Part of a series on ESL in Korea
Chapter One- The Job
Chapter Two- Before Coming to Korea
Overview Are you employable? Compensation and benefits When do schools hire? Job hunt advice Employment process Alien Registration Card Immigration Proof of onward travel Visa application form Multiple entry visa Visa expiration Permission to work a 2nd job Visa run Fukuoka visa run Osaka visa run Teacher training and resources Legal matters

Oh, yes. The fun section where we talk about visa processing, visa runs, multiple entry visas, and whatnot. Where to start. How about the visa process and we’ll expand from there.

Once you’ve had a phone or face-to-face interview and have been offered and have accepted a job, the next part is the paperwork. Unless indicated otherwise by your school or recruiter, most processes follow something like this:

1. Firstly, you must obtain a criminal record check (CRC). Please read more on this process here.
2. Secondly, ensure that you have your university degree and transcripts.
3. Now in regards to your university transcripts. In recent years, the Korean media got wind of some foreign teachers working with fake degrees, so Immigration decided to create this policy to try to contend with those issues. You should be prepared for this. The way this works, is that Immigration needs your transcripts in a sealed university envelope. The back of the envelope should also be signed by someone from the Registrar's office. They’ll turn their nose up at it if the envelope has been opened. Many schools now allow transcripts to be ordered by fax or via a website.
4. Once you have your CRC, take it, along with your original degree to the neareest Korean embassy or consulate and have your documents notarized.
5. School or recruiter emails you the contract.
6. You review and sign and send them back:

• signed contract.
• photocopy of your passport (photo and info page only)
• your notarized CRC
• original AND certified copy of your degree
• sealed transcripts
• a medical self-assessment form

If you prefer using a certified copy of the diploma make sure you do it well in advance of applying for jobs, as the time between applying for a job and getting an offer can be very quick. Sometimes, as little as a week, as the job market moves fast. It’s also a good move to have the Embassy or Consulate certify several copies of your degree, in the event that you apply for future contracts in Korea or if one is lost. Note: As of Feb/2007, even if you have an MA or PhD, Immigration is requiring your BA for processing.

1. Once all the required documents are in Korean Immigration’s court, they will email you a 'visa code'. Upon receipt, you need to go to or mail your passport and visa code to the nearest Korean Embassy or Consulate.
2. If this is your first time apply for a teaching visa in Korea, you will be expected to have an interview at the consulate. All teachers who have taught in Korea prior to March 15, 2008 will not be required to have this interview. Furthermore, once you have had this interview, you will not need to have another one for all subsequent E2 visas that you obtain in the future. All first-time e2 applicants need to have this interview performed at the Korean Embassy or consulate in your home country. All past E2 holders who will be applying for future E2s will be able to do visa runs to any other Korean embassy or consulate, such as the one in Fukuoka. Note: Make sure you pay the little extra and get a Multiple Entry Visa, as they will often only stamp it as a One Way Visa. Multi Entry allows you to come and go freely into Korea during your contract, like when you take off to different parts of Asia during vacations and long weekends.
3. Once you have your passport back with E2 visa stamp, the next step will be the flight over. Your school will make travel arrangements to get you over here.

Korean schoolgirls enroute from public schools to hagwons in Gangnam, Seoul.

Note: The above process is if you are applying from abroad. If you are flying to Korea beforehand to do your job hunt, or if your school has asked you to fly over, in advance of being emailed the visa code, the process is a bit different and will require what’s called a visa run. A visa run is where you need to leave Korea and go to the nearest Korean Embassy and do your visa process there. The most common destination for this is Fukuoka or Osaka, Japan. Make sure your school pays for your visa run. Period. If not, take a pass on their offer, because if they cheap out on that, then they are bound to cheap out on other things throughout your contract. There are a lot of good schools out there, that’ll pay for your visa run, without batting an eye. On the flipside, there are schools who may try to cut this corner. Not worth the hassle and you paying the extra $300-400 or so, in my opinion. Please be advised that regardless of what anyone tells you, it is illegal to work before you have received your visa stamp at a Korean embassy or consulate. Many teachers have been fed a lot of 'don't worry about it' or 'the law says its OK' by their employers or recruiters. Most of the teachers end up OK, but if Immigration or the MoE stops by the school for a surprise inspection, as they are known to do from time to time, they will check the school's employment documents and your visa status. You and your school could then be subject to a fine and/or you will face deportation. Even if the local Immigration office has all of your documents and is processing your visa. If you and your employer choose to roll the dice and have you work illegally, you now know the risks.

1. After arriving in Korea, your school will send you to a doctor to have a Korean medical examination. Once that's complete, you will be able to receive your ARC.

One last thing. If you are coming over on a tourist visa, make sure that you have a round-trip ticket, before you head to the airport. There is entrance policy with Korea, that people entering the country on a tourist visa must show Proof of onward travel. If you get flagged for not having this, it’ll happen at the airline check-in desk. Although the ticket prices between one-way and return are seldom too drastic, if you only have a one-way ticket and don’t want to spring for the return airfare, then the cheapest way of acquiring proof of onward travel would be to contact a Korean travel agency that sells tickets for ferry travel to Japan. The cheapest one-way overnight ferry to Fukuoka usually runs about $60. A good English-speaking travel agent that can book this would be Kangsan Travel. After receipt of payment, they can fax you the receipt and itinerary for you to use as proof of onward travel.

Category: ESL