Australians Getting an E2 Teaching Visa in Australia

Please follow these instructions for Australians to get visas to teach in South Korea.

STEP 1 - Documents Collection, Notarisation and or Apostille Authentication

You can start this process BEFORE you get a job offer.

Original University Degree

degree must be from a 4 year university
degree must be from an accredited university
must be the original degree (not a photocopy)
if you do not wish to send your original degree you can get a notarised copy

make a photocopy
have the copy notarised by a notary public in the same state as the university
send or take the notarised copy to the Australian Apostille located in the state of the university
please note the procedure for Apostille Authentication outline in the Criminal Background Check procedure listed below

Three Sealed University Transcripts
this means you need to contact your university registrar and ask them to give you your university grades in a SEALED (that's unopened) envelope from your university with a stamp or signature over the seal.

you'll have to order 3 sets of sealed transcripts
2 will be sent to your school in Korea
one will be sent to the Korean Consulate only once your reservation number has been issued - this is explained in Step 2
REMEMBER - do not open them

Australian Federal Police Clearance (apostille authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade)

Download the Australian National Police Check application form or go to the Australian Federal Police website: http://www.afp.gov.au to learn more.
submit the forms to: Australian Federal Police, Criminal Records, Locked Bag No. 1, Weston, ACT, 2611
this will generally take about 15 working days from the date it was received by Criminal Records
the record check must be less than six months old
this record check can be a local, city, or state clearance letter or report.
ensure you request a sex-offender registry check (some police departments do not specify that a sex-offender check is done - do your best to have this indicated on the report.
have the results sent to YOU
if they ask tell them it is for Footprints Recruiting and provide our address: 500-55 Water Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1A1
this report must then be notarised by a notary public or a lawyer who is in the SAME STATE that background check was issued in.
once notarised, send it to the send the locally notarised record check results to the Authentications Office of your state for an Apostille Certification/Authentication
Apostille is a French word for authentication or legalization. According to the "Hague Treaty" of 1961, this is the agreed upon method to ensure the international validity of public documents.

find your state Apostille office contact info here: www.footprintsrecruiting.com/apostilles-australia.php
NOTE - if you are abroad please contact the apostille office where the document was issued to ask for instructions.
IN-PERSON DROP OFF - this authentication can be done quickly in-person in most states. If you can't or don't live in a city where there an apostille, can you send your documents to a friend or family member to do it for you?
MAIL IN - in many states this can take a while where if you go in it is instantaneous. If you mail in your application be sure to include a RETURN ENVELOPE with postage and address back to you.
FEE - $60AUD.
indicate that the document is bound for South Korea
do NOT send it to the Korean Consulate/Embassy. Send only to the state office for the Apostille Authentication
You will receive an Apostille certificate that accompanies your record check [see an example here].
Footprints will be conducting its own national database search through an independent agency once you are hired by a school and the results will be attached to your profile which is sent to the school.

Health Statement
this is a simple questionnaire form from the Korean government where you personally answer the questions. Once you arrive in Korea, a full blood test and physical exam will be administered.
the test will include testing for narcotics, TB, HIV, and other communicable diseases. The government suggests that they are not testing for THC or marijuana but please note that smoking marijuana in Korea is a criminal offense and is NOT handled lightly. Foreigners are not exempt and are in fact targeted. DO NOT SMOKE OR BRING ANY DRUGS TO KOREA.
if you do not pass the health exam in Korea you will likely have your visa revoked and will not have a job or health insurance
Click here for a PDF of the Health Statement

A Passport Photocopy
no this is not a photocopy of the cover of your passport. We have had that a lot...
photocopy the information page of your passport
make sure you have at least 6 months on your passport before it expires
make sure there is at least 1 completely empty page in your passport

Resume
print a copy of your resume

Signed Copy of the School Contract
the contract will be provided to you by email once you agree to the contract and the school accepts you as their teacher

4 Passport Sized Photos
standard passport photos - the same that you would need for a new passport
photos must not be older than 6 months

We move to STEP 2 assuming you have been offered and have accepted a teaching contract in Korea.

STEP 2 - Send Your Documents to Korea
- Required Documents:
  1. original degree
  2. 2 sets of sealed university transcripts
  3. notarised criminal background check and appropriate apostille authentication
  4. health check statement
  5. photocopy of the information page of your passport
  6. copy of your resume
  7. a signed copy of the contract
  8. 2 passport sized photos
- Please send your documents by Express Post International or EMS courier. These are available to you at the Australia Post Office.
- Once you've sent your documents, please retain a copy of your invoice with the tracking number of your package and the address you sent it to and please send Footprints a copy of the tracking number and the website that will allow us to track the documents. It is IMPORTANT to spend the extra couple dollars to get the tracking number.
- Once your documents are in Korea, your school will take these documents to the Ministry of Justice and Immigration in Korea to get a Visa Authorization Number for you.
- Within 7-10 working days, the immigration office will issue a Confirmation of Visa Issuance Number also referred to as the Visa Reservation Number or Visa Confirmation Number.
- The number will look something like this: UJBO 08007392 (the first four characters are letters, the remaining characters are numbers)
- The school will then forward this number (by e-mail) to you (or us). You will need this code to put on your teaching visa application for the Korea consulate.

STEP 3 – Apply for your Visa at the Korean Consulate
- We move to this step assuming that you have received your Visa Confirmation Number. If you don't have it, please check with your Placement Coordinator and they will contact the school to see where things currently stand. Korean immigration usually takes 7 to 10 business days to process applications in Korea.
- Two choices: IN-PERSON or by MAIL
- IN-PERSON - is faster and requires you to interview with the consulate
- BY MAIL - send required documents to the Consulate or Embassy with jurisdiction for your state.
- Required Documents

Information for Australians getting E2 visas in Australia

Consulate-General	Address	Phone/Fax	Jurisdiction
Canberra - Korea Embassy	113 Empire Circuit, Yarralumla ACT 2600, Australia	T:(61 2) 6270-4100	ACT, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
Sydney - Korea Consulate	Level 13, 111 Elisabeth St Sydney NSW 2000 Australia	T:61-2-9210-0200 F:61-2-9210-0202	New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland
Sydney - Korea Consulate	G.P.O.Box 1601 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia	T:61-2-9210-0200 F:61-2-9210-0202	New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland