Disclaimer: I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE!
This was the most anxiety producing decision I ever made due to one big hiccup that left me unable to get my visa until 8 days before I leave. BUT, I got it done and felt the need to share the tale.
This will read more like a Journal/Horror Novel but I know some of you are here for information. Posts are soon to come including: Ultimate Moving Abroad Packing List, Visa Process, and Must Do Things Before Moving Abroad.
Interview Process
This part is a little boring, but you can see how quickly everything happened:
Day 1: May 13th
I got pissed off at my current job and applied online with a recruiting company called Travel & Teach. I had an interview request e-mail sent the same day.
Day 2: May 14th
I interviewed through Skype call the very next day and passed. The coordinator, Andy, said he would start finding job placements for me.
Day 6: May 18th
My coordinator connected me with two schools to interview with.
Day 7: May 19th
I received my interview time for my first school: May 20th at 10:30pm EST through Skype. The other school's interview is set for May 21st.
Day 8: May 20th
I interviewed with the first school. Was not sure how well it went since I did not have a Bachelor's Degree in English and she said that's who she likes to hire.
Day 9: May 21st
First school offered me a job! I cancelled my interview with the other school as this school had a better package and offered me more money since I have teaching experience. (Shout out to Substitute teaching and Daycare teaching!)
In a little over a week I went from sending out one application to having a job offer in South Korea. Everything was surreal at this point; my heart was pounding. What have I just done? My start date was August 22nd and I was set to go on vacation August 14th-20th, but I had no time to stress. It was time to get all my documents and finances secured.
Visa Process (My Name's Not Right on My Passport?!)
So this next part was a whirlwind of events and I do not have exact dates. Just know from May 21st until August 6th I was rushing to get all the documents I needed which included 2 University Transcripts, 2 Notarized Copies of my Degree, 6 passport photos (lies I am so far 12 photos deep), Fingerprints, FBI Background Check, Apostilled Degree copies and Background Check, Passport Name Fix (my own special event), sending everything to Korea, and two NYC trips for my visa.
Let's break down these events:
University Transcripts
Fairly smooth process (shoutout to UConn) it was free and was sent to my home. But of course I would send a blank request form to the Admissions Office, but I e-mailed the completed one the next day when they e-mailed me back. I got three copies to be on the safe side. The first two arrived in a few days, but the third one arrived 3 weeks later (weird, but ok).
Notarized Copies of Degree
This was as simple as it could get: scan diploma, print two copies, go to the bank, get them notarized for free. You're bank branch should have a notary which I did not know before starting this process, but we learn something knew every day. Right?
Six Passport Photos
NOW LET ME INFORM YA'LL OF SOMETHING RIGHT HERE! CVS and Walgreens charge 12.99 for 2 photos (CVS has a coupon online otherwise it's 14.99) and if you want more copies it is still 12.99 for each set even though they are not taking a new picture. So I got the first two there because I needed to get a new passport. But I am letting everyone know that Costco gives you 4 for 4.99! You need a Costco membership (or a friend with one) or someone with a membership can get you a Costco giftcard. I went with my friend who has a membership and boy did Costco save my life.
Fingerprints and FBI Background Check
Now I am cursed when it comes with fingerprints... they never get done right. Before you start judging, I get fingerprinted a lot because I work with children and have to get a background check whenever I change jobs. Every time I go to a police department my fingerprints get rejected and I end up going to the state police an hour away.
Now a friend told me to go get them done at the local state police branch in my city. So I did and paid my $15.00 and sent the fingerprints in to the company to do my background check. Now guess what happened? REJECTED.
At this point I was freaking out because the rejection letter said if they are rejected again I would have to pay all over again.
So this time I took some time off from work and drove all the way to Middletown, CT with my rejection letter and receipt. They did them for free and the officer said, "If these get rejected I want them to call us and tell us why because your fingerprints are perfect." I liked his confidence.
This time they went through and my clean background check was e-mailed to me and then mailed to me.
Apostilled Degree Copies and Background Check
So after that fiasco this part went smooth. I sent everything in to an expediting company to get my degree copies and background check apostilled. This basically means the State says "These are facts" for $170. I got the paperwork and documents back in a week.
Passport Name Fix
Now put your seat belts on kids and get ready for the most anxiety producing rollercoaster of my life. *click*
So while all this was being done, I discovered my passport did not have my full name on it, but an initial for my middle name. I have had this passport for 8 years and had visas in it, but it was never a problem and no one ever noticed!
Oh, but now it was as all my documents had my middle name in it (diploma and background check) and Korea needs everything to match. So I go online and see that I can get it changed for free as it was the government's mistake and they'll issue me a new one with the same expiration date.
So I took my hopeful self to the post office near my job and spent 45 minutes with the passport guy figuring this out. He called the passport people on his special line and they said no free name change since my passport is expiring in 2 years and to apply for a new one. So we sent in all my documents, birth certificate, copy of my drivers license (to show I use my middle name), two passport photos and a letter stating that I need the name to be my full name.
This was on May 27th and the person said that I will be fine without expedited as he's been seeing a 4 week turn around. WRONG! DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS! At week three I was getting nervous and called for it to be expedited and paid the extra $60 on top of the $110 I paid at the post office. They put a notice on it that I need it for a visa and set my travel date to August 14th.
Let me tell ya'll though that the passport phone people are the nicest government employees. Shout out to them they are the real MVPs because I was on the phone with them nearly 3x a week for the next 4 weeks.
Yes, it took 7 weeks to get my passport, here's why:
On July 8th, I got an envelope from the Passport Office. I saw a passport in there and got so excited. Upon further inspection it was my old passport, my birth certificate, a passport application form and then of course... REJECTION LETTER (and the destruction of my hopes and dreams).
Well it wasn't so much of a rejection as it was a letter stating I had to use a different form. So I called the homies at the passport office (while crying hysterically to find out what happened).
Apparently they gave me the wrong form at the post office; I sent in a renewal form and I had to apply for a new passport all together which was of course $35 extra. The guy on the phone gave me the direct address to the passport office that was processing my passport, told me to write expedited on the outside of the form, my application number, my travel date, and that it is for a work visa. The next day I took my ass to the post office and went through the process again. My nerves were shot. The post office guy apologized and said it was ridiculous because the $35 fee was his fee and not for the government. He mailed it express for free (saved me $25).
Now at this point my anxiety is high, I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, and my recruiter kept e-mailing me for updates on my passport. I had sent all my other documents to Korea and was told to e-mail the copy of the information of my passport when I get it. I kept googling to see if there were people in similar situations, but I couldn't find anything.
I kept thinking: "Did I fill out the form correctly?" "What if they give it to me and forget to change my name?""Mercury is in retrograde, this is the problem."
I was constantly calling the passport people for updates, but their system updates are slow. They told me that I would be receiving tracking information when it shipped out, but there was nothing more to do.
On July 12th I received another package from the passport office: ANOTHER REJECTION LETTER! But this one was confusing, it just had my old passport photo, the same form, and the same letter. I called the passport people again and they said to ignore it that they just forgot to send my old picture to put in the form. (Luckily I had all those extra photos and sent one in already).
Then a miracle happened... THE E-MAIL WITH MY TRACKING NUMBER CAME IN! I never been so happy in my life. I e-mailed my recruiter to let him know and waited by the mailbox patiently (not patiently) on the day of arrival. On July 19th I had my shiny new passport with extra pages and my full name on it!
Visa Issuance Number and Visa
So here we are... the final stretch with only 3.5 weeks to go. I scanned and sent my passport information to my recruiter and the school went July 21st (July 20th here) to submit my visa application.
Now my passport information was not written on the form so the school had to do it themselves. I was told it would take 7 to 10 business days for the visa number and now anxiety resumed.
"Is the form filled out correctly?" "Would it get rejected for any reason?" "Mercury is still in retrograde."
It did not help that this is peak application season and I have another IG friend who was on day 11 waiting for her visa number. However, the travel gods smiled upon me and I received my visa issuance number on July 30th.
I took my Visa application form, passport, $45, and random other documents (just in case) to the Korean Consulate in New York. I took a train at 7:30am and got to the consulate at 9:30am.
I was in and out in 15 minutes. I handed over everything and received a receipt that said I can pick up my passport with my visa on August 6th.
On August 6th at 11am I walked into the Consulate and stood in a long line to pick up my visa. A man with a badge asked if anyone was picking up and me and another girl signaled we are. He took our receipts and told us to sit and wait. About 15 minutes later he came back with our passports and handed them to us.
I checked that all the information was accurate and left. It took about 30 minutes total.
With 8 days to spare I had gotten everything done and am ready for South Korea!
Honestly anyone could've gotten this all done in three months if they did not have the passport problem like I did. However, I recommend giving yourself the recommended 4 months to be on the safe side.
Some schools and programs require TEFL certification which I do not have since I have teaching experience. But, if you don't have teaching experience you should get that done. I am not sure the exact process on that, but I believe you can be working on it before you get to Korea, but some cities (like Seoul and Busan) need the certificate for you to be able to teach there along with some teaching hours. In that case, I would say give yourself 6 months.
But I did it guys! South Korea here I come!
Safe Travels,
Chelle
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