Hi my name is Laura. We have orders to PCS to Osan in July. We will be CS. I have a baby boy, Austin, that is 14 months old.

I have some questions.

1. As CS do I need to get visas for my son and I before we go? I already have a passport and I just sent out for my sons.

2. How is the housing on Osan? I heard there was new housing. Is any of the new housing completed?

3. Can I travel to Osan with my husband? I heard that it depended on housing. If housing is available can I come with him? Or do I have to wait for him to move all our stuff in? We are shipping our stuff in May so it should be there before we get there.

Thanks!

Laura

Hi, Laura!

Welcome to Osan..CS or NCS, I think you'll be surprised at how much you may like it here! :)

I'll answer your questions as best as I can, but with the caveat that I'm not CS, so I may be a little off...and that things here as far as housing are in a bit of an uncertain status right now, so things are subject to change!

1) As CS, you -may- not need a VISA to come,as you, being on his orders, have permission from Korea to be here. I would highly recommend , however, checking with the passport office at your base, or giving a call to the Osan passport office,and asking just to make sure. If you -do- need to get a VISA, they're not a big deal at all, very easy to get, through the Korean consulate for NCS'sers, and I'm presuming through MPF/Passport Office for CS'ers.

2) Housing at Osan is in a very ...chaotic..state right now. Currently, CS spouses are housed in one Tower-style house, and Mustang Valley Village, the "old" base housing. The two new towers are not supposed to open up until February and April 2008. The chaos now going on with housing is due to the fact that the military actually *leases* the MVV properties from the Korean National Housing Association, and there have apparently been problems that have come up in negotiation with them, and at this time, a termination of lease order has been signed. It's hoped that negotiations will continue and that termination of lease may be rescinded...but if that doesn't successfully happen, the residents of MVV may have to relocate by December 1 of this year...and since the new towers aren't going to be completed by then, they may have to move *off* base, or do early return, then come *back* after the housing is completed.

The powers that be are currently heavily in negotiation and are hoping to have some definitive information in the next few months. The resolution of this issue is understandably of high priority to the command.

How will this affect you? Again,that's uncertain.. there is a possibility that you may get housing in the Seoraksan Tower-style housing due to attrition (someone moving out may leave an opening in the apartment) as those openings , I -believe- are to be filled by a balance of those newly coming in to Osan and those who would be moving up from MVV. Needless to say , the residents of MVV that I know are -not- too happy with this idea of having to move off base,and not back on, and newcomers getting the apartments that are coming open, especially after some of the residents there have been waiting a year and had been assured they'd be getting those apartments as soon as they become available. One of my cs friends here is pregnant, due sometime in mid-November, and is now looking at the possibility of having to move twice in a matter of months, once downtown, while in the last stages of pregnancy, and then again, back to base housing, likely with an infant. Not a fun prospect, especially given that she -hates- the downtown area, and really doesn't want to live off base. They haven't been here long, only about 6 months, so their DEROS is later , so we're keeping fingers crossed that they'll be among the first to be allowed to move into the towers, but..at this point.. who knows?

The other option that I think may be available to the command is allowing newcomers to live off base, with a waiting list to get on base, much as it is in the States, or any other European country. Right now, things are just up in the air, due to the negotiations, so..it's really a matter of just having to wait for things to get settled.

3) If housing is available, you can do concurrent travel, arriving with your husband at the same time. You shouldn't have to wait for your stuff to arrive to move in, as they also have a loan closet at AFRC for CS families.

Now -THAT- being said...if the situation with MVV is not resolved by the time you get over here, there is a -very- distinct possibility that a non-concurrent travel order may be put into place,and you -would- have to wait until your husband arrived and got housing arranged.

As I said, I wish I had more definitive answers for you, but so much is up in the air right now,and dependant on how these negotiations go..Keep checking back, have your husband check with the housing office here at Osan. This forum is great for info... you can also check out the MigAlley Flyer base newspaper on the AF Crossroads site (if it's ever updated *grumble*) for other news about the issue,etc.

I hope this helps some, again, my apologies for not having more info.

Dee :)

Hi Laura , It is highly recommended that you get yours and your sons A-3 visa's before you leave the States ,it cuts out a lot of time once you get here , all you will need to do is get yours and his SOFA stamps within 30 days of arrival,

Thanks, I was thinking that I would just go down there and get the process started. They have an office downtown here.

In order to get the Visas, you will have to go to the personnel office that your husband is stationed at. If you do not have passports, the personnel office will help complete all the applications and then send to the SKOR embassy to get the visas. They will not cost anything since they are considered "Official" no-fee passports. If your husband is in the USAF, the passports will be done in the outbound assignments office.

If you are USAF...this is the difference between concurrent versus nonconcurrent travel.

If housing wait time will be less than 20-weeks, than concurrent travel will be authorized. You will travel on your husband's PCS orders.
If housing wait time will be more than 20-weeks, than nonconcurrent travel will be authorized. Meaning, he will travel and stay in dorms until housing is available. Once housing is authorized, he will get dependent travel orders. He will send them to you so that you can go to the nearest TMO and get tickets issued for you and your son. Since you are both command sponsored, you both get a full fare ticket. Don't take anything less. Then you fly to Seoul and husband will meet you at the airport and then take you back to Osan to move into housing.

This is all based on moving to base housing. You still have the option to live off-base on the economy. Don't worry about all the furniture...the base loans furniture to you for your entire stay in Korea.

Hope this is helpful.

to elaborate a little more
we actually just got our concurrent travel approved *only* because I agreed we would reside off base. We're heading to Yongsan. The housing wait there was 120+ days.

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We have just applied for our visas today.

According to the passport office on post my son (who already has a UK and US passport) was required to apply for an official non-fee passport as they will not put the A3 visa in a US tourist passport. The whole process should take 6-8 weeks for the official passport (hopefully shorter!)

I have a UK passport so they will put the A3 visa in that and that process should take about 2 weeks.

Good luck with everything

Geordie , I too have a UK passport and my A3 took about a week to get back .

My son just got his A3 in his tourist passport. They didn't even ask if he had a no fee passport

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