Korean Job Discussion Forums

Kim Jong Jordan · Joined: 13 Mar 2004 Location: The Internet

If I finish a year long contract does my visa just expire when I leave the country? Before I flew out I got a notice from the government telling me when I had to leave the country by, but I extended for a couple weeks. Is my visa non-existent now allowing me to look for a new job or is there something I have to do? Thanks.

cruisemonkey · Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 6:18 am Post subject:

Your visa has expired and you will have to get another.

Kim Jong Jordan · Joined: 13 Mar 2004 Location: The Internet

So it doesn't stay in a sort of "limbo" whereby myself or the ex-boss has to cancel it? It just automatically cancels after the year is up (unless you extend for a period of time)?

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

canuckistan · Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 3:34 pm Post subject:

Once you leave Korea when your E-2 (+ extensions) is expired it's a done deal. Don't forget to hand in your Alien Registration Card (ARC) to immigration upon exiting Korea.

To have lots of time to look for another job at another school after your E-2 work visa expires, you need to leave the country and then come back on a tourist visa--depending on which country you're from the tourist visa could be 3 months or 6 months long. Canadians get 6 months. You get a tourist visa automatically upon your return to Korea when clearing Korean immigration.

There are some other considerations:

When you return to Korea you may well be required by immigration to have an ongoing air ticket out of Korea to show them. Immigration wants to know you're able to leave Korea before your tourist visa expires (because you don't have a job yet).

Immigration applies this rule unevenly though and some people aren't asked to show an air ticket at all; the most hassle I got was from airlines who wouldn't allow me to board a flight to Korea without an ongoing air ticket out of Korea. They're not supposed to or they can get fined.

If you're going to take a chance and not buy an ongoing ticket to show immigration, you could well end up having to buy one at last minute before you're allowed to board your flight to Korea. That can be rather expensive.

I usually just bought a *refundable* open-return air ticket from Seoul to Osaka, Japan to show Korean immigration on my return, and then either used it to do the visa run to Japan when I found a job (if my future boss agreed to reimburse me for it) or cancelled it for a refund.

Air ticket refunds take about 3 months to get credited to your credit card.