12
SCHOOLSPosted by Rebeca 🇧🇷 Brazil · 1 month ago
Can you switch schools after one semester?
if i pick a school and hate the teaching style, am i locked in?
does switching mess up your visa, since the visa is tied to the school as far as i understand
does switching mess up your visa, since the visa is tied to the school as far as i understand
8 comments
OFFICIAL ANSWER
TaehyunALLO TEAM
Operations & Local Support · Seoul
You are not locked in. Switching after a semester is common and the visa follows you — but there is paperwork and one deadline that catches people.
How it works:
1. Your D-4 is issued for study at a specific institution, so a change of school must be reported to immigration. This is a change of workplace/institution report, not a new visa.
2. You must report it within 15 days of the change. Missing that window is a fine, and it is the single most common mistake.
3. What you need: an acceptance or enrolment certificate from the new school, a certificate of completion or attendance record from the old one, your ARC, proof of the new address if you moved, and the report form. There is a small fee.
4. Your attendance record from the old school transfers with you and matters. Switching to escape a bad attendance record does not work.
5. Timing: do it between terms. Switching mid-term is possible but messy — you lose the tuition and the attendance for the partial term.
What you cannot do: switch to a school that is not authorised to sponsor D-4 students, or switch from a full-time program to a part-time one that does not meet the minimum class hours.
On the underlying question — most students who dislike their first semester dislike their teacher or their class, not the institution. Since teachers rotate each term, one bad term is often solved by simply continuing. If you are considering a switch, it is worth asking the international office to place you with a different teacher first. That is a free experiment; a school change costs a term's momentum.
If the school genuinely is not right — the method, the location, the level availability — then switch, and switch between terms.
How it works:
1. Your D-4 is issued for study at a specific institution, so a change of school must be reported to immigration. This is a change of workplace/institution report, not a new visa.
2. You must report it within 15 days of the change. Missing that window is a fine, and it is the single most common mistake.
3. What you need: an acceptance or enrolment certificate from the new school, a certificate of completion or attendance record from the old one, your ARC, proof of the new address if you moved, and the report form. There is a small fee.
4. Your attendance record from the old school transfers with you and matters. Switching to escape a bad attendance record does not work.
5. Timing: do it between terms. Switching mid-term is possible but messy — you lose the tuition and the attendance for the partial term.
What you cannot do: switch to a school that is not authorised to sponsor D-4 students, or switch from a full-time program to a part-time one that does not meet the minimum class hours.
On the underlying question — most students who dislike their first semester dislike their teacher or their class, not the institution. Since teachers rotate each term, one bad term is often solved by simply continuing. If you are considering a switch, it is worth asking the international office to place you with a different teacher first. That is a free experiment; a school change costs a term's momentum.
If the school genuinely is not right — the method, the location, the level availability — then switch, and switch between terms.
Was this helpful?Updated 1 month ago
8 comments
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You can still post anonymously after signing in.switched after 2 terms. immigration paperwork took one visit and about 30 minutes. it is much less dramatic than it sounds
15
just don't miss the 15 days. that's the only part they're strict about
7
that's reassuring, i assumed it was a whole new visa
6
i almost switched after a bad first term, then got a different teacher and it was a completely different experience. same school. try that first.
13
teacher variance within a school is bigger than the difference between schools. genuinely
8
your attendance record follows you. a friend tried to switch to reset a bad record and it did not work at all
9
switch between terms, not during. i lost half a term's tuition doing it mid-semester and got nothing back
7
worth checking the new school's level availability before you move. i switched and they didn't run my level that term
4
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