How Long Can You Overstay Your Visa in South Korea? Is There a Penalty?

Here's the question:

I am just getting ready to leave for Canada. I'm wondering if you know if I have to extend my stay if I stay a day past my work visa expiration? Or is there a grace period between the expiry date of my visa and the time I fly out?

Sheri

First of all, my response pertains only to E2 visa holders....

Immigration issues are always unclear as I've mentioned many times before. The rules and laws are not enforced consistently, and this issue in particular is very ambiguous. I've heard from other teachers that you can stay anywhere from an extra week all the way up to a month. None of that is true of course.

I just got off the phone with the immigration office here in Seoul (02-2650-6212) where I made three calls and spoke to three different people. To my surprise, I got the same response. You are supposed to leave the country within 24 hours of your visa expiration date. If you want to know when that date is look at your ARC, not the visa in the passport. They're usually the same, but immigration officers only look at the ARC date. I know departing in 24 hours seems a little rigid and many people want to spend a couple days or even weeks saying goodbye or travelling to a part of Korea you never got a chance to see. Luckily, you have a couple options.

You can go to immigration with your boss and they'll give you an "exit order" date which must be within a month of your original visa expiration. For this, you will not need to purchase a plane ticket to be granted the extension. However, since you're doing this with your boss, they'll still be sponsoring your visa, so they might expect you to work or stay within ear shot in case your replacement falls through. I would not recommend this option.

Your other option is to visit the HiSeoul Portal site or the G4 website. From there you can file a petition for an extension. You will need provide your departing flight information which should be within a month (30 days) from your visa expiration date and that's it. The website is more specific, but it's as simple as following directions. I would recommend that you do this a week or two before your expiration date because it can take up to 14 days to process.

OpenMicah, five time Expat Dancer of the Year, adds...

If you want to do it online with the Korean government's HiKorea Portal (which is the fastest option), you probably want to apply for a "Temporary Extension of Stay for Departure of Registered Foreigners". It is the application I used and it only took a few days to process. I don't know if that's typical, though.

A few catches with this application (and perhaps most of them):

1)You MUST have your airline ticket before applying. At the end of the application they ask you to attach your e-ticket.

2) You want to have an explanation ready. They ask you on the application why you are applying for an extension. It's a not a big deal, but you probably don't want to say you're staying "just to fuck around some more". Chances are that's actually what you want to do, but don't say it. I personally wanted an extension just to be around for my last weekend, but I officially told them that I needed to arrive back home later than my visa so I could arrange transportation once I got there.

3) The "Temporary Extension" application is only for under 30 days. If you want to stay longer, you need a different application. Different applications might have a more specific, less-lenient process. Be careful.

Your last option is probably the one most people are wondering about. Can you just wing it? As you might know by now, there are many elements of the Korean government that don't care about the application of rules or laws, but instead focus on minimizing difficulties. The whole point of the departure rule is to get you out of the country legally. If you were to "confuse" the rules and, say, try to leave a couple weeks after the date on your card, then immigration officials have very few options. This comes with a warning though. You could be fined and detained until payment has been made. Typically, the fee will be waved and infraction ignored if you've only overstayed by a week or so, but if you're really pushing it, then expect to face some sort of penalty. However, it is totally dependant on the individual officer handling your case.

Furthermore, if you intend to go this route, I would arrive at the airport a couple hours earlier than normal. Depending on the season, you might be held up for awhile and need to work that delay into your schedule. If you are detained, it'll be for an hour tops and will mostly be filled with a lot of questions in broken English. They might give you a piece of paper to sign that amounts to some confession/apology, but in the end, they will let you leave because after all, that's the point of the law.

As many public school teachers now, there are no quick-access records kept of such an infraction just like there are no records kept on your previous visa or criminal background check. The second you leave and apply for a new visa, you're a totally new person with no record (unless it's a serious crime). It's not an efficient system in the least, but it works to those who want to overstay their visa.

Of course, I would suggest you extend your visa properly or make arrangements within the scope of the law for a late departure. Don't rock the boat over something so easy to adhere to.

If anybody has any questions, just send me an email at asktheexpat@yahoo.com or leave a comment.

DUI and Korean Recruiters

Here's the question:

Hello,
I stumbled upon your group from Facebook and while the information you have compiled on there is great, I do have a couple specific questions. First, while I was in college I received a DUI. Do you know if this would lessen my chances of being able to obtain an E-2 Visa? Also if you know of a good recruiting agency in America you could point me in the direction of that would be awesome. Thanks for all the information.

M. Hilley

*** Update 6/03/2009: Seoul Immigration will not allow you to teach with a DUI, but there are options.

I try to keep the facebook group pretty well organized and manageable. Still, it is a forum and some questions sneak by me or some of the other 6,000 members. From my experience on the site, participation depends on the month (March and September are the busiest since that's when a lot of teachers arrive), but the depth and complexity of the questions are really the biggest reasons why some questions go unanswered. There seems to be a certain level of resentment or condescension directed at new or potential ESL teachers who ask specific questions. Perhaps it's that some people came to Korea with little or no information (like I did) and believe that that's the best way to do it. Of course, once you arrive in Korea, that dismissive attitude is not at all common, but it certainly exists in cyberspace. That's why I started this blog. I want to help people with the specifics. The assumption is that if one person has a specific question, someone else will also have the same question.

As I stated before, immigration laws are not uniformly applied, but I do know that a DUI (unless it carries some aggravating charges i.e., assault, weapons or drugs along with it) does not eliminate you from getting an E-2 visa. So, as long as it was an isolated incident, you'll have no problem at all.

As for good recruiting agencies, I think you should be focusing on what questions you might want to ask. If I may, I would suggest two recruiters whom I know have the best interest of the teachers in mind. If you prefer a Western recruiter then I would suggest Jason Creswell's recruiting agency. He's been in Korea for ages and has always been very up front and honest with all his teachers. He's also on facebook if you want to get in touch with him that way. Click here for his promo video. The other is Kay Cho from ENW Recruiting. You can email her at kay@enw-asia.com. She's also on facebook and one of the few recruiters I allow to post on my site.

So, in the meantime, you should think about where you want to live. Do you want a city or the country? What age students do you want to teach? How about salary? These are the items you need to cross off your list before getting too involved with a recruiter. There's an easy formula to have a successful first year in Korea.

1) Think about the experience you want to have in Korea. Do you want a fast-paced life or one of a bit more leisure?

2) Contact several recruiters and compare their offers and presentations.

3) Frequent forums and talk to seasoned teachers.

4) Narrow down your choices as you talk to current and former teachers at your prospective school.

5) And this is an important one: Don't settle for anything. Make it work for you. There are enough gigs out there to where you should have no problem finding the perfect one.


If anybody has any questions, just send me an email at asktheexpat@yahoo.com or leave a comment

Canadian Criminal Background Check in Korea: It's a pain...sorry.

Here's the question:

Hi,

I am a Canadian in Seoul on an E2 visa.

I want to renew my E2 visa but my local police station in Ontario, Canada will not accept photocopies of my government issued ID to perform the criminal background check.

I found a service called https://www.truecheck.ca who will perform the check and mail it to me but they warned me that they are unsure if Korean Immigration Services will accept it because it was authorized by a third party.

I am totally confused as to what to do because my E2 visa will expire in July. Do I really have to fly home to get a new background check and do the whole visa process over again from Canada?

Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time,
Brittany

First of all, Canadian citizens usually are required to get both the criminal background checks and vulnerable sector screenings. However, that has been changed. Now, you only need to background check.

The new immigration rules are absurdly confusing. I have worked as a manager and have personally assisted many people with this process and, unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be clear cut regulations or enforcement.

I'm sure you have visited to the useless Immigration website that sends information-seekers through a web of confusing options and definitions. Don't use the site.

The website that you mentioned above is a privately-run company. They stress the fact that..

"With the TrueCheck Online Criminal Records Check, we make it easy, fast, and secure to order your Criminal Record clearance certificate from police."

But the catch is that...

"A certificate will be issued to you if police determine there are no outstanding criminal charges or convictions indicated in the Canadian Police Information Center (CPIC) databanks."

The problem is that the police are telling truecheck.ca rather than issuing the certificate themselves. This is a problem. It "must be official". I use quotes because there are scores of people who have used private companies and have had no problems. If immigration has seen to company enough, they tend to look over its third-party status. For Brits, all they have to do is visit Disclosure Scotland which is a Scottish Government agency and accepted by Immigration.

Since Canada does not have such a service, you must use the old-fashioned method: get the copies of your government issued Canadian ID and documents notarized by a licensed notary republic here in Seoul. Luckily, the Canadian Embassy provides that service to you, but the hours they are open are totally inconvenient (9am-11am). Nonetheless, I recommend that you call their immigration service section at 822-3783-6198 and ask them the best way for you to get your ID notarized. If for some reason they don't offer that service anymore, then ask them where the Canadian-approved notaries are. If you can't get through, then email them at seoul-im-enquiry@international.gc.ca.

Besides that, your only other option is to talk to your current school or prospective school and put the burden on them. They will find a way to make it work. That's what they do.

In conclusion:

Option 1:

Contact the embassy and confirm they have a notary service. If not, make sure to ask where the licenced and approved notaries are. Then follow-up, get it notarized and the Ontario police will have to accept the photocopies. Remember, you only need the criminal background check.

Option 2:

If you have trouble with the notaries, then approach your boss or potential boss with your concerns. If you are planning on leaving your current school and joining another, then be honest with them. Tell them what's going on and they will find a loophole or solution for you. If you are staying at your current school, then they should do the footwork for you.

Option 3:

Use the private company because in my experience (with Canadians as well), Seoul Immigration will accept it if it is a very commonly used service.

You will not have to go home to get your check.

*** Update 4/29/09 ***

I found this website which seems to offer some pretty solid info.

*** Update 5/10/09 ***

For American citizens, click here for notarial services.

If anyone has any further questions or comments, please email me at asktheexpat@yahoo.com