Arriving in Korea to Teach Without A Work Visa - VISA RUN

Tourist Visas in Korea
B2 Visas in Korea

Americans - 30 days - Tourist Visa available on entry.

Australians - 90 days - Tourist visa available on entry.

British - 90 days - Tourist Visa available on entry.

Canadian - 180 days - Tourist Visa available on entry.

New Zealander - 90 days - Tourist Visa available on entry.

South African - 30 days - Tourist Visa available on entry.

You do not need to apply for this visa but you do need to have a ROUND-TRIP ticket or an onward plane ticket in order to enter Korea.

This no-visa entry is given to foreigners according to the principles of reciprocity or priority of national interests. It is against the law to work on a tourist visa.

The infamous VISA RUN - on occasion schools have urgent teaching vacancies and will ask teachers to come to Korea on a tourist visa, prior to having an E-2 teaching visa.

In this case, schools will ask teachers to hand carry their documents with them or to courier them and to come before the Ministry of Justice has provided a Visa Issuance Number. This means that you will be entering Korea on a tourist visa. You do not need to apply for this visa to enter Korea, depending on your nationality you are permitted to stay in Korea for 30 days to 6 months on a tourist visa. The important thing is that as soon as you get there your employer will immediately begin the process to get you your Visa Issuance Number so that you can apply for your E2 Teaching Visa. This has to be done OUTSIDE the country so this means you are probably looking at a FREE TRIP TO JAPAN!

Important Note

There is no paperwork necessary to obtain a tourist visa. As long as you have a valid passport and a round trip ticket, you will be given a single entry 3 or 6 month tourist visa once you enter Korea.

Important Note - If you are entering Korea on a tourist visa, do not tell Korean immigration officials that you plan to teach English. Tell them that you are visiting friends or plan to tour Korea.

Visa Run

Once you have your Visa Issuance Number, the school will pay for a round trip ticket for you to Fukuoka, Japan (http://www.city.fukuoka.jp/index-e.html) , or occasionally Osaka, Japan, (http://www.city.osaka.jp/english/) - the cities closest to Korea with Korean consulates.

You must go to Japan or another country with a Korean embassy or consulate in order to change your visa status from tourist to teacher- Korean immigration law does not allow this change in status to occur within Korea (a common situation in most countries). A visa can be processed in a day if you arrive first thing in the morning but normally you will spend the night in Japan.

Your first day in Fukuoka or Osaka, you will need to drop off your passport and visa confirmation letter at the Korean consulate, fill out a form and pay a fee, just as you would when applying for an E-2 Visa in the United States or Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand or where ever you hail.

The next day you will need to return to the consulate in order to pick up your visa with your E-2 visa stamped in it, and then you are ready to return to Korea as a legal English teacher.

Important Note

Japan is one of the most expensive countries on earth - normally if your school sends you to Japan on a visa run they will give you some spending money as well.

If you are a guy, you may want to stay in a capsule hotel, for the cultural experience as well as the savings. Imagine sleeping in a plastic refrigerator box with a TV and alarm clock moulded into the side, and you have some idea of what it is to stay in a capsule hotel. A capsule hotel is basically a hostel; there are communal showers, but instead of a bed in a room, there are rows of capsules stacked two high. Each capsule has a curtain for privacy- the insides are high enough to sit upright in, but not stand.

This website has a picture of a capsule in a capsule hotel: http://www.wellbe.co.jp/infomation.html

*** Try to get a capsule on the top row, thus you won’t have drunk businessmen stepping on you at 3:00 AM.

This "visa run" is usually one day and is always paid for by the school. No deduction from salary is made if you have to miss work.

Note that the visa fee itself is still your responsibility, as it is for those who get their visas before leaving to go to Korea. You may also have to pay for minor incidentals like local transport in Japan. You will be given precise instructions by your school director.

This has become far less common in Korea with the new visa regulations but is still remotely possible.

Yes, you are working illegally in Korea if you start teaching before the visa is issued; however, in practice, immigration officials turn a blind eye as long as the visa has been applied for, which is always the case for those people we send to Korea.

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Arriving in Korea to Teach Without A Work Visa - VISA RUN

Tourist Visas in KoreaB2 Visas in Korea

Visa Run

APPLY TO TEACH IN SOUTH KOREA NOW

Tourist Visas in Korea
B2 Visas in Korea