Korean Job Discussion Forums

[OMGtrev]

I guess this only loosely pertains to ESL, but I thought someone might know about this. I am currently a teacher in Korea with an E-2 visa and I'm quitting my job (failure to provide benefits), and I've decided to take Korean classes full time instead of teaching again because I'm a little burnt out from it and I really need to buckle down with learning the language, plus I have a lot of other opportunities that that would free me up for.

So my question is, is it possible to transfer from an E-2 visa to a D-4 visa? I'll be getting a letter of release from my employer, so I'm good on that end, and I've seen some things on the immigration website which leads me to believe that if I have a visa already then that would be possible, but it doesn't specifically say it. Would I be able to transfer it without leaving or would I need to make a visa run?

Any other information about the D-4 visa would be most helpful. Thanks!

[ironjohn]

I went from an E2 to a D4 in-country without problem, about a year ago.

I paid the tuition at the school, and received a certificate of enrollment/receipt for tution.

At immigration, I had to fill out the form to change my status, turn in my E2 ARC and pay a fee, I think 50,000 won. I also had to write out a short statement as to why I wanted to study. (You might also need an official document from your bank, but I think I just showed immigration my bankbook to prove I had enough funds.)

Then I went back two weeks later to pick up a new D4 ARC that was good until the end of the term I had registered for. When that D4 ARC was about to expire, I was able to switch to a tourist visa in-country and get a 30 day extension.

Note, after that term I found another job. But I was NOT able to switch from a D4 back to an E2, so I had to do a visa run.

Good luck studying, it's difficult but rewarding.

[furtakk]