ELECTROW VOLUME THREE
depending on your monthly salary. This should bring
your total points to around 77 to 78 points.
The last few points, just like the last few miles of
a marathon, are the most difficult to acquire. Most of
these points will come from the “Extra Points Criteria”
section. This section starts off with the Annual income
Tax Payment
Record. The
lowest level for
this section is a
single point.
To earn this
you have to
have paid less
than 100-200 million won worth of taxes that year. The
points increase by 1 for every 100 million paid in taxes.
The scale maxes out at 500 million+ with 5 points. To
acquire these points you simple need to bring in your tax
records from the previous year, which you already used to
prove for your Annual Income points. There are no
guaranteed points from this section. It all depends on past
tax records.
A majority of points can be earned in the "Study
Abroad Experience in Korea". You'll receive 1 point for
any formal Korean language study done at a academy in
Korea. Upon completing a level, an official document
should be received from the school. This is only good for
1 point, no matter how many semesters you have
attended.
However, if
you have
earned a
degree in
Korea, you
can get the
following
points:
associate’s
degree (2
points),
bachelor’s
degree (3
points), a
master’s degree (4 points) and a PH.D (5 points).
To acquire these points, the Immigration Office
has to receive a copy of the official diploma from
the school. Enough points can be acquired simply
by obtaining any higher form of education in
Korea. However, earning points in these areas
requires a large investment of time and money.
just any volunteering will count for points. It has to be an
organization that the Korean Government recognizes.
This can be tricky, but in order to officially count
volunteer hours, you must register with this site (http://
www.vms.or.kr/index.jsp). Ask any Korean friends or
expats with the visa where they did their hours.
Volunteering for 1-2 years will earn 1 point, 2-3 years will
earn 3 points, and
3+ years of
donating your free
time will earn 5
points. For me, this
was a critical area
to acquire the
points in, so if
you’re really interested in obtaining this visa it’s time to
get to work.
For those that didn’t come to Korea fresh out of
university, there is a “Professional Experiences Abroad”
area to earn some points. 1 to 2 years experience earns 1
point, while 2-3 years get 3, and 5+ receives the
maximum points of 5. The difficulty in getting these
points is proving work experience. The Seoul immigration
office requires a signed letter from the CEO of the
company verifying the employment period. I would also
suggest bringing in any tax records that prove/verify your
employment. [insert extra points criteria image]
Follow these not-so-simple steps to acquire the
F2-7 Visa. It will
take time, but it’s
worth it if you
want to consider a
long term stay in
Korea. Be sure to
check back in the
next issue for tips
at the immigration
office- what to do,
what not to do,
and how to save a
lot of time and
frustration.
Another way to earn some points
through nothing but time is volunteering. Now, not
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