Adventure Teaching - Visa Process

If you want to come to Korea in the near future, it is important that you begin gathering all of the required documents as soon as you begin seeking employment through Adventure Teaching. Please order your criminal background check and get it notarized and certified/apostilled right away! Detailed instructions for obtaining the criminal record check are listed below. NOTE: If you plan to start teaching in South Korea in several months, you will have to wait as the criminal record check cannot be more than 90 days old when it is submitted.

We also recommend ordering several sets of transcripts from your university. Two sets are required for the E-2 visa process, but it is often difficult and time consuming to order more transcripts in the case that more or required for whatever reason (i.e. Your institution would like to have some on file as well). Transcripts are relatively cheap and very accessible when you are in your home country. When you are overseas or pressed for time the situation will be the opposite.

In order to obtain a valid working visa in South Korea, a foreigner must have a signed contract that they will be working full time hours (at least 15 hours/week). The working visa allows the teacher to live in South Korea for the duration of 1 year. When the year has come to an end, the teacher must leave the country in order to obtain another working visa. This process of leaving the country takes only 2-3 days. When the process is finished, the teacher may re-enter South Korea for a second year on a new E-2 visa.

**NEW, and VERY IMPORTANT**
Upon arrival in Korea, a mandatory health check will be required before the teacher is issued their Alien Resident Card. The school will instruct the teacher as to when and where the check will take place. These checks will take place shortly after the teacher’s arrival. The checks will take place at clinics/hospitals authorized by the Korean Government. The health check will include a physical, as well as a blood sample. It is important to remember that ILLEGAL DRUGS will show up on this test. If drugs do show up, the teacher will not be issued a visa and will be required to leave the country. Adventure Teaching will not be held responsible for any costs incurred by failing the tests or damages (including plane tickets, or other travel costs). These costs will become the teacher’s full responsibility. If you have any question as to whether or not you will test positively for drugs or infectious diseases, we strongly recommend HAVING A TEST PERFORMED IN YOUR HOME COUNTRY before coming to South Korea. If you have any concern about these tests, please feel free to inquire with us as well.

FOR AMERICANS :

Step 1* Teacher: Submit all the required documents to the school or institute. The documents should be sent using DHL, FEDEX, or UPS, not by U.S. or Canadian post! A tracking number for the package should also be obtained.

*Documents required for Step 1
(Submitted to school or institute in South Korea)

Original University Diploma (Because of fraudulent diplomas South Korean Immigration only accepts original diplomas or notarized copies performed by the Korean Consulate in your home country)
Official Sealed Transcript (Transcripts must be in a sealed envelope, with the University Seal stamped over the seal of the envelope)
Your Resume
A Copy of the Information Page of Your Passport (The information page is the page with your picture, date of birth, exp. Date etc)
Signed Contract
2 Passport-sized Photos (requirements)
**NEW** Official Criminal Check (details below)
**NEW** E-2 Health Statement (more..)
**NEW** Photocopy all of the documents to be submitted (except sealed transcripts). Keep the copies of your documents. Do not send them to Korea.

Step 2 School: Submits all the documents to the immigration office and Korean Council for University Education.

Step 3 School: The school will receive a VISA ISSUANCE NUMBER. This number is usually received about 2 weeks after the documents have been submitted by the school.

Step 4 School: Gives the Adventure Teaching/teacher the VISA ISSUANCE NUMBER.

Step 5* Teacher: As of December 15, 2007, all applicants are required to visit the consulate in jurisdiction of their permanent residence for an in person interview. The teacher must call the consulate to arrange the interview. If the distance is considered too great for the teacher to travel for an in person interview, another method of interview can possibly be arranged. This is decided on a case by case basis, so the teacher should be sure to check with their consulate to see if they can have the interview in another format.
** If the teacher goes to the consulate in person: The consular will place the visa in the teacher’s passport and mail it back to the teacher in 3 or 4 days.
** If the teacher mails the documents to the consulate: The process will take 1 week plus mailing time.

*Documents required for Step 5
(Submitted to the Korean Consulate in your home country)

Visa Issuance Number
Passport
Visa Application form (Pick up at Consulate or click here) (Application form FAQ's)
1 passport sized photo
CASH Canadians: $65.00 Americans: $45.00
**NEW** Sealed Transcripts (Additional set from those listed above)

Order a Criminal Record Check (CRC) from your local police department.
*The check should be a local/state search (FBI fingerprint checks are not required and take a long time to conduct)
*If it is available, please ensure that you are getting a Sex-Offender Registry Check as you will be working with children.
*Your police department will ask who the check is for. You can tell them that you are teaching English in Korea, but you will be sending the document to the institution with other documents, so have the results sent to yourself.
Have the results notarized by your local Notary Public.
*The notary must be in the same state as the police department where you had the criminal check performed.
After the CRC is notarized, send it to the government office that certifies documents in your state to have it apostilled (authenticated).
* Please check here for the appropriate office and steps required for verifying documents in your state.
Send the notarized criminal record check with the apostil attached along with the rest of the documents required in STEP 1 to the school that you will be working for in Korea. If you haven’t signed a contract yet- hold on to the results until you have a contract.

FOR CANADIANS:

Step 1* Teacher: Submit all the required documents to the school or institute. The documents should be sent using DHL, FEDEX, or UPS, not by U.S. or Canadian post. A tracking number for the package should also be obtained.

*Documents required for Step 1
(Submitted to school or institute in South Korea)

Original University Diploma (Because of fraudulent diplomas South Korean Immigration only accepts original diplomas or notarized copies performed by the Korean Consulate in your home country)
Official Sealed Transcript (Transcripts must be in a sealed envelope, with the University Seal stamped over the seal of the envelope)
Your Resume
A Copy of the Information Page of Your Passport (The information page is the page with your picture, date of birth, exp. Date etc)
Signed Contract
2 Passport-sized Photos (requirements)
**NEW** Official Criminal Check (details below)
**NEW** E-2 Health Statement (more..)
**NEW** Photocopy all of the documents to be submitted (except sealed transcripts). Keep the copies of your documents. Do not send them to Korea.

Step 2 School: Submits all the documents to the immigration office and Korean Council for University Education.

Step 3 School: The school will receive a VISA ISSUANCE NUMBER. This number is usually received about 2 weeks after the documents have been submitted by the school.

Step 4 School: Gives the Adventure Teaching/teacher the VISA ISSUANCE NUMBER.

Step 5* Teacher: As of December 15, 2007, all applicants are required to visit the consulate in jurisdiction of their permanent residence for an in person interview. The teacher must call the consulate to arrange the interview. If the distance is considered too great for the teacher to travel for an in person interview, another method of interview can possibly be arranged. This is decided on a case by case basis, so the teacher should be sure to check with their consulate to see if they can have the interview in another format.
* If the teacher goes to the consulate in person: The consular will place the visa in the teacher’s passport and mail it back to the teacher in 3 or 4 days.
** If the teacher mails the documents to the consulate: The process will take 1 week plus mailing time.
*** All documents submitted to the Korean Consulate should be mailed with a return envelope - Only Xpresspost or Prioirty Courier envelopes will be accepted (any other courier companies such as FedEx, Purolator, or UPS will not be accepted.)

*Documents required for Step 5
(Submitted to the Korean Consulate in your home country)

Visa Issuance Number
Passport
Visa Application form (Pick up at Consulate or click here) (Application form FAQ's)
1 passport sized photo
CASH Canadians: $65.00 Americans: $45.00
**NEW** Sealed Transcripts (Additional set from those listed above)

Order a Police Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Screening Program Check from your local police department.
*RCMP/fingerprint searches are unnecessary and take far too long.
*Please ensure that you are getting a Vulnerable Sector Screening Program Check as you will be working with children. This must be requested specifically.
*Your police department will ask who the check is for. You can tell them that you are teaching English in Korea, but you will be sending the document to the institution with other documents, so have the results sent to yourself.
Have the results notarized by your local Notary Public or a Lawyer.
*Your local Notary Public needs to stamp the envelope/statement.
Send the locally notarized record check and fee to the Korean Consulate for Verification for a consular notarization. The fee for this service is $2.20 by cash or money order.
*Send to either in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal. Make sure you write this on the envelope: ATTN: Notarization dept
*Include return Xpresspost or Priority Courier envelope with postage and address (Other Courier services will not be accepted)
Send the results of the certified/notarized results with the rest of the documents required in STEP 1 to the school that you will be working for in Korea. If you haven’t signed a contract yet- hold on to the results until you have a contract.