Saturday, January 15, 2011

Got a new visa! And a new contract!

I've been negotiating with my old school, Seongdong SLP, for a new contract for a few months to hold me over until I (hopefully) start grad school in the fall. I finally worked out all the details and I went to immigration with one of the managers of Seongdong to renew my visa. We were a little worried because my visa was set to expire on the 15th of January, but my new contract didn't start until January 31st. I actually wasn't so worried, but my school had never had to transfer a visa from one school to their school so they weren't sure what they needed to do and were kind of freaking me out and trying to get my current school to play with the dates of my release letter so that the visa would transfer smoothly. But, as my current school is owned by Sogang University, they do everything by the books and wouldn't have any of the date fudging that my new school wanted.

Anyway, it all worked out in the end. I'm going to have a very light schedule at my new job (with a very light pay check to go with it, though) but I hope that will allow me to take a university Korean class, or another intensive Korean class.


 Immigration office. Surprisingly it took less than an hour to get the whole thing processed and get my ARC (Alien Regsitration Card) back.


I'm also thinking of getting an F-2 visa. They've changed the rules now and you can get a visa based on a point system. I figured out (I think) that if I can pass the intermediate TOPIK test (Korean proficiency test, similar to a TOEFL test for English) and take a 100 hour culture and language class, I can get the visa. But, that means that I need to take my Korean study up a notch and really pass the test since it's only offered a few times per year. If anyone has taken the class to get the F-2 visa, please let me know how it is. I heard it's not expencive and it could be another alternative for me rather than going to university to study.

10 comments:

  1. Good luck with the new contract. How many hours work will you be doing a week now?

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  2. hehe, about 9 teaching hours (teaching hour = 90 mins)

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  3. wow, TOPIK requirement? Right on!! Korea's VISA system is so cool...

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  4. The F-2 is a sort of permanent residency visa in Korea. You don't necessarily have to take the TOPIK, but you have to earn enough points in other areas. If you have master degrees and other qualifications you might not need to take it at all.

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  5. Is that F2 for real? I saw a lot of conflicting information online.

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  6. It seems so. I know one person who got it recently and I've met some other people who are in the process. I know it sounds almost too easy to be true....

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  7. The F2-7 visa is possible, but but unless they've changed the requirements, it's nearly impossible to get. You're right, taking the culture class and scoring near fluent on the TOPIK should earn you enough points, as long as you are under 30.

    Good luck!

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  8. Well, from my math, if I can pass the intermediate TOPIK and take the course, I should just barely make it... but, I was not a math major... ^^

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  9. Ok guys, nevermind. I added up the points again and I'm still 10 points or so off... darn it...

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