Do I need a visa extension? (Contract ends after visa expiration)

[chrisinkorea2011]

Yes make sure that you go to the immigration and get your extension for beyond your last day of work by about a week, just to be on the safe side! i know one guy who was over his end of date on visa and they charged him 100,000원 so better safe than sorry! lol

[teach1]

Found on the SMOE Fall 2010 Facebook group:

Leaving/Extension: According to the immigration office in Seoul 02-2650-6212 you are required to leave Korea within 24 hours of the date of expiration on your ARC card. Apparently, the immigration officers are more concerned with this date than the date on your visa in your passport. You can petition online for an extension at the HiSeoul Portal website.

[Chocolate Starfish]

Maybe you missed this thread:

http://waygook.org/index.php/topic,6296.0.html

Basically, you need a visa extension.  Do it.

The "90 days without a visa" is for tourists.  It means if you are coming to Korea for less than 90 days you don't need a visa to enter, but you must have an onwards ticket.  You don't qualify for this because you are already here.  To qualify you'd have to leave and re-enter, but then you'd be on a tourist visa, so you couldn't work and you wouldn't be able to complete your contract.

[jgroh]

Something that went unnoticed in my passport for a long time that I just saw: My (american) passport actually says "13M" as in 13 months. I'd assume this also works with what was previously said about your ARC expiration. However, I didn't get my ARC for nearly a month into my contract, so you should be fine.

[cruisemonkey]

Found on the SMOE Fall 2010 Facebook group:

Leaving/Extension: According to the immigration office in Seoul 02-2650-6212 you are required to leave Korea within 24 hours of the date of expiration on your ARC card.

They don't know what they're talking about. You do not have 24 hours to leave. You must leave on or before the date on your ARC - the expiry of your Period of Sojourn (or get an extension).

[chrisinkorea2011]

if it was only 24 hours, then i know a bunch of teachers who left that broke that rule lol

actually a lot of schools will tell you different things, but i was told by a number of korean immigration people that you have 10 - 14 days after your contract expires to leave. there are exceptions to the rule like the F- 4 visa ( i have one) so just to be safe like i said make sure you ask them to extend your stay until a few days after you are done your contract to be safe.

[poopie]

Yes, you need to extend you visa. Your co-teacher can do it for you online. All they require is a passport number and your flight itinerary. My co-teacher help extend my visa online. They will email you a confirmation certificate that you would need to print out and show the immigration officer when you leave Korea.

[SenoritaPantalonesdeSass]

Hello everyone,


   I am VERY VERY confused again.  Here is the info:

1. My contract expires August 31st, 2011.
2. I am flying out of Korea on September 1st, 2011 (already have the ticket).
3. My ARC expires on September 1st, 2011
4. My E-2 Visa in my passport has an expiration date of August 24th, 2011.

My GEPIK coordinator (whom I do not have any sort of cordial or even respectful relationship with) called me yesterday to tell me that I would have to go to immigration to get my visa fixed or else they cannot pay me severance or airfare and I can not work my last contract week if my visa says it expires on August 24th.  I did not come to Korea earlier than my contract started and I had some issues at immigration when attempting to get my ARC--- they promised me that it would be fixed... but I do not know what or if they did. I also thought that everything depended on the expiration of the ARC now... I am soooooooo confused.

My co-teacher is no help as he cannot speak English well at all...so I am trying to do this alone. I made an appointment for the immigration office for August when I am back from summer vacation. I was wondering what the heck I am asking for when I get there... and if anyone knows what I should bring. I looked on the immigration website and I just continue to be confused. Would I tick the box on the form that is a request for an "extension of sojourn period"... I thought that was only for ARC's?

Somebody please help, I am growing increasingly frustrated. To recap- I need to work until August 31st and need to extend my visa date (currently at August 24th, 2011) in order to be paid and also to collect severance and etc. This is what I am being told even though my ARC says I expire on September 1st, 2011. I have no idea what to ask for at Immi and am terribly confused... thank you for your help!
 ???

[eggplant_tyrant]

   I am VERY VERY confused again.  [info snipped]

I can't give you any specific advice since I've never been in your exact situation, but I'd definitely recommend calling the immigration hotline. If you dial 1345, you'll be able to reach someone who speaks English well enough and can tell you exactly what immigration needs from you. Don't be discouraged if you can't get through the first time or you're waiting on hold forever -- they seem to employ very few operators, but once you do get through, you can keep them on the line until your question is answered to your satisfaction (or they offer to call you back the next day with an answer -- and they actually will call you, if you choose this option). Just make sure you ask your questions in fifteen different ways and then confirm and reconfirm the answers, and you should be safe. You may still have to go into the immigration office, but at least if you call the hotline first, you'll know what to bring with you.

If you're willing to speak to your GEPIK co-ordinator, it might also be worthwhile to ask her to tell you what is needed, since she's the one who has indicated that there is a problem. If she can't be specific, ask her to find out. Whatever she says, though, I'd still verify with immigration -- when I went to renew my visa, the GEPIK co-ordinator for my region gave my co-teacher some information with regards to documents I'd need that turned out to be incorrect. Luckily, I just ended up with too many things, but still. I don't think their information is always as up to date as it could be.

Finally, if immigration says you're fine and the GEPIK co-ordinator insists you're not, demand that a) she contact immigration herself and get answers for you, and b) she explain, in detail, what you need to do to fix the situation. And then, of course, do whatever she says. It's not worth it to mess around with severance and airfare.

[Chocolate Starfish]

   I am VERY VERY confused again.  Here is the info:

Call Immigration (you can do it yourself).  It seems to me that everything is ok.  The date on your ARC is the *actual* expiry date of your visa (so your contract is ok).  You have to leave Korea on or before that date (so your flight is ok).  Ignore the date on the visa in your passport- that visa is just to get you into the country.  Immigration should confirm this, so ask them to repeat it and hand the phone to your co-teacher.