Korean Job Discussion Forums

[yellowdove]

Short story - My husband and I are trying to get out of jobs at a school in Daejeon that we found out pays their teachers late. We found jobs in Seoul, and we're trying to switch our visas over, but we are in the process of getting our visas, we don't have our ARC cards. Immigration is saying we have to submit all new documents, except that we don't have our diplomas or CBCs because they are all with Immigration.

Long story - We got the job in Daejeon, then we found out they were having financial troubles. We decided to wait, because our contact at the school said that things would work out, just be patient. We sent all of our paperwork to the school, and they submitted our stuff to immigration. We got our visa numbers the end of January.

We waited to get our visas to see if they would have enough money for the flights. Turns out, two weeks before we were supposed to fly, there is still no money. So frantically we found new jobs in Seoul.

Our recruiter is trying very hard to get the whole visa thing worked out. We went to the consulate with our visa confirmation numbers, put the school in Daejeon as the guarantee, and then requested a letter of release from the Daejeon school. Now Immigration is saying that we have to submit all new paperwork (contract, photos, health statement, etc) and mail it to the school in Seoul ASAP, even though they should have everything on file in Daejeon.

I guess what I'm confused about is how they can switch over our diplomas and CBCs, but not the rest? Has anyone else been in this situation, where they can't switch schools with a simple letter of release? What can I do, what can my school do to fix the problem?

[ttompatz]

Short story:

If the visa confirmation number has been issued then immigration will NOT issue a new one till the old one expires.
IF it expires then you start again with new documents.

If the visa was actually issued then you need to enter Korea and be released from the contractual obligations OR
NOT enter Korea, let the visa expire (90 days for everyone except Americans) and start again.

If you are American then it gets even more convoluted.

Best bet: Order new CBCs and get another notarized copy of your degree apositlled.

Anything else will be fighting a losing battle.

.