Also, can anyone tell me what an A-3 visa is, and how or where to get one?

i also read that i need to bring international certificates of vaccination. what is that? i have my daughter's shot records, does that count? what about me?

My doctor recently put me on Wellbutrin. can i continue to get refills of that over there on tricare?

my husband wants us to join him in just a couple of weeks, but the more i read, the more unprepared i feel i am!

help!

Hi, Lilli!

Congratulations on making the choice to accompany your hubby to Korea! I know this is a really chaotic time,and things can easily see overwhelming, but take a deep breath and relax.. *G* trust me, if I could make it to Korea, you can too!

I wasn't quite sure if you were coming NCS or CS, but in the event it's NCS, I'll share what I know..

An A-3 visa is basically the Korean government's "permission slip" to allow you to live in Korea for the year (or two) you'll be there. There are actually several different categories of visas, the A-3 is specifically for military dependents. It's available from the Korean consulate that services your area, you can do a search on Korean consulates,and find where that's located. You can either apply by mail, or in person.. if you apply in person, you can get your A-3 the same day. You'll need documentation such as your birth certificates, marriage license, passport, military id, and a copy of your husband's orders. Since you'll be travelling with a young child, who will also need a visa, you will also have to either have your husband -with- you at the time of application, or a legally notarized letter of permission for hers. I would -highly- recommend checking with the Korean consulate to find out exactly what you need , before you submit your documentation, to make sure you have all your proverbial 'ducks in a row' , and save you more time and trouble in the long run.

As far as the international certificate of immunization... I didn't have to present one for either my son, or myself. If you get your form printed off at your local immunizations clinic, on an official DDForm 2766C (the typical printout) or in the little yellow book, those should both count in lieu of the International Certificate of Vaccination, according to the first paragraph on that form.

I would highly recommend getting a Hep A vaccination for both you and your daughter, as well as a Typhoid. You may not really need them, but they're recommended for Korea, and quite honestly, it's better, I think to be safe than sorry.

As far as the Wellbutrin, I'm not certain what's on the formulary at the Pharmacy in Korea, but I would -presume- that if you're getting it at your local military pharmacy, you can get it in Korea.. you should always call the pharmacy and ask though, as that's only pure speculation on my part.

If they can't give you your wellbutrin, they may be able to alter your prescription to a med you can get while you're here.

Again, try to breathe, I understand completely how insane it can feel.. LOL..but it really will be okay! :)

Dee :)

-Edited to add-

Lilli, I just read that you're going to be coming to Korea CS.. with that being the case, you should be able to obtain your VISA through your local MPF (or whatever the army equivalent is called).. your personnel facility. I'm not sure how long that takes going through official channels, so you'd need to contact them directly.

Either way,though, getting the A-3 is really a relatively painless process :)

D.

i've gone ahead and made an appointment for vaccinations on monday, but i am still confused about the visa. is that something i have to get here in the states before i go? or can i do it when i get there? i read something on a site that made it sound like i could get one within 60 days of arrival, and just go in first as a tourist. see, the problem is that i am currently stateside, but not near a military base, so i dont know which personnel facility to contact, you know?

Welcome!
1. I called the Yongsan pharmacy. They have Wellbutrin in the extended release form.
2. If you are in a hurry, and have any type of passports for yourself and your daughter, and your shots, come on over. You don't need a visa until sometime within 30 days after you get here. Your Post or Base here can take care of that and your Sofa stamp after you arrive. Bring copies of your husband's orders and your dependant ID card. I didn't catch any question about your ticket fares. You may want to check on that by phone - Call any closest military post or base. If you don't have government issued tickets you can end up paying more for them and not getting full reimbursement of the cost. Assume you and your child are U.S. citizens?

great! thank you so much for finding that out for me!
that is a relief too, to know we can come over and get the visas afterwards. we do have our passports, and are getting vaccinations monday.
as for tickets, we have command sponsorship (yes, we are US citizens too), so i'm thinking we will get the government tickets. but how does that work? do we just tell them what date we want to fly and then they mail them to us, or what?

They will give you a piece of paper that has your confirmation number; basically an E-ticket. You take it to the check-in counter and they will print out your boarding passes.

I have three months worth of wellbutrin (2x a day), that I stopped taking, so ya know.. if ya run out you can call me! LMAO

Seriously though rndspringer and Mr Joe covered it all pretty much already..Good luck on everything!

Oh, and I went to the travel office and I showed them our orders, passports/visas and they just asked told me the first available, and emailed the information to me along with our tickets :)I had to wait on my daughters and my passports/visas, that's why we flew almost a month behind my husband.

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"To disagree with me is your human right. To argue with me just because you think you are right and want to see me wrong makes you legally retarded."