This sounds a little bit silly, but I wasn't smart enough to figure it out on my own. That mistake cost me about $300 and made my first meeting with my current employer pretty awkward. So here's a handy guide to...

How to tell if you have a VISA to work in Korea

I have a passport with a big whole-page stamp on it. It clearly says "Multiple-Entry."

I have a passport with a big whole-page stamp on it. It doesn't say "Multiple-Entry," though.

I have a piece of paper with some blue writing that I don't understand.

I have a pretty little stamp on my passport.

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I have a passport with a big whole-page stamp on it. It clearly says "Multiple-Entry."

Yup, that's it, all right. Good job! You can now work in the Republic of Korea, and enter and leave the country as you please.

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I have a passport with a big whole-page stamp on it. It doesn't say "Multiple-Entry," though.

Well, that's pretty good. You can work in South Korea, but if you leave the country at any time, you won't be able to work again when you come back. So if you go on vacation in Japan, you might be in trouble. You might want to get this changed from single-entry to multiple-entry, which (I believe) can be done from inside Korea.

This is, incidentally, the one mistake listed on this page that I haven't personally made.

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I have a piece of paper with some blue writing that I don't understand.

Umm, that's not a visa at all. It's probably a "Certificate of Visa Issuance," which allows you to geta working visa before you go to Korea. Take it to your nearest Korean consulate (in any country except Korea) as soon as possible and get them to put a stamp (be sure to ask for multiple-entry) on your passport. Be prepared to leave your passport at the consulate overnight, and pick it up the next day, if necessary.

If you go to Korea with only the certificate, you will be going in circles at Immigration, will not be legally allowed to work, and will soon have to shell out for a plane ticket to Japan (if you get into Korea at all).

Remember, whatever you may have been told, this is not in fact a visa. You must get your working visa before you enter Korea. If you don't, you will have to leave Korea again to get things straightened out.

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I've got a pretty little stamp on my passport.

Hey now, that's a visa, but it's not a working visa. You can look at temples and take pictures of the mountains, but if you go to work, the government may not take kindly to it.

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Walt Ogburn / reuben@ugcs.caltech.edu