Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Oh the joys of getting a visa: $300 later...

So my departure has been delayed yet again because there is a backlog in the visa department on the Korean side. Despite the frustration this is actually fabulous news since I get to see more people before I leave and get farther on my never ending to do list.

Let me tell you about trying to get an E2 Korean work visa:

The paper work I had to fill out was surprisingly short and thankfully bilingual. (The French paperwork is long, tedious and almost entirely in French. They also don't accept white out so every time you make an error you have to start all over again. I went through 7 sets of papers. Seven. I also had to consult 3 dictionaries and 2 professors to try to figure out how to accurately translate 'landscape designer.') What took me $300 was trying to prove that I have no criminal record. It took me three tries to get the right document but every time I thought I had the right one and sent it off to Korea I had to spend $70 on shipping. Not to mention the fact that I had to pay for each document, get the signature verified, get an apostille (fancy certification thingy from the Department of State) and lets just say that it was not the most pleasant experience. Note: when it is 100 degrees in NYC and you have to walk all over trying to get papers certified just take a cab. Really, it's worth it. I don't count that as part of the $300. I had heat exhaustion from trying to walk and take the subway all morning. Not fun. It's worth it though because in a week (keep your fingers crossed that there are no more delays) I will be living in KOREA and exploring Asia for the first time in my life.

As soon as I get to Korea there shall be much more interesting posts but I wanted to get this thing started so I can figure out how I want to change the background. I want to get a friend of mine to help me tweak the html for it because as it stands, the background is pretty boring.

2 comments:

Nancy K said...

Looking good kiddo!

Unknown said...

boy, do i know a thing about visas being a pain in the neck... hope it works out this time. can't wait to hear more! :)