But a semester cannot be done visa free, and it cannot be done on the C-3 as a semester is 16 weeks. Call it nit picking, but I call it not getting fined/thrown in immigration jail for violating the visa rules.
90 days or less - C-3 required, anecdotal evidence that without a visa is okay.
91 days or more - D-2 required.
Refer to the links posted. |
OK... Congratulations you win!
OP: If you're doing one of the 10 week 'language sessions,' you can do so on a tourist visa. Your visa status is your problem. The school does not require that you have a C3/D4 in order to enrol or take classes at the language centre, nor does immigration care so long as you exit the country before your 90 days are up. |
As previously stated and is probably true, a university MAY allow you to study in their Korean Language program for 1 10-week semester without asking you to file for a visa. I personally heard different directly from a university, but I cannot say for certain whether it would technically be illegal for a university to allow admission of a student who possessed no visa related to study. It has always been my understanding that even possessing a tourist visa while allowing you into the country specifically entails that you do not participate in activities that would otherwise have a visa issued for them (and certainly since a Korean language study course typically involves a D4 visa (not a D2 as previously mentioned) it may be a bit of an issue depending on the university you choose and their particular policy. In my particular case, I was told I needed to apply for the D4 visa, although naturally other universities and individual cases may be different
To sum up, the only way to get a concrete answer would be to choose the university you wish to attend, go through their applications process and find out directly from the horses mouth what they will require. If they specifically say you need to go through all the paperwork to file for the formal D4 visa, you can either choose to do that, or otherwise choose another university that may or may not require such visa application |
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PeteJB
Joined: 06 Jul 2007
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:55 pm Post subject: |
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It's D-4, not D-2.
D2 is only for University students.
Whats the difference? D2 is good for 1 year and renewable every school year, whereas D-4 has to be renewed every 3 month term and is only good for as long as the course runs. |
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