Korean Job Discussion Forums

[deanjcrawford]

Hi all,

I have an urgent question about getting my visa..

I have recently accepted a job back in South Korea but it appears that I might be cutting it too fine with regards to my start date (which is now less than 3 weeks away!) to get my visa before I leave London. I haven��t been in this situation before so I wondered if anyone could tell me my options with regards to coming to Korea, then getting my visa.

I know I can do a visa run to Japan, but I have no idea how to go about this, i.e. What do I need my school to do so this can happen, how long it takes to get a visa once in Japan, do I just turn up at the Korean embassy in Japan and hey presto, there��s my visa??

Also, what about my plane ticket? I gather if I don��t have a work visa, then I will have to buy a return ticket to even enter Korea. So then what about a re-entry permit to get back into Korea once I have left for Japan if that is the case?

As you can tell, im starting to get a little stressed as I know the start date cant be changed and I don��t want to miss out on this role, so if anyone has a step-by-step idiots guide as to what my options are and what I need to do that would be much appreciated!!

Cheers guys!

[Bulsajo]

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=20648

[Qjmonster]

I'm in the same boat. I've been told that my visa letter will be sent to me on or around Aug. 10th, however, I'm moving out of my apartment on the 12th and won't be anywhere near an embassy before I leave. My recruiter has been generally non-responsive.

[stat]

ho ho, me too. due to start on the 26th, just sent off the signed contracts to future employer so they can spend two weeks getting necessary documents at their end. they'll then send me the stuff back, i'll have to go to embassy to get e2 visa.

cutting it fine huh? what a beeyatch.

ps re: advice. DON'T PANIC. I panicked last night that I didn't have my original degree certificate here at my girlfriends, so had to take a five hour trip back home - only to find it wasn't there. girlfriend called to say she'd found it at hers after all... so back i came (5hours) empty handed. seriously, just stay calm. Your employers are teh ones who will have to do the stressing.

[wokstar]

hahahaha, i knew I wasn't the only one stressing about this.

I leave in a month too....I have sent my signed contract, passport info, degree, and sealed transcripts and my recruiter should get them this week.

Problem is, is that that passport has been cancelled, because I'm in the process of getting my renewed one. It is going to arrive around Aug. 9th. Then I'll fax the info over....and they do what is necessary i guess??

I;ve been told that some of the necessary work can still be done even though my passport is cancelled....i'm not to sure of the process?? And hope they are right.

I do know that once you have all your documents and go to the Embassy, it doesn't take too long to finalize your visa. I hope so!!!

Not sure about my situtation...I hope one month will do it?

[Ya-ta Boy]

Basically, all of you need to relax. This situation is typical of how things work in Korea. Just get your stuff (clothes) ready to go. Your schools will get the papers processed in Korea and notify the appropriate Korean embassy/consulate in your country. You will be told to Fed Ex your passport to that place and to get your plane reservation for a specific date.

Your passport will come back to you with your E-2 stamped in it. You will be expected to get on a plane a day or two later.

Don't worry that your school will change it's mind about you now. It's also OK if you arrive after your designated 'start date'. It is not a crisis.

However, you would be well advised to think about what to teach in your first class or two...some of you will be hauled off the plane, jet lagged to the max, and shoved into a classroom the next morning...Some have had to teach the same day they got off the plane.

Start practicing how to say 'pan-kap-sum-ni-da' and "Yes, kimchi is delicious". It wouldn't hurt to practice these: "Amazing! Four seasons! How special." "Brad Pitt? How nice of you to say I look like Brad Pitt."

PS: Good luck. Enjoy your adventure in Korea.

[JongnoGuru]

[stat]

so how's it going, wokstar? did you manage to get the visa ok?

we're set to fly off next monday... picking the visas up this friday. ho ho, what a lot of stress just so some guy at the airport can blink at it for two seconds!

cheers for your posts, yata boy and jongnoguru, a similar thing happened to me a couple of years ago when I first went to korea (no degree/celta so was a volunteer). Was told i was going to be a teaching assistant (i was only 18, had just left school) then found out I was the first grade's teacher at a girls' high school. was quite a shock

eeeee!! can't wait for korea!! it's those delicious street snacks that make me salivate the most not looking forward to the inevitable realisation that i'll be doing some crappy job as opposed to the cool job I've kinda imagined it to be. Expectations are the root of all pain huh, guess I'll just have to try not to think about it too much.

[sheba]

If you are getting a job before you leave, why are you buying the plane ticket? They will do it for you and pay for everything.

In my case, my visa was not ready and my plane ticket was changed 3 times.

If you have already bought your ticket then it will probably be better to pay the extra $50 or $100 to change the date than buy an onward ticket for not having a visa. Talk to your travel agent...

[wokstar]

Hey stat,

I got my visa issuance from Korea on Monday, so I'm off to the embassy tomorrow and it should be all good . All in good time i guess. Turns out I'm departing to Pusan later than I expected though, Sept 8th...can't wait!!!

good luck