Bothering Seoul: Visa Part 1

I read a blog awhile ago about changing visas in Korea. Specifically a Tourist Visa (B2) to a General Student Visa /General Trainees Visa (D4). I guess what I forgot to remember was for American citizens I needed a General Short-Term Visa (C3) first in order to change my visa status to a D4. I thought I had read another blog saying I could do that, but I think I was mistaken. I confirmed you can't change a B2 visa to a D4 visa while in Korea. It's about 3 months before I'm about to leave for Korea and I didn't get one yet. Luckily someone told me I couldn't, haha. I checked visitkorea.or.kr website and confirmed it.

Applicants should obtain a student visa or a training visa (visa status C-3 or D-4). It takes about a week or longer, depending on where you are, to get a 90-day student visa at the Embassy or Consulate office. After 90 days in Korea, applicants may extend their visa as long as they continue to study at the Korean Language Program. People who enter Korea on a tourist visa cannot extend or change the visa status within the country.

These are the materials you'll need for the Visa application as per what the USA Korean Embassy website tells you:

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General requirements for Visa Application

A valid passport
A completed visa application (ms-word) (pdf)
Passport size photo (2”x 2” color)
Fee: $45 for American citizens (Cash or money order only; Pay to the Order: Korean Consulate General)

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There are no documents to send in for a C-3 Visa.

Status

Required Document

Short-Term Visitors (C-3)

- No documents are required.

General Trainees (D-4)

1. A student who learns Korean language at a language institute attached to college or university, or who is involved in study training according to academic exchange agreement between colleges or Universities needs the following documents;

- Certificate of school enrollment or school attendance - Financial Affidavit * Certificate or remittance or money exchange (More than U.S. $3,000) - Letter of personal reference notarized is required in case that the applicant cannot prove his or her capability to pay travel expenses necessary to stay, including school fees etc., or if Justice Minister deems particularly necessary

2. A student who participates in other training programs will need the following documents:

- Certificate of training - Documents regarding establishment of training institutes - Financial Affidavit * Certificate or remittance or money exchange (More than U.S. $3,000) - Letter of personal reference notarized is required in case that the applicant cannot prove his or her capability to pay travel expenses necessary to stay, including school fees etc., or if Justice Minister deems particularly necessary

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The application form is a little confusing if you don't know the jargon listed on the application. Luckily I was able to figure out most of the information was actually on my passport. The only requirement you need to fill out the Visa form is your passport. I'll show you what I put on mine:

For #8. Classification, they didn't have P listed to choose from, but P and OR are the same, so I just circled OR. These are what the abbreviations mean:
          -DP = Diplomatic
          -OF = Official
          -OR = Ordinary
          -P = Passport (I thought it was Personal)

You can find more information on Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Vancouver, United States Passport on Wikipedia, and USA Korean Embassy. This is a sample visa.

After filling out the application I went to one of my company's retail stores, Rite Aid, to get a picture taken. The quality was pretty horrible. It's nothing like the picture that the post office took of me for my passport. Lighting was bad and there were no care for the customer (ie. tilt your head down, move to the left, etc). I get what I paid for I guess. It was $7.99 compared to the postal office's price of $15.00.

I took the picture, my passport, and my application off to the post office. I put everything in a cardboard envelope like this, but half this size:

I walked up to the counter to purchase a $45 money order. I paid it to Korean Consulate General with the mailing address on it. With Western Union money orders I know you don't have to put the mailing address, so putting a mailing address on a USPS money order was kind of weird to me, haha. If you don't live in Virgina, Maryland, District Of Columbia, or West Virgina you can not send your application to the Korean Embassy in Washington DC. Since I live in Pennsylvania, the Korean Embassy in New York has jurisdiction as stated in USA Consulate Service Gerneral Information and USA Consulate Service Area Of Jurisdiction:

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Consulate-General	Address	Phone/Fax	District
New York	Main Office : 335 E. 45th St.(4th Fl.), New York, NY 10017	T:(646)674-6000 T:(212)692-9120 F:(646)674-6023	Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
New York	Public Office (Visa Section): 460 Park Ave. (57th St.) 6th Fl. New York, NY 10022	T:(646)674-6000 F:(646)674-6023	Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania

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I also purchased a pre-paid envelope and got it certified. The total amount to send everything to New York was......a whopping $65.60. As the clerk was putting stamps on my envelopes and putting all my materials in it, I kept asking several times, "This is the cheapest?" and "Are you SURE?". Come on now, it was close to $20 just for the pre-paid envelope itself. It was mind boggling on how expensive it was. I paid for it anyways and it was shipped on 11/30/2010. Here's the receipts:

Sales Receipt