Hi, folks! It’s been awhile since I’ve been posting regularly. Suffice it to say, I’m back in the blogger saddle. The posts should start popping up with more regularity, so stay tuned! In the meantime time I wanted to update those not in the know about the dreaded visa run a some of us have to complete if we secure a job inside Korea.
Once you’ve gotten all your paperwork completed and returned and have secured a position you’ll be issued a number that must be taken to a Korean Consulate in another country. The staff at the Consulate are the ones who will actually put your visa in your passport.
No matter which consulate you go to you’ll need a few things:
- Your Visa Issuance Number your employer will give you. It’s a series of long numbers and letters.
- Your passport with remaing validity of at least one year. (also bring a copy of your passport for hotels in Japan)
- A Completed Visa Application. Download here.
- One passport sized photo.
- Visa fee. For Japan it’s 6,000 Yen (60,000 KRW)
I travelled to Fukuoka to do my visa run so I’ll be sharing the details on how to do that. Fukuoka is a popular choice, primarily because it’s so close to Seoul and they’ve had a lot of experince with visitors coming to do exactly what you’ll be doing. As a bonus it’s easy to reach from the Fukuoka airport.
Fukuoka Korean Consolate
Address: 1-1-3 Jigyohama, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka Japan, 810-0065
Phone: 81-(0)92-771-0461/3
Service Hours: 9:00am to 11:30am to drop off applications. 13:30pm to 17:00pm to pick up completed visa Mon-Fri closed on holidays and weekends.
*Try to book a really early morning flight otherwise you won’t make the 11:30am cut off. That would suck, because it would mean an extra day waiting to get your visa. The process takes a couple days so if you make it on Monday before 11:30am then you can pick up your visa on Wednesday afternoon.
From Fukuoka Airport to Korean Consulate:
- Once you land take the airport shuttle to the domestic terminal. Hop off and head to the right to the subway.
- Take the subway to Tojin Machi Station and take exit one.
- From exit one walk straight until you come to the first major intersection. The walk is only a few minutes.
- Cross the street and immediate turn right. Walk another couple blocks and you’ll come to another light. Across the street you’ll see a Korean style building with the Korean flag billowing in the breeze.
- That’s the Korean Consulate.
Got it? Great!
Another tip I can add to make things easier is to book your hotel stay at Heiwadai Hotel 5. It’s located right outside Exit 2 of Tojin Machi Station. It’s a no frills hotel, but its relatively cheap and so close to the Korean Consulate that it’s more than worth it, especially if its your first time doing a visa run.
Also be sure to change your Korean Won at Incheon Airport for Japanese Yen. A lot of places don’t take credit cards and sometimes the card you think will work is not accepted. So have cash just be safe.
Any questions? Ask away!
I just loved the post. Nice stuff.
Thanks, man! Glad to be of help!
Hello mr Brain i am a cameroon living in south korea with a G1 visa i’m planing to visit japan. Can you please enlighting me about the fufuoka visa run.
The visa I write about is only in regards to the e-2 teaching visa. I am unsure about any other visas.
Hi Brian,
Great information, I’m sure a lot of people will find this helpful including myself 🙂
I was just wondering which visa form needs to be filled out. You link to another page which has a few different documents under the visa section. Just wanting to know which form you filled out? (application form for a visa issuance?)
Thanks in advance.
Hey Mark,
Just saw your post. That Link was for works who will be at the beginning of the process. You should have already received your number if you are planning a trip to a consulate outside Korea. Hope this helps!
Hey Mark,
Just saw this. That link was for people who are beginning the process of an e2 visa. If you are planning a visa run you should have already been issued a number which you are required to take to a consulate outside of Korea. Hope this helps!
I have been issued a visa issuance number but the application asks the issue date–mine was only sent to me via text message rather than on paper it and doesn’t show the exact date it was issued…should I just write in the date I received the text?
Yes, and I guess take a photo of the text or just show them the text?
Thanks for the write up, its been helpful as I prepare to do my visa run.
Have you heard anything about the visa fee going up?
I have a UK passport and when I called the Fukuoka Korean consulate they said it would be 24,000 yen (236,000 Won).
That’s a lot more than I have read anywhere else.
Has it got anything to do with the UK passport?
Thanks!
I’m glad its been helpful. I haven’t heard anything about visa rates going up, but I’m not a UK citizen. Still, that price seems a bit steep to me. I asked around and I was quoted sixty to eighty thousand won, but that was for a renewal.
Hi Daniel,
I’m also British and now preparing to do my visa run. Did it cost about 236,000 after all? Because like you I’ve read that it’s much cheaper. And were you able to pick it up on the 2nd day? Ive read on a few blogs that you have to wait until the 3 day to collect it. Thanks for your help.
UK citizen pay more.
Hey, thanks for writing this up!
I’ve worked in Korea before, but coming back, I have to restart the documents process all over again and looking for work overseas is harder than I thought, even with my prior experience. So, I’m thinking of coming back to Korea first and following your directions for a visa run. My question is which visa should I apply for when I initially arrive?
Hi David,
Most folks already have their E2 visa lined up before they come to Korea. However, you can come on a tourist visa and use the three months to look for a job. Then you would make a visa run, most like to Japan, and change your visa over. Hope this helps!
You can come on a tourist visa and then switch over to an e2 when you find a job.
Hi Brian,
Do you know if the Fukuoka visa run is a good choice if you are on a tourist visa? I have never taught in Korea, and I am a tourist here. Do you know of anyone getting the E2 visa from a tourist visa?
That’s exactly what I did. After an extended trip instead of getting a D10 I opted for a tourist visa until I found work. Then, wham bam, a quick trip to Japan for my E2 visa and that was that.
Hi Brian!
Had you previously held a visa in Korea before getting your current one? My husband came over to Korea with me as a dependent. He’s now interested in teaching. We’d like to avoid paying for a flight back home to the U.S. Japan would be so much cheaper! Any more advice would be helpful! Thanks!
Yes, it’s totally possible. Once you have found a place of employment they will, at no cost to you or your husband, fly you off to Japan to complete a Visa run. Since you are already in Korea it should be far easier to research a great place to work and find out as much as you can about the establishment before signing a contract with them. Check out my post on my own visa run I recently did Fukuoka Visa Run.
how many days did you take to get your visa?
If you get to the consulate before 1130 am then you can get it two days later. So Monday morning drop off your paperwork and Wednesday afternoon collect your passport with your new e-2 visa inside!