Extending your Korean E2 Working Visa for more than one year

A large percentage of English language teachers working on an E-2 Visa over here in South Korea decide to stay for longer than just one year. This is usually due to a number of reasons. Ability to earn and save a lot of money usually ranks pretty high. Also the low cost of living and the chance to travel is mentioned by many teachers as another reason to stay longer. Plus the fact that these days, no matter what country you’re from, your chances of finding a job in your home country aren’t as good as they used to be a few years back due to the current global financial crisis. Although Korea has of course been affected by this, the demand for English teachers has remained very strong throughout.

Below is a brief overview of how to go about extending your E-2 visa while you are living in South Korea.

E-2 visa holders should visit the local immigration office in their area of residence in person to complete this process. Permission to extend your working visa must be acquired before expiry of current permission of stay. As a result, it’s really important to check the expiration date of your Alien Registration card, which in most cases expires before your actual English teaching contract ends. Even if you have decided to leave the country, in order to extend your stay legally for up to 30 days and avoid any fines, you must visit your local immigration office before the date of expiry. We strongly advise you do this a few weeks before to avoid any last minute panic.

For any teacher who wants to extend their stay for a longer period, say for example, another year, Korean Immigration states that you must apply before 2 months from the date of expiration. When applying for the extension after the expiration date, you will pay the penalty according to Article 25 of the Korean Immigration Act.
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