Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mck17]

Hello,

I am meant to be leaving for Korea in just under 2 weeks. I am still waiting on my visa insurance number and have a few queries.

1) how long does it take for the UK embassy to process the visa? And if I walk in is there any fee I can pay to get it processed faster?

2) if I do not get it done in time the school has said that I can come to Korea on a tourist visa and take a trip to Japan to get it sorted. Is this possible to get a visa for a private school out with your home country

Thanks

Ps
This is my first stint in Korea

[Aine1979]

Once you get your visa issuance number, it takes 5 working days to get your visa - it can't be sped up. If you live near London, you can go to the embassy in person, so if you go on a Monday, you can pick your visa up the following Monday. If you can't get to London, it takes an extra day either side if you send Special Delivery and provide a Special Delivery return envelope.

Have you booked your flight yet? If not, I had the same problem, the school knows they are cutting it fine, so I would just keepnin contact with them and tell them you may be a day or two late.

You don't need a tourist visa to come to Korea, however if you have no E2 in your passport, the airline may not let you fly without a return ticket/ticket for onward travel out of Korea.

Also, if your school pays for you to do a visa run to Japan, it is highly unlikely that they will also reimburse/prepay your airfare - if they are prepared to do both then that's fine, but I would ask.

Have your documents arrived in Korea? If so, from the day your documents are submitted, the visa issuance number takes 7-10 days, they will email you that number, and you can then immediately send off your forms/go to the Embassy.

You have to send off your passport for the visa, so it's not possible to decide to do the visa run after you have sent off for your E2.

[alongway]

#2 is illegal if they intend you to teach before you receive your visa.

[mck17]

[quote="Aine1979"]Once you get your visa issuance number, it takes 5 working days to get your visa - it can't be sped up. If you live near London, you can go to the embassy in person, so if you go on a Monday, you can pick your visa up the following Monday. If you can't get to London, it takes an extra day either side if you send Special Delivery and provide a Special Delivery return envelope.

Have you booked your flight yet? If not, I had the same problem, the school knows they are cutting it fine, so I would just keepnin contact with them and tell them you may be a day or two late.

You don't need a tourist visa to come to Korea, however if you have no E2 in your passport, the airline may not let you fly without a return ticket/ticket for onward travel out of Korea.

Also, if your school pays for you to do a visa run to Japan, it is highly unlikely that they will also reimburse/prepay your airfare - if they are prepared to do both then that's fine, but I would ask.

Have your documents arrived in Korea? If so, from the day your documents are submitted, the visa issuance number takes 7-10 days, they will email you that number, and you can then immediately send off your forms/go to the Embassy.

You have to send off your passport for the visa, so it's not possible to decide to do the visa run after you have sent off for your E2.[/quote]

thank you!!! Yes my forms arrived in Korea last week and my school said theyare tryingto get the issuance number asap. flights are booked for next Friday as the school wants us there two weeks early to do orientation. I have return flights so that is not an issue... but I read somewhere that you can't get a visa for an independent school unless you are in your home country?

[ttompatz]

[mck17]

[thank you

My visa insurance number has come this morning however the Korean embassy said that they cannot process it in time as they need a full 5 working days to process it.

As long as we can do it in Japan I am fine.

We are going as a couple and my partner has his visa already,school have been extremely helpful on the subject especially as we only have had 8 weeks to prepare. However my documents bounced back from the foreign office which is why everything is late. [/list]