Korean Job Discussion Forums

beekeeper3000 · Joined: 13 Jun 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

1) do i have to pay anything to immigration?

2) my coworker (really not me) is only here until february. what are the real theoretical consequences of her not confirming her degree?

peppermint · Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 8:54 pm Post subject:

You don't have to pay any fees at immigration, and if your co worker isn't planning to come back to Korea ever, than it might be okay. FRom what I understood, you can't get a new E-2 visa unless you get the degree confirmed, but that's it.

beekeeper3000 · Joined: 13 Jun 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

thanks for the quick response. i suppose the real question is, what could happen to her in the remaining two months, if anything. she is not planning on teaching again, but her husband is. they will return in one year, but she will not need an E-2, she'll be on a spousal visa.

lastat06513 · Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 9:36 pm Post subject:

If she gets a spousal visa (F-3), then she has nothing to worry about.
This whole thing is about E2s.
Even those with B1 or even E7 won't get checked because theoretically, they are not supposed to teach English...
Most of the teachers at my college have an F3 visa, I am the only teacher on an E2, which sux because I was the only one checked.

If she had an A3 or F1 visa, that would be even better!~! Wink

skyhawk · Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Location: Korea

A dumb question from soemone who is just starting the interview process in Korea - what does it mean to have your degree checked? I have my original diplomas in my possession -- is there any further checking if one has his or her diplomas in hand?

Also, any tips for how to do a "visa run" to Japan? Has anyone gotten a visa in San Francisco? How was that experience?

beekeeper3000 · Joined: 13 Jun 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

well, having your degree "checked" means having someone in korea (like your employer or immigration) makaing sure the degree is not a fake; i.e., to verify that you are who you say you are. my employer did this before i even came to korea - after i felt i could trust her i sent her my original degree (with a strong sense of "screw-it-ness" in case she turned out to be a liar and/or wanted to keep my degree for some reason).

but now that some 300-odd canadians have been caught with fake degrees, korean immigration is making it mandatory for anyone with an E-2 visa to go to immigration with the original document so that they themselves can confirm your identity.

it's a real pain in the arse for those of us who are over here legitimately because, let's face it, whoever has a fake degree sure isn't going to stroll into immigration to verify their false degree/identity.

as far as visa runs, i haven't done one yet. when i got my E-2 visa in the states (i was living in boston at the time) it was easy as pie. i brought the fee money (i think about $40 - you should ask), the "blue form" from my korean employer (which she mailed to me), a passport photo and my passport. took about a day.

the reason i was able to get the "blue paper" was that i sent my degree to my korean employer BEFORE i went to get my E-2 visa. i'm pretty sure without the "blue paper" you need to bring your degree.

see? it's so easy! good luck!

ausloretta · Joined: 04 Dec 2005

Is there a korean embassy in Boston?

The closest Korean embassy to me is a 7 hour drive Sad

so I have emailed them to see what I can do. Apparently they don't issue "blue letters" anymore - they just issue an E2 Item Number.

Has anyone else found the embassy in their home country to be totally hopeless?

denverdeath · Joined: 21 May 2005 Location: Boo-sahn

Ausloretta, the woman I dealt with several times in Montreal(consulate, as is the case in Boston) was aces. Just get the number for the place nearest you and call them up. Basically, the only things you have to worry about are having your degree copies certified by them in order to get your confirmation of visa issuance number from your employer here and later sending/giving the number and the other necessary docs(passport, $, application form, photos)to get the E-2 visa placed in your passport. That's it. Two main things(in America). It shouldn't take much longer than two to four days if you have to mail the stuff to have the certification of your degree(s) done and probably no more than a week for the visa - this, of course, excludes the time involved in sending and waiting for the processing to be done in Korea. Have patience and ask the right questions, and you should have no problems. The task of getting here may seem a bit daunting at first, but it really isn't too bad.

I think you can find which place you should contact though this:

http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/government/embassies/south_korea.htm

ontheway · Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 8:25 am Post subject:

Beekeeper3000,

If your friend is planning to return to Korea, she should probably go ahead and do the "verification of diploma" required by immigration. It's really annoying, but fairly simple and easy. No payment to Immigration, just travel and time. This is a new requirement and no one knows what the actual consequences of non-compliance will be. And if your friend is a teacher now, she could change her mind in the future and want to be a teacher again.