Korean Job Discussion Forums

reedtea · Joined: 06 Feb 2003

I have been working a contract that is supposed to end on July 17. My boss is releasing me two weeks early. I have bought tickets to go home on the 17th, is it legal for me to stay here those extra two weeks, even though I am not working?

Please post the message in this thread or PM me...

Thanks,

Feeling lost and helpless. . .

reedtea

The Bobster · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

I'm gonna use so many qualifiers that you might find the info useless - generally, I'm saying that it;s not a big problem.

1. I think here is an office where you can pay a nominal fee (maybe 50k won) to get a one-time extension of 30 days. Ask me where it is and I couldn't say for sure, though. Maybe someone else here knows, and this might only apply to tourist visa's, sorry I don't know more.

2. A better way: It is entirely up to your boss's discretion whether to report the ending of your contract early to the immigration authorities - if immigration doesn't know, they won't have any reason to thinkyou aren't still going in to teach every day.

This happened to me at the end of the contract I finished, and the manager at my school simply offered not to make the phone call until about 2 weeks after I had left the apartment and gone to live with friends. There was no trouble and no raised eyebrows as I headed for the plane.

That's probably the best way to do it, and I'm assuming you are leaving on good enough terms that you can ask them to do this. Other people here might have better ideas.

By the way, I don't recall if you said whether you are American or some other nationality. I might matter ...

Korea Newfie · Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Location: Newfoundland and Labrador

I won't try to offer advice, as I don't really know the law. However, I'll tell you what happened to me, and you can take what you want from it.

Visa dated August 2001, contract to August 2002. School went under in April. Got a new job in June. Stayed in Korea the whole time (even went to Vietnam, and got a re-entry permit). Visa run in September, no problem at all.

I don't know if it's a matter of lax laws, or just slipping through. Either way, it wasn't a problem for me.

reedtea · Joined: 06 Feb 2003

Thanks, I will try to see if they will not report it to immigration.

And, Yeah, BoBster, I am American. . .

Any other suggestions out there???