I have my flights!
According to the itinerary sent to me by my good friends at Canadian Connection, I will depart from Toronto Airport on Wednesday February 27th at 8:30am. I land in Vancouver at 10:40am (local time). I then have an almost 3 hour wait in Vancouver (I've had worse) for my 1:30pm flight to Seoul-Incheon Airport where I will arrive on Thursday at 6:00pm (local time, which is 8:00am in Ontario).
There is much to do in the next couple of days, and I'm sure you'll hear all about it.
Note: the flights are assuming I get my visa from Toronto by the time I leave. With the consulate website being down at the moment, I am a bit worried.
Showing posts with label visa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label visa. Show all posts
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Getting a Visa (Part II)
It took a long time, but eventually I did get my Visa Issuance Number from Korea. The process has since changed (at least for me) since I last wrote about this. Once I got the number, it was much easier to bring the Visa Application Form (with said number written in the correct space - remember, don't leave anything blank, put "N/A" for anything that does not apply to you), a sealed transcript, a photocopy of your passport information page, your passport, a passport sized photo and $55 in a money order to the consulate myself.
So I got on the Go train and took off for the big city of Toronto (until I get to Seoul, I'll still refer to Toronto as a big city, but I'm sure living in a city of 10 million may change my perception of Ontario's largest city). If you're trying to get to the consulate in Toronto the directions are simple enough. Take the subway to St. Clair Station (the one at St. Clair and Young). When you get out of the subway you will probably be pretty disoriented. The first time, I started walking the wrong way. You want to head toward Yonge Street and keep going until you get to Avenue Rd and St. Clair. The consulate is on the northeast corner of that intersection (if you're really lazy or have never taken it, the streetcar goes from the station to the intersection - it's route 512).
Here is a picture of the consulate:
So far I have been here twice. My first visit was to drop off my documents. This was very quick. I talked to the nice lady and she gave me an appointment to come back for an interview - almost a week later. I had to fill out yet another form (answering many of the same questions I have repeatedly answered over the course of the last few months) for the interview.
When I came back, I found myself waiting in a room with between 10 and 20 others who were also their for E-2 visa interviews. We talked a little bit about what we had been going through the last little bit (the general consensus was that everyone dealt with people who didn't really know what the rules were). I waited a bit but the interview itself was super short and super easy. They asked me: a) my name, b) my birth date, c) my major, d) what age of students I would be teaching in Korea and e) what I knew about Korea. It took probably less than 2 minutes.
I have to wait a few more days to pick up my visa (I can check online to see if it's ready - but right now, that site is not working... this could be bad). So I will have to return to Toronto for a third time.
Keep in mind this is the process for Toronto. The Vancouver process was different (Alex may or may not share her story) and I imagine the Montreal and Ottawa processes would be different as well.
Not much more to do beyond packing now...
So I got on the Go train and took off for the big city of Toronto (until I get to Seoul, I'll still refer to Toronto as a big city, but I'm sure living in a city of 10 million may change my perception of Ontario's largest city). If you're trying to get to the consulate in Toronto the directions are simple enough. Take the subway to St. Clair Station (the one at St. Clair and Young). When you get out of the subway you will probably be pretty disoriented. The first time, I started walking the wrong way. You want to head toward Yonge Street and keep going until you get to Avenue Rd and St. Clair. The consulate is on the northeast corner of that intersection (if you're really lazy or have never taken it, the streetcar goes from the station to the intersection - it's route 512).
Here is a picture of the consulate:
So far I have been here twice. My first visit was to drop off my documents. This was very quick. I talked to the nice lady and she gave me an appointment to come back for an interview - almost a week later. I had to fill out yet another form (answering many of the same questions I have repeatedly answered over the course of the last few months) for the interview.
When I came back, I found myself waiting in a room with between 10 and 20 others who were also their for E-2 visa interviews. We talked a little bit about what we had been going through the last little bit (the general consensus was that everyone dealt with people who didn't really know what the rules were). I waited a bit but the interview itself was super short and super easy. They asked me: a) my name, b) my birth date, c) my major, d) what age of students I would be teaching in Korea and e) what I knew about Korea. It took probably less than 2 minutes.
I have to wait a few more days to pick up my visa (I can check online to see if it's ready - but right now, that site is not working... this could be bad). So I will have to return to Toronto for a third time.
Keep in mind this is the process for Toronto. The Vancouver process was different (Alex may or may not share her story) and I imagine the Montreal and Ottawa processes would be different as well.
Not much more to do beyond packing now...
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Playing the Waiting Game
I am starting to get a little impatient and anxious about my job in Korea. According to the contract I signed, I am to start teaching March 1st, which is approximately 17 days away.
In that time I need to get my VISA (approximately a 5 day wait once I get all my documents to the consulate), and then get my flight booke (and who knows how far in advance that needs to be booked, but I imagine it's at least a few days). The problem is that right now, there is not much I can do on my own. I'm just waiting for a response from Korea for a number I need to put on an application form and for my transcripts to come from Victoria (they were apparenly supposed to come yesterday).
At this point I don't think I'll actually get to Korea when they want me there (9 days from now) and I'd be surprised if I actually got there in time for me to start working when my contract starts.
This has been a very difficult time because I'm living in limbo. It's hard to stay motivated and do the other things I need to do when I'm in the dark from the most important details.
So I sit and pass my time reading other people's blogs about the good and bad times. It's really cold and snowy here in Ontario (see picture below) and thus I am not feeling all that up to going outside.
In that time I need to get my VISA (approximately a 5 day wait once I get all my documents to the consulate), and then get my flight booke (and who knows how far in advance that needs to be booked, but I imagine it's at least a few days). The problem is that right now, there is not much I can do on my own. I'm just waiting for a response from Korea for a number I need to put on an application form and for my transcripts to come from Victoria (they were apparenly supposed to come yesterday).
At this point I don't think I'll actually get to Korea when they want me there (9 days from now) and I'd be surprised if I actually got there in time for me to start working when my contract starts.
This has been a very difficult time because I'm living in limbo. It's hard to stay motivated and do the other things I need to do when I'm in the dark from the most important details.
So I sit and pass my time reading other people's blogs about the good and bad times. It's really cold and snowy here in Ontario (see picture below) and thus I am not feeling all that up to going outside.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Getting A Teaching Visa, or How To Spend a Lot of Time and Money and Give Yourself a Headache
Once you get a job teaching English in Korea, the next (and probably most time consuming) task is to get your Visa. In my case, my recruited helped me with this process, though since the rules changed in December, this has often been difficult for all parties involved. We have repeatedly gotten differing information (I'm not sure the origin of this, but I'm pretty sure our recruiter is as much in the dark as I am). Here is a brief outline of what I had to do to get an E2 Visa (to teach):
Step One: Gather Documents
This is a bit more difficult that just collecting things. You will need to get a medical checkup done and this may differ depending on your school. For my checkup I had to have a few easy tests done (colour blindness and sight, blood pressure, etc.) and then some blood tests and a chest x-ray. They test for some pretty scary stuff so sometimes it takes a week to get the bloodwork back. (As a side note, I had been sick a few weeks before my test and had some issues and had to be retested before I was cleard - I am healthy though). Since BC health care won't pay for things if you aren't sick, you will need to pony up some dough (for us it was $65 for the checkup, $65 for the x-ray and the blood work was free) to get this done.
You will also need to get a criminal record check (a vulnerable sector search actually) to make sure you haven't been convicted of any crimes or that you weren't pardoned for any crimes against children (the vulnerable sector). The check alone costs $50. This then needs to be notarized ($10) and sent to a Korean consulate which will stamp it ($2.20). We were in a rush so we sent it next day mail and had to give a return addressed envelope to get them back quick.
You will also need to get passpost photos ($10), your original degree or equivalent (you can get a degree issued from most institutions before convocation if you need it for this purpose - check your records office for more info on this), a photocopy of your passport, a self medical check questionnaire, a signed copy of your resume, and official transcripts ($10).
Step Two: Sending the Documents
In our case, we had to send the documents to the school. This costs about $50 for an envelope that takes about 7 business days. When the school gets the documents they will do something to get you a visa number (I'm not too sure, I haven't gotten to this step yet). You will need this number for step three.
Step Three: Getting Your Visa
Once you get the visa number from your school, you need to fill out a visa application form and send it to the nearest consulate. Give it a few days (I'm told) and call them to make an appointment. Go for your appointment with $55 and they should give you your visa that day.
Sound easy? Well, the required documents kept changing so we had to send off two packages of documents to Korea. The second package is currently en route and hopefully will get there by Friday of this week. This has been a very difficult task (especially because we've had to bus around to do everything and I've been working when most places are open), but hopefully we will both get our visas before we need to fly out of here.
I hope this post hasn't scared anyone away from wanting to teach in Korea. I thought I would be as open about the costs as I could be because it has turned into something much bigger than I had expected. The jury is still out on whether or not it's all worth it, but stay tuned to this space and I'm sure that answer will be delivered in due time.
Step One: Gather Documents
This is a bit more difficult that just collecting things. You will need to get a medical checkup done and this may differ depending on your school. For my checkup I had to have a few easy tests done (colour blindness and sight, blood pressure, etc.) and then some blood tests and a chest x-ray. They test for some pretty scary stuff so sometimes it takes a week to get the bloodwork back. (As a side note, I had been sick a few weeks before my test and had some issues and had to be retested before I was cleard - I am healthy though). Since BC health care won't pay for things if you aren't sick, you will need to pony up some dough (for us it was $65 for the checkup, $65 for the x-ray and the blood work was free) to get this done.
You will also need to get a criminal record check (a vulnerable sector search actually) to make sure you haven't been convicted of any crimes or that you weren't pardoned for any crimes against children (the vulnerable sector). The check alone costs $50. This then needs to be notarized ($10) and sent to a Korean consulate which will stamp it ($2.20). We were in a rush so we sent it next day mail and had to give a return addressed envelope to get them back quick.
You will also need to get passpost photos ($10), your original degree or equivalent (you can get a degree issued from most institutions before convocation if you need it for this purpose - check your records office for more info on this), a photocopy of your passport, a self medical check questionnaire, a signed copy of your resume, and official transcripts ($10).
Step Two: Sending the Documents
In our case, we had to send the documents to the school. This costs about $50 for an envelope that takes about 7 business days. When the school gets the documents they will do something to get you a visa number (I'm not too sure, I haven't gotten to this step yet). You will need this number for step three.
Step Three: Getting Your Visa
Once you get the visa number from your school, you need to fill out a visa application form and send it to the nearest consulate. Give it a few days (I'm told) and call them to make an appointment. Go for your appointment with $55 and they should give you your visa that day.
Sound easy? Well, the required documents kept changing so we had to send off two packages of documents to Korea. The second package is currently en route and hopefully will get there by Friday of this week. This has been a very difficult task (especially because we've had to bus around to do everything and I've been working when most places are open), but hopefully we will both get our visas before we need to fly out of here.
I hope this post hasn't scared anyone away from wanting to teach in Korea. I thought I would be as open about the costs as I could be because it has turned into something much bigger than I had expected. The jury is still out on whether or not it's all worth it, but stay tuned to this space and I'm sure that answer will be delivered in due time.
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