WHAT is VISA RUN?	http://www.hoyaenglish.com

~VISA  RUN~

There are certain times when a school is looking to have a teacher arrive quickly and there is

not time to do the traditional process. It may be that one of their current teachers had to leave

for a family emergency, or perhaps business is going well and they have a lot of new students

but not enough teachers.

Note: As of December 15th, 2007 only teachers doing their second year in Korea are able to

do the Japan Visa Run. First-time teachers in Korea must process everything in their home

country.

In this situation, they will invite the teacher to come as soon as possible and fly the teacher to

South Korea right away. If you were to do this, you would bring all of the required documents

along with you, and enter Korea on a tourist visa. Once you are settled into your apartment and

with your school, the visa process will begin as noted above, but with you in Korea.

Instead of going to your local consulate, you will go to the Korean consulate in Japan,

usually the one in Osaka. The cost is taken care of by the school. This can be a one or two day

trip. It is quite common and not difficult to do. We have provided instructions on how to do the

"visa run" in Word format.

 

JAPAN VISA RUN   First and foremost, please make sure to exchange your money before leaving Korea. It is nearly impossible to exchange Won to Yen in Japan. (Korea Exchange Bank excluded).   Also, please note that the Korean Consulate in Japan is closed for two hours for lunch. They do not like to process visas late in the day, but are very efficient and friendly. Please make sure you have your (passport sized) photos prepared as well, as it saves a lot of time & money.   1. Always double-check your consulate arrangements since Japan has MANY holidays and     the Embassy will be closed. The Embassy number in Osaka is 81-6-213-14-1 and the hours    are Mon-Fri 9:00AM - 12:00PM and 1:30PM - 5:00PM (but there are often breaks in the    afternoon). The consulate is NOT OPEN on weekends.   2. Do not bring Korean won to Japan - no one will accept it and its VERY difficult to exchange     anywhere (besides that it slows you down looking for a place). Don't forget to keep 10,000 won      with you for the airport tax out of Korea.   3. Please be sure to get to the Incheon airport at least two hours before departure. There      are long lines for seats at the airport for flights to Japan. You must be on the first flight     out of Korea which leaves at about 10:00 AM) if you are wanting a one-day visa trip.   4. Once in Japan, pass through Customs and Immigration. If you are planning a one day trip then     get a voucher to exempt you from the airport tax on the way out of Japan. For a one day visit you     DO NOT pay the airport tax.   5. As you exit the customs area you'll see an information booth directly ahead of you. If     you are not sure, you can ask them for help, but the instructions are clear. Check if you     are not sure. Don't dawdle though - this calls for quick walking and quicker thinking.   6. Off to the left of the Information Counter is an escalator going up. Take it and turn right at the top.     You'll find yourself at a train ticket station. Buy a ticket for the Namba station for about 1,400     yen (express). (*Prices may vary so please make sure you to have a good amount of cash on     hand - its better to have too much than not enough.) The ride takes about 30 minutes.   7. At Namba station, find the Japanese subway line by going down about three levels     and in the opposite corner of this huge station (The line you want is maroon in colour -     be careful there are lots of them there) and head to Shin Saibashi station. Keep     looking for the line, which does not take too long to find. Ask for directions if you are     lost.   8. At Shin Saibashi get out at exit #7 and turn right. The Embassy is about 200 meters down the     street (on your right hand side).   9. Go downstairs to booth #9 or #10 and get the E-2 application and fill it out. To ensure     that this happens properly BE THERE BY 1:00 PM. (The doors may still be closed for     lunch from 11:30 - 1:30) but that gives you time to eat somewhere - but be quick). Ask     the person to process you as quickly as possible (in a nice polite tone of course -     if you look angry then they slow down just to upset you - because they can). The E2     teaching visa costs 5,500 yen (Once again, prices vary so be warned).   10. Bring 2 passport photos with you to Japan. There is a booth there but it’s very expensive and     will slow you down. And you never know if it will be broken or something unpredictable.     The whole process should take anywhere from a half-hour to two hours. Check with the     lovely girl at the counter and then you are free to wander around until its time to pick up     your visa.   11. Once you have your Visa in hand you are free to do as you please. Simply reverse the     directions back to the airport and you are on your way!