Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dean_burrito]

Ok, I wish I learned to check pockets like my mom used to do. I'm just a dude though.
Anyways I leave to get my visa in Japan in two days and have mistakenly washed my passport. The picture is still there and all the information is clear. Also the passport stamps are there. The problem though is that the binding is coming off. Will this be a problem?
On the other hand it is very clean and smells fresh.

[Kimchi Cowboy]

A buddy and I were travelling to Vietnam, and his passport had a bubble in the plastic over his picture (he had left in the glove compartment of his car on a hot sunny day). The guard at Immigration took exception to this, and insisted that his passport was a fake. (To further add to his ire neither his blacklight, nor the blacklight of the guard next to him, worked.) He held the both of us for at least 10 minutes while he fumed and scrutinized the passport: ("You... American! This passport from... London, England! Why!" "Unnhh... I was living in London when I had to have it renewed...") etc. etc. etc.

And then he scrutinized MY passport.

But we got in eventually.

You might face some questions, but just keep your cool, and you should be OK. Remember that passports are designed for some abuse, but if it gets any worse, you may want/need to get it replaced. Good luck.

[KYC]

[Bibbitybop]

Vietnamese immigration was a breeze for this American.


I had to get pages added to my US passport. I went to the embassy in Seoul. My passport is in decent shape, though it is curved a bit from being in my pocket while traveling. The agent said I should replace it for $100 because it was "mutilated" and other countries wouldn't give me a visa in it. I told her I'd keep my $100 because 3 countries had given me visas for it in the last 2 months. Greedy Americans.

[SarcasmKills]

I washed my passport a few years back...

Like yours, it seemed to be pretty intact, but a lot of the sticker visas are come off in bits and the stamps smeared..

After having 3 people at immigration look at it, they all agreed that I'd have to get it replaced immediately.. After I did, my new visa was only good for one year (punishment I guess).. after one year I went to get a new passport and all they did was slap an extension sticker on page 11..

So until 2009, I'm going to have every customs officer ask me why I'm using an expired passport (main page has expiry date of 2005).. Even after numerous complaints to the embassy about this, nothing was done..

Good times.

[kat2]

My husband washed his about 5 years ago. Three Korean visas, one chinese visa, extra pages added, and a bunch of other entry/exit stamps for four continents and its still going. The binding is a bit loose and we've been told he should get it replaced, but we've had no serious problems yet. You should be fine.

[uberscheisse]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=92481

i posted about this last week. my buddy opted to not bother replacing his passport and is now safely studying in berlin. maybe when he returns to canada in september he'll have a problem, but he was able to make it from tel aviv to berlin without much hassle.

[ajgeddes]

Yeah, Vietnamese immigration was easy for me too. KYC got screwed.

[RJjr]

When I went to Vietnam, I presented my American passport and they asked me why I had been in Korea. I told them that I had worked in Korea teaching English. They asked for my Korean identification, so I told them that I had to turn it in at Korean customs on the way out since my contract had ended. They kept going on and on about it and I kept giving them the same answers again and again for around 15 minutes, so they eventually let me in.

When I made it to the USA, my connecting flight got cancelled and I was on standby over and over and kept having to go through security again and again and was selected for "additional screening" every time except for the first time through.