No, I’m not switching over to an F1 visa (i.e., a family visa, usually obtained when you marry a Korean national), but a friend of mine is thinking about it, and asked me to canvas reader experiences about the transition experience. So if you switched over to an F1, please tell us how it went.
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31 Comments
I think you mean F2-1, which is what spouses of Koreans get.
Yes, I reckon your friend means an F-2-1. It’s a simple procedure. Go and apply. You need a job or proof that you’ve got a weighty chunk of change, maybe in the form of a rental contract. You get a visa good for one year or two years. Reapply to extend your period of sojourn when the time comes. After five years - I’ve also heard two, three or four years- you may apply for an F-5. That’s been my experience.
Yep, as above. Never heard of an F1. The F series visas are basically only for either ethnic Koreans of other citizenship, or married folks. I have an F2-1 as my wife is Korean.
If your mate it getting married congrats. It’s a pretty easy visa process and usually takes only takes a couple of weeks. They usually want to see that you have some money, the receipt for our chonsei payment was acceptable, but I read otherwise it’s advisable to have about 30 million won in the bank.
Where is your friend from? The details vary a little depending upon nationality.
Ohh me bad, I though this was an F4.
http://www.teachkoreanz.com/terms/immigrat.htm#f1
“The F-1 visa is a Korean family visa. You are able to receive a F-1 visa through your biological family, native Korean spouse, and native Korean friend if these people are willing to represent you legally under their name. The sponsor would be legally responsible for any crimes or financial debt you caused. The F-1 visa is a one-year visa, after 1 year you must leave the country and have a new visa reissued.”
So it’s a family visa.
#2 post is incomprehensible. “chunk of change”?? You don’t have to be rich to get a spousal visa. If you want an investor’s visa, which I believe is an F8, then you need to transfer in 50K from another country, and jump through a few other relatively painless administrative hoops.
Your friend’s question can only be answered if we know the precise situation.
If the other posters are correct in their assumption about f2-1, then I can say it is a relatively painless process and also add that the immigration department is vastly improved from when I first arrived. One large caveat is that you should not, for whatever reason, expect to be able to go there without your spouse and apply. Some people may have experiences where they succeed in doing this and, indeed, your spouse may be able to renew your visa for you without you. But, if your spouse is out of the country or sick or having your baby and you happen to want to apply for an F2-1 at that particular moment in time, you should expect the folks in Mokdong to give you a hard time. Other than that, it’s easy and the visa is great. Lot’s of freedom.
Robert you have my contact info. I’ll be happy to provide advice direct to your friend if he/she wants to contact me.
I’ve actually been on both the F1-3 visa and the F2-1 visa…. both pretty easy to get.
I had an ordeal when I did it. I downloaded all the documents ahead of time (from third party sources, the immigration website was no help) and filled them out. I got my marriage certificate and appropriate family registry documents, and some form that my wife had to sign and I showed up by myself (my wife had to work).
The first guy was very helpful, he pointed out a few errors, told where to go across the street to get the appropriate missing documents and after that I asked him to check the remaining documents for error so that I could fix them ahead of time and minimize picking numbers and waiting. He checked over everything and said they were fine and as long as I got the two remaining things he instructed me to.
With everything done I have to pick a new number and wait, then I finally get some other guy who immediately picks up my marriage certificate and starts yelling and bitching in Korean to his co-workers about how it’s in English. Then he decides to take issues with the remaining forms (the ones the other guy checked and said were OK) all while cursing, and being that these were insurmountable (or more likely his attitude was insurmountable) with my wife gone (requiring her signature) I had to come back the next day.
With everything fixed I head off to waste another day and this time I get some girl. She looks over every thing and sits there, and sits there and finally says, “ok… This is good… But do you have anything else?”
Me: “Anything else? Like what? I’ve gone online and checked out your website, and I’ve verified all the documents with two other people the day before…”
Her: “Yeah well… I mean something else… How are you going to support your wife? We need something to show us that you can support her… Like a job, do you have a job?”
Me: I’m a student.
Her: What about an apartment, or how much money do you have in your bank account… etc…
Me: I rent an apartment…
Her: WHAT?! YOU RENT? HOW CAN ? Wh…? OK. Give me that. Show me your rental contract. Here’s a fax number, go home and fax it to me.
I would like to add that not all government offices are that bad, I was thoroughly impressed with the Korean Department of Motor Vehicles. That was actually quite delightful in comparison and I told them there that both DMV workers in the US and the immigration office workers in Korea should go there to study how to operate.
F2-1? Showed them the marriage paperwork and job contract and no problemo. They didn’t ask anything about money, the wife says. She says it’s two or three years before I can apply for a permanent resident visa. Nice not to have to depend on an employer to stay in Korea.
Agree that F-2-1 is the spouse visa for non-Koreans married to Korean nationals. It is a two-year visa (renewable), and requires an annual visit to the Immigration office. For that reason, I initially didn’t change my visa type to F-2-1 — it wasn’t going to change the hassle factor for me. Later, the possibility of getting an F-5 as well as a shortened waiting period to get it, convinced me to apply.
My experience in Mokdong almost made me regret that decision. A bit of background: my wife and I have been married for years; we’ve traveled with her family to visit mine in the US and my family has traveled her to visit them. My wife earns about as much as I do, and we are financially secure. In short, we’ve been happily married and doing fine for years.
Before we went to Mokdong, we went online to see which documents were required, and obtained any we didn’t already have. Nonetheless, the Immigration officer poured over the documents with a serious and doubtful look. Some will recognize his behaviour as standard practice among a certain of bureaucrat.
Looking doubly doubtful, he picked up our marriage certificate and asked “Where is the marriage certificate?”, to which my wife replied, “That is the marriage certificate”.
“No — where is his AMERICAN marriage certificate?” he demanded.
“Sir, we were married here in Korea, and that marriage certificate is the legal document for that”, my wife replied. She was surprised, but continued. “It was certified by both the American embassy here and the ward office near the embassy. It is the only marriage certificate there is.”
“What?” he said, now giving us his shocked look. “How do you know that he isn’t married to two or three other women right now?” This clown, of course, either could not fathom that I might understand him, or else didn’t care, and so had said this to my face as well as my wife’s.
My wife turned to me and asked, “Why are we doing this? This is so bad.” I waited a beat and replied, “So we never have to deal with these assholes again.”
Just then, another officer walked by and, surprised at seeing us still there, checked out our documents. She immediately began to chide the first officer, telling him that we obviously had fulfilled the requirements. I guess one of those requirements must be having a thick enough skin.
“ghnhj” it is my understanding that one should show the Korean family registry document that shows your marriage in addition to the certification from the American Embassy the *first* time one goes to apply for an F series visa. Nowadays though, they have digitized all of the family registry information so that officials can look them up online while one sits there in the office.
The moral of the story is that one should call and talk to someone at Mokdong before showing up down there. Like the IRS back in the States, there will be some mistakes made if one calls for information but if one calls to check twice, usually they can figure out what is needed.
Korean Immigration is doing a much better job nowadays, based upon my experiences too.
Yes, far better than the old days — but it looks like ghnhj ran into a holdover…
We had the family registry document as well. Actually, we had all the documents required for processing the visa. That fellow was simply rude. Perhaps he didn’t know exactly what was required, or how to look for the information he needed, and so he took it out on us.
I agree that Immigration offers better service these days, but unfortunately that guy isn’t the only one who hasn’t quite gotten the message about how sparkling the country’s supposed to be these days.
Switching to an F-2-1 visa took forty minutes in the Uijongbu office with no trouble at all. I just made sure we had telephoned Immigration two or three times and confirmed what documents we needed (apartment deed, marriage certificate, family registry, etc). The only sketchy thing about the F-2-1 is the length. My first F-2-1 was one year, the second was eighteen months. Other people I know have gotten a two year F-2-1 on the first try.
Sorry - not trying to pull a ‘wjk’ here with a double post, but I think I understand your comment better now, R. Elgin. The Immigration officer was saying that our documents only showed our marriage in Korea, and implied that I was a bigamist abroad. Perhaps he was projecting his own moral defects on me.
Incidentally, a list of the required documents (in Korean and English) can be obtained from the Immigration Department’s website here - simply download the .pdf entitled ‘Guidebook for Foreign spouses of Korean nationals’.
When I got my first F-2-1 (around five years ago before switching to F-5 earlier this year) it didn’t take long; however, when my wife and I arrived we had to produce one document that one friend and his wife who had gotten the visa a month earlier weren’t asked for, but we didn’t have to show proof of having 30 000 000 W in the bank like a couple of people I know had been asked for. All we had to do was get something faxed to us, but my wife had called earlier in the week and the document in question wasn’t mentioned. Hopefully, the website is a sign of more consistency and better organization on their part. Hopefully.
If you encounter problems, they can generally be solved without too much trouble, but you shouldn’t be surprised if your experience might differ from another’s, even if it happens to be the same Immigration office. The Incheon office I’ve dealt with most recently has been pretty good, but I remember always going to Mokdong preparing myself for bad news so that it wouldn’t be such a bummer if it actually happened.
F-8 visas are also available to employees — usually management — of said FDI companies. Which is why I had one for three years. And for investors, it’s 50 million KRW, not 50K of an undetermined currency.
To mjw in #5, who says my post, #2, in incomprehensible. Have you noticed that other posts confirm that you need to prove that you’ve got the ability to support your family, by showing proof of employment OR other proof such as a rental contract? See #7, for example. Do you comprehend now? You offer: ‘I’ll be happy to provide advice direct to your friend if he/she wants to contact me.’ That may be unwise, it seems.
The investors visas are D8, not F8.
http://shc.seoul.go.kr/page/?s.....amp;page=1
I’m not quite sure why, but the Department of Immigration publication list I linked to above doesn’t work. If you need the info, simply:
1) go to http://www.immigration.go.kr/
2) click on ‘English’
3) mouse over the ‘Information’ menu header and select ‘Publications’
4) select ‘Guidebook for Foreign spouses of Korean nationals’ .pdf
Hope that helps.
The wife and I will be applying on the 26th after the honeymoon. She called immigration and they told her the usual list of requirements. Family registry, marriage cert.,proof of 30,000,000W in her account etc..
Two things that I can’t get a consistent answer on:
1. They told me it might take up to 4 months to get the F2-1 visa.
2. They will hold my passport the entire time.
A lot of my friends said it took about 2 weeks to get it. Hmmm….
Very nice thing is that you can make an appointment w/an immigration officer so you don’t have to sit around and wait.
That thirty mil is a fake hoop they use to try to scare you off. They did the same to me and my wife and yet we kept presenting the paper work. I made sure my wife had three mil in the bank. We presented that to them and they relented. I don’t believe it is within their powers to discriminate due to your financial situation any more.
Hah. Took a few days for me to get mine, and they didn’t have to hold the passport the whole time. ‘Course, I didn’t get mine in Seoul… They tend to be assholes in Seoul.
Only two things?
Nobody can get a consistent answer out of Korean Immigration on anything. That’s why it’s my least favorite practice area — clients perceive immigration to be simply check-the-box administrative/clerical work (so they don’t want to pay a lot for that muffler) and get highly critical of the lawyer (read: me) whenever we get our pants pulled down by some incompetent/mean Immigration
assholeofficial making up “rules” at a whim.I’ve got an F-2-1 and intend to obtain the F-5 this winter. (I only got around to it in 2006, after seven years on an E-7 visa. In my case, we only had to establish the fact of marriage. Nothing about income, nothing about savings in an account, nothing about property. If anyone had asked, we would have met any test, but there were no such questions.) After getting the F-5, I would hope never to have to deal with those fools again. Yet, as a lawyer with an FDI/employment practice, I can’t avoid it.
I wish Immigration would issue me a foreigners’ ID number that works on even one Korean website. In 1999 or 2000 they put me through some rigamarole to trade in my then-current ID number to obtain a “new” ID number, one supposedly selected to allow me to participate in Korea’s amazing Internet culture, but that one never worked and the Ministry of Justice denies any involvement or responsibility.
In regard to dealing with immigration it can be a bit of a lottery. Some of the staff are very helpful and efficient, and some of them are arseholes who want to make your life as difficult as possible.
I had an easy time getting my F2-1, a friend had to wait 6 months! And they only gave him a 6 month F2-1, it was a very stressful thing for him and they kept his passport the whole time.
brendan, i’d be interested to know your F5 experience. i’ll give you a shout for sure. even though i really do think that the system has gotten much better, i NEVER want to go there again!
about your website comment…i’ve been making the same complaint for years and i know we’re not along. interestingly, a chosun ilbo reporter recently interviewed me for one of those seemingly inevitable pieces where they ask foreigners about how their lives are difficult in korea. so, i started to tell her about the ID number problem and we walked through the process of getting an ID on naver. that’s when i found that they now accept foreign IDs and even people from outside the country (!). wonders never cease in this land of miracles.
apologies for the mangled state of that last comment.
Brendan,
Is immigration law the only area where everything is interpreted according to the whim of officials? Or is this the case for all Korean laws?
I still can’t believe that the regulations regarding visas are not printed somewhere for everyone to see (and to hold their local officials to).
Brendan, Not having to go to Immigration again - or at least on a regular basis - was one of the reasons I went for the F-5 earlier this year. No luck with the foreign ID # though, I’m sorry to report. Still the same old useless number as before.
The requirments are published on the internet for most visas, F5 though they don’t. Want to show how open they are to diplomats by saying it exists but don’t publicise it to any that want it. You just have to go in and ask, or find out on the web like this or from others.
One of best places for info is G4F (Government 4 Foreigners) http://www.g4f.go.kr
(they actually slipped up by even having the F5 info when they started but quickly removed it again)
Nonetheless, as can be seen from commenters, the fact that you have the list of requirement doesn’t mean the official in front of you will not add some more. We didn’t have 30million but our apartment land register sufficed instead. Also they wanted letters from my employers (previously on a D8) even though the sponsor is the wife.
As is typical the time taken for F2 will vary arbitrarily. If you are clean, smart have a job etc, and are from a country not seen as economic migrant, will likely be given the nod on the day. It generally then needs formalising by the bosses behind the counters, and the Alien Registration takes 7 days, so typically you can collect you passport, visa, and alien registration one week later.
Typically the first visa will be 6months, the first renewal 12 months, second and subsequent renewals 24 months.
In any case after two years on F2-1 you can now apply for F-5 which although “permanent” I’ve heard will be renewed at 5 year intervals.
Like it or not philipina, indonesians, etc will get a more rigorous going over, and obstacles may be added…
Its best to research everything 200%, get someone to phone and ask in korean at least three times (each time answer will be different, but over three call should cover everything). Know the requirement beforehand, e.g they tried to charge me 50,000 for visa and 50,000 for multiple entry which is correct for US, but not for UK where the fee is waived (under a co-operation agreement).
I knew this so was politely able to suggest checking the rule book / supervisor as I “thought” there might be a special rule for UK.
The overriding rule with korean bureaucracy is to be polite and suggestive that there may be alternative applicable rules, if you’re rude or tell them outright they’re wrong the shutters come crashing down.
“In any case after two years on F2-1 you can now apply for F-5 which although “permanent” I’ve heard will be renewed at 5 year intervals.”
Could be, though both the F-5 stamp in my passport and Alien Reg. Card are seemingly open ended, with no expiry date indicated. (The visa has “영구” written in the Period of Sojourn box.) As for being polite and not causing an Immigration officer to lose face, always good advice.
#30,
Exactly. No expiration date. I’m not sure about the residency requirements, but basically you have it forever..even if you get divorced.