II : The Airport
It's now after 5:30. I grab my bag, thank the bus driver, and set off to find immigration. After a cursory view of the 3rd floor I locate the immigration office. There are 2 people in line, so I take a number and wait. Even though there are 4 people working only one seems to be doing any work at the counter and actually helping us with our immigration woes. It's 5:45, I'm mentally going over my story about why I overstayed my visa by 27 days. Hopefully I won't have to pay a fine. Or hopefully it won't be as steep as the maximum fine which could be 100,ooo Won a day. (100US) It would be kinda cool to get thrown in jail over this though. . . not now. don't think about that now. think positive thoughts. some other time you can extrapolate on the immigration jails of Seoul, right now work on getting out of the country safely and legally. A white guy, middle aged, short and round wearing a dizzingly colorful shirt arrives in line behind me. Tells me how he lost his ID card, had been teaching for a year, and various inoccuous details.
Another girl approaches the counter. Evidently she's decided to give her coworker a hand and take some customers. Here I go. I explain to her how Seoul Immigration told me one thing, then another. How I was led to believe I could extend my visa one last time as long as I purchased a ticket out of the country. As I was at immigration on the last day of my visa I asked her if I could get a stamp for a week or 2 so I could purchase the ticket. The lady working at Seoul Immigration told me that wasn't necessary.
I asked her,
-What should I do? My visa expires tomorrow.
She told me everything was OK as long as I purchased a ticket with a flight out of Korea before the next 30 days.
-So all I need to do is buy a ticket with a departure before Nov. 3rd?
-Yes. Then I'll give you a final extension from Oct. 4th to Nov. 3rd but you have to come back here with the ticket.
I left immigration without another extension, but with the peace of mind that when I returned with a plane ticket departing Korea before Nov. 3rd I would obtain my extension and be able to leave legally. Of course, when I returned to immigration the lady working that morning told me, plane ticket or no, that my visa was expired and there was nothing she could do. After going back and forth about this, how I was told something different last time I was there, she was still adamant about not stamping my passport. She did tell me, however to go to the immigration office in the airport before I left.
-Maybe they can help you.
The girl at the airport nodded, took my passport and asked me to fill out a departure card. She then took the card, stamped it, put it in my passport and handed it back to me. No questions. No fine. I'm able to leave Korea a free man and, more importantly I won't encounter any resistance upon my return.
Another girl approaches the counter. Evidently she's decided to give her coworker a hand and take some customers. Here I go. I explain to her how Seoul Immigration told me one thing, then another. How I was led to believe I could extend my visa one last time as long as I purchased a ticket out of the country. As I was at immigration on the last day of my visa I asked her if I could get a stamp for a week or 2 so I could purchase the ticket. The lady working at Seoul Immigration told me that wasn't necessary.
I asked her,
-What should I do? My visa expires tomorrow.
She told me everything was OK as long as I purchased a ticket with a flight out of Korea before the next 30 days.
-So all I need to do is buy a ticket with a departure before Nov. 3rd?
-Yes. Then I'll give you a final extension from Oct. 4th to Nov. 3rd but you have to come back here with the ticket.
I left immigration without another extension, but with the peace of mind that when I returned with a plane ticket departing Korea before Nov. 3rd I would obtain my extension and be able to leave legally. Of course, when I returned to immigration the lady working that morning told me, plane ticket or no, that my visa was expired and there was nothing she could do. After going back and forth about this, how I was told something different last time I was there, she was still adamant about not stamping my passport. She did tell me, however to go to the immigration office in the airport before I left.
-Maybe they can help you.
The girl at the airport nodded, took my passport and asked me to fill out a departure card. She then took the card, stamped it, put it in my passport and handed it back to me. No questions. No fine. I'm able to leave Korea a free man and, more importantly I won't encounter any resistance upon my return.
posted by hoops at 1:59 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home