how many times can you go to korea and come back?:)
 

hi there. is there any limit to how much time you can spend in japan with tourist visas? im eligible for a 3month stay/per stamp. so i wonder if as a freelancer it could be possible to just visit korea 4times a year? anyone have any experience? do they ask alot of questions at the border?

thanks!

I believe its illegal to do that?
someone correct me if im wrong.

A buddy of mine did that. He extended his stay 3 times. I wouldn't recommend it because there is no guarentee your request for an extension will be accepted. Once your tourist visa expires and you want to stay in Japan longer you need to get an extension. Though while this process is taking place you need to leave the country.

I dont think simply exiting and reentering for a new tourist visa is allowed.

It's called a visa run, you numpties! It is not illegal, yet some countries do have limits to how many times you can enter the country per year, and stuff.

For example, in Thailand, you're only alowed to leave the country (say, to Cambodia) and return the next day with the free visa on arrival 3 times every six months. That means you can only stay 3 months in Thailand every 6 months. If you want to stay longer, you're going to have to visit the Thai embassy in the country in which you are doing your visa run in and apply for a proper visa.

There will be a Japanese embassy in Korea in which you can apply for visas or something. If you have a visa for Japan stamped in your passport BEFORE you arrive in Japan, you will not be refused entry.

But you're going to have to visit embassy websites to find out the exact details.

www.kr.emb-japan.go.jp/

In 1999..no problem

In 2009...no guarantees

i understood extensions are possible only for certain countries (not including mine).
ok, so perhaps there is no strict guidelines to as what are the possibilities. also forexample if japanese tourists travel to europe, they can stay 3months at a time and re-enter once per year for another 3month stay. no questions asked, that is simply the rule.
so yeah perhaps a passport full of korea stamps is not such a good idea:) maybe travel to other countries, stay longer periods away, make up good excuses..
that embassy website is not available in english. well im sure atleast one time the korea trip has to work, so i can go ask them in person.
would like to hear more from people with actual experience!

I would imagine they`d get suspicious of it after a couple times. I know it was much easier to pull off back 10 years ago (I did something similar two times in a row - one 4 day trip to Korea, followed by a 6 day trip to the US) and even then on the second entry they were seriously suspicious and I had to call my husband-to-be to present proof that I was coming back in to get married and not illegally working.

I've heard second-hand reports about people being turned away after multiple visa runs to Korea - it seems it has more to do with the particular immigration officer they run into rather than any certain rules or regulations - but then again, I can't verify any of those reports.

If you're trying to make a living in Japan, keep in mind that it's a lot harder to do certain things on a tourist visa, i.e. opening bank accounts or getting a mobile phone or getting any long-term accommodation. I would strongly advise against visa runs if you're trying to stay in Japan long-term.

It used to be common practice, but not so anymore. You might get away with it once, but I must emphasize the word "might".

Why are you not able to get a work visa, or a working holiday visa?

How many times can you go to korea and come back?

Don't count on it. Besides, it's getting more and more restrictive to go between the two countries due to the economic crisis.

Not to mention you're freelancing. Which means you are technically working without the paperwork/visa that allows you to. There is some sort of paperwork being filled out. Perhaps not on your end but the one receiving the product.

I just remembered, I cant be 100% sure on this but I think you're only allowed a maximum of 3 consecutive tourist visas. After that, I dont know how long you need to wait before you can get another tourist visa. Even then you'll be asked for the reasons of extension.

Well i met a guy a few days ago and hes been here now for 9 months, so he did the run 2 times and hes now going to Korea to work for a month and than coming back (not legal work...).
I suppose at least twice should be doable.

It seems to me like that would be an expensive lifestyle.

Actually, you can usually book a roundtrip to Korea for 20,000yen - or even less if you plan way ahead and go with a group. Stay at a cheap hostel for a few days and you can literally pull it off for less than 30,000yen.

Ah, I see. Though I was kind of referring to the whole lifestyle in general... Would you just work freelance, bouncing from one temporary job to another?

*I* wouldn`t, as I prefer stability - but for some people I imagine it works out quite well (Except for the illegal bit). It they find enough jobs that pay enough, then it is possible to make a fair amount of money I suppose.

My plan is to spend all of my summers and winters living in Canada and my springs and autumns living in Japan.

I think I can make it work. The trick is to find a wife in each country without creating any suspicion amongst the two. :D

The unofficial limit seems to be 180 days in Japan in a 12-month period. I know a lot of people who have been given a second tourist permit after a short trip to Korea or Taiwan, but the third permit in a row seems to be rare to non-existent. Even when coming back in the first time you can expect to be questioned, although if you are from a developed country it seems they will usually let you back in.

If you can stick to the 180 days in a year limit (and convince Immigration that you are not working here), then you should probably be ok.

I've done it, and it does depend on the immigration officer. I wouldn't want to do it again. 180 days is a guide, but it really has to do with one of two things: 1) proof of income or 2) proof of intent to leave. If you're rich, you will have zero issues. If you have enough money to prove income for each three month period ON HAND (or with bank statements) you are also fine. The second is much more common, a return ticket. My last time (trip number three), immigration was mighty suspicious. Luckily, I had proof I was still teaching in Korea. I wasn't, I had quit that job, but I had the paperwork saying otherwise. To Japan, it was enough for them to believe I would not abandon a job elsewhere just to lounge around Japan, and thus said paperwork proved I had an intent to leave. When my paperwork for my Japanese visa came up, there was no issue, it was just "oh, you decided to take a job here?" And I was like, "Yep, Korean job knows." "Oh, okay. Great. Here you go." No issue at all.

In the end these restrictions are only to prevent abuse of the social services of the country. As long as you can provide evidence you are not a burden (or working illegally), then you can come in as many times as you want. For most people outside of the fabulously wealthy, this is just not possible to keep on proving.