Next step after Job Offer : Part 2

In this post I am going to explain procedure that you need to follow or your company will follow after you accepted Job offer. 

First of all congratulations, you are going to experience a new culture and I am sure it will impact your life in some way or other. 

Now in context, this post is more focused towards either E7 (speciality visa like H1b of USA) or E3 (research visa) categories of South Korea.  (For More details on Korean visa please refer to this link : https://www.visa.go.kr/?LANG_TYPE=EN)

So when company accepts your signed offer letter they start visa process, Now note I am recording this in 2020-21 time frame so this process is most lengthy and time consuming process as as there is pandemic going on, you need have patience as it usually a 3 step process if you are outside Korea, step 1 involves company filing for visa application in South Korea and step 2 is after receiving confirmation you need to submit visa application in your country of residence. 

Step 1 

In this step your hiring company need to submit visa application, your responsibility is to make sure to provide all necessary accurate document requested by company. Providing all documents in time helps securing visa quickly. First of all you need to gather your

1. Experience Certificates 
2. Degree (highest Degree I.e. Masters or bachelor degree) 
3. Any recognition certificates etc 

You need to get above documents apostille from appropriate agency in your country of residence, Apostille is an authentication seal and signature on public documents from a recognized government entity that these are original and  not fake documents. If you are staying in India there are some known companies like IVF Global (google it) which take care of this work with some minimum charges, you need first original copies to them and they will get these apostille from government office. You need to scan and send copies to HR as soon as your documents are stamped. In this visa procedure company needs to submit Visa application on your behalf to Korean Immigration office, based on your documents and company documents Korean immigration office will issue Visa for you, this Visa will be inform as number. In general Korean job application requires few condition such as prior experience in field and documents to prove that. Also you Korean company needs to have certain number of Korean nationals on it’s payroll. Currently South Korea wants highly skilled workers especially in my field i.e. semiconductors so if your documents are correct and well organized then your visa will be approved, so far none of the visa got rejected for my company. 

Step 2 

You need to use that number and submit application form in Korean Embassy in your country of residence. Documents required for visa would be listed on Korean Embassy website, so do your research, in my case it was handled by company’s Indian branch office, I just handed over passport to them. Korean embassy these days issues an e-visa in form of printout, It may have single entry written on it so don’t worry. Multiple entry gets enabled in step 3 of this process. After you apply it make take few weeks and your visa will be issued, there is online tracking available so please check that on Korean Embassy’s website while submitting your visa application. 

Step 3 

Step 3 will complete after you arrive in Korea, so you or your company representative will get in touch with you for flight arrangement, initial accommodation, in 2021 quartile procedures after arrival in South Korea etc. One everything is complete and you are out of quartine you need to go Korean immigration office to get your residence card (Formerly known as Alien Registration Card), this card will become real visa for you and it can be used for multiple entries. For immigration office make sure you book an appointment on “Hi Korea” website. 

Make sure Keep original documents used for visa application and carry those with you while visiting Immigration office. 

Hope this helps in understanding what happens when you accept Job in Korea, Let me know in comment section what you want to know in future blog posts/podcast.