The Road to Cuenca passes through Seoul

rayjones50 wrote:

... According  to the Korean consolate only a family member can obtain it and all my wifes family is in the US, so in order to qualify for a visa we gotta fly to Korea to get a birth certificate. . . .

How about asking a Korean embassy to take a picture of her and her identifying documents, certify or authenticate them, and forward to wherever necessary in Seoul?

I'm assuming you checked out the obvious (to someone like me) solution: Hire somebody to impersonate your wife's brother/sister/aunt?

Seriously -- this is the sort of thing that drives people nuts when dealing with governments. There should be no reason this couldn't be handled via internet, but governments don't care about actually providing services to their people.

I'll cut it off now, because my rant could go on for quite a while. I feel for you.

Bob

I spent most of the day trying to find a website or someone I could contact in Seoul that could help. I even called some Korean lawyers in Denver and they couldn't tell me anything. There about 35 managed districts in Seoul  each having its own administrative offices and sub offices from those. Vital records are kept within the specific office near where kids are born . So there's not a central location to go to pick up birth certificates. You gotta know where your specific district and office is. A real nightmare.

Ray, occasionally dealing with government agencies is like going to Catholic confession. Ask around to different individuals and eventually you will find one that gives you the answer you want. I suggest you confirm with at least three Ecuadorian representatives that you need the document before incurring a trip to South Korea.

There is a large Korean community in Quito and many are golfers. I will ask several how to obtain an original Korean birth certificate.

fdmcg wrote:

Ray, occasionally dealing with government agencies is like going to Catholic confession. Ask around to different individuals and eventually you will find one that gives you the answer you want. I suggest you confirm with at least three Ecuadorian representatives that you need the document before incurring a trip to South Korea.

There is a large Korean community in Quito and many are golfers. I will ask several how to obtain an original Korean birth certificate.

That is very kind of you and I appreciate any help I can get.

Ray, according to my Korean acquaintances here they suggest your wife contact the Korean embassy in Quito asking them to assist her obtaining Korean documents necessary to satisfy Ecuador residency requirements. They were doubtful that a trip to Korea was necessary. Good luck.

fdmcg wrote:

Ray, according to my Korean acquaintances here they suggest your wife contact the Korean embassy in Quito asking them to assist her obtaining Korean documents necessary to satisfy Ecuador residency requirements. They were doubtful that a trip to Korea was necessary. Good luck.

Thanks Frank, that really sounds encouraging. I had originally intended to go to Cuenca from the start but from what you said I probably should stay in Quito at least until I get this situation resolved. Probably looking at early February that we will be flying down.

Ray, I suggest you communicate with Korean embassy via email and based on this decide if a trip to Quito is necessary. Also, if you will be flying into Quito in February I suggest you do so before Feb 20 when the new airport will open approximately 1 hour outside Quito.

I do not know if you are aware there is a large Korean community in Quito.