Footprints Recruiting

Please follow these instructions for South African 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.
  1. Original University Degree
     • degree must be a Bachelor's degree (at minimum) in any discipline
     • 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 or the commissioner of oath
         • send or take the notarised copy to the apostille in South Africa or you can take it to the nearest Korean Embassy and have them notarise it
  2. 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 
     • 1 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
  3. Police Clearance Certificate (apostille authenticated)
     http://www.dfa.gov.za/consular/policeclear.htm
     • R59.00 (either a South African cheque, banker's draft or money order, made payable to the South African Police Service, is acceptable)
     • the record check must be less than 6 months old
     • 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
     • their website indicates that this could take 28 working days to issue a certificate
     • 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 local notary public or lawyer
     • once notarised, send it to the send the locally notarised record check results to the South Africa apostille office 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-south-africa.php
     • NOTE - if you are abroad please contact the nearest South African Embassy or Consulate
     • IN-PERSON DROP OFF - not sure if this can actually be done…
     • MAIL IN - if you mail in your application be sure to include a RETURN ENVELOPE with postage and address back to you
     • 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
  4. 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 BRING or DO 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
  5. 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
  6. Resume
     • print a copy of your resume
  7. 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
  8. 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 South African Post Office Registered Mail
  • please advise if there are any couriers in South African that can provide international tracking numbers that will allow us to track documents in Korea This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• 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 and Interview or Introduction CD

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.

Once you have your Visa Issuance Number it is time to send or take your application and application documents to the Korean Consulate or Embassy nearest to you. Check the links below to find out which office has jurisdiction for your state.

1. Complete the E2 Visa Application Form
2. Passport: Make sure you have your passport ready, that there is 6 months validity left on it and that there is at least 1 empty page. Make sure it's signed too.
3. Photo: You will need to send a passport picture with your application or a picture that is 2 inches by 2 inches.
4. Confirmation of Visa Issuance Number: Fill in the reservation number at the top of application form.
5. Transcripts: Send one set of sealed transcripts to the consulate (not a stated requirement but better safe than sorry)
6. Interview or Voice Recording CD Sample
   • Interview - those in or around Gauteng will be required to come in for an interview. Anyone outside this area is welcome to send a voice or video recording on a CD.
   • Voice Recording - read and record your voice or video tape yourself following the summary outline attached here:
   • Click here to download it
7. Fee: The cost will be: R350.00
   • This HAS TO BE cash or a money order – this will likely be a single entry visa – you can change your visa to a multi-entry visa when you get your registration card in Korea. There is an additional cost for this but it will allow you to leave Korea and return on the same visa. If you don’t have this, your visa will expire if you leave Korea to visit Japan or Thailand or elsewhere for vacation.

The actual visa issuance takes 3 working days. If you are going IN-PERSON arrangements will be made for the in-person interview when you drop your documents off.

Once you receive your passport back with your E-2 visa, you are all set to begin your journey to Korea! Your Placement Coordinator should have been working with you on arrangements for your flight arrival and your airport pickup. Keep in touch with your Placement Coordinator so they can make sure all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed. Have you read through the Korean Orientation Package? There is LOADS of information that will help you with culture, packing, arrival information and so forth. 

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