South Africans – E2 Visa Instructions

E2 VISA INSTRUCTIONS FOR SOUTH AFRICANS

South Africans, please follow these instructions to get your teaching visa for South Korea. This information is for teachers going to private language schools only. The process for public schools is different.

And hey, if you haven’t applied for a job in Korea yet and are doing your research in advance, we encourage you to fill out our one-minute online application. It’s free and our team will connect you to the hiring directors in the best schools (and then help guide you step by step). This saves you time and the hassle of having figure everything out on your own. 

Let’s get started! Teach English Abroad. Teach in South Korea. How to get an E2 visa. E2 Visa Guide. E2 Visa Requirements. E2 Visa instructions.

Step 1: Documents

The first step in this exciting process is to collect and authenticate your documents. Below we have broken down the specific steps for each document. You will need all of them completed before moving on to step 2. 

  • Must be a Bachelor’s degree (at minimum) in any discipline
  • Must be from an accredited university
  • Your degree must be a notorized photocopy that has the consular seal on it:
    • Take your degree to a local notary public or commissioner of oath. The lawyer will make a photocopy of it and notarize it.
    • After your degree copy is notarized, you will send or take the notarized copy to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation in South Africa.
  • Your record check cannot be more than six months old when you are proceeding to step 2.
  • 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 or pick them up yourself.
  • If they ask, tell them it is for Footprints Recruiting and provide our address (see the bottom of our homepage)
    • Note: The website indicates that this could take 28 working days to issue a certificate.

Once you have your criminal record check, this report must be notarized. Take your degree to a local notary public or commissioner of oath to notarize.

  • Once notarized, send it to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation in South Africa for an Apostille Certification/Authentication. Apostille is a French word for authentication or legalization. Do not send it to the Korean Consulate/Embassy. Send only to the Department of International Relations for the Apostille Authentication.
  • Find your Apostille office contact info.
  • Mail In: if you mail in your application be sure to include a return envelope with postage and return address and indicate that the document is bound for South Korea.
  • Note: if you are abroad please contact the nearest Sout African Embassy or Consulate
  • You will receive an Apostille certificate that accompanies your record check.
  • This is a simple questionnaire form from the Korean government on which 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 ANY DRUGS TO KOREA, OR USE ANY THERE.
  • 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.
  • This is a photocopy of the information page of your passport.
  • Make sure you have at least six months on your passport before it expires.
  • Make sure there is at least 1 completely empty page in your passport
  • Print a copy of your resume.
  • The contract will be provided to you by e-mail once you agree to it and the school accepts you as their teacher.
  • These are standard passport photos – the same that you would need for a new passport.
  • The photos must not be older than 6 months.

Step 2: Send Documents to Korea (Visa Reservation Number)

Checklist of Required Documents: 

  1. Copy of original degree with Apostille
  2. One set of sealed university transcripts
  3. Notarized criminal record check with Apostille
  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. Two passport-sized photos

Please send your documents by South African Post Office Registered Mail.

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 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. Teach English Abroad. Teach in South Korea. How to get an E2 visa. E2 Visa Guide. E2 Visa Requirements. E2 Visa instructions.

Step 3: Submit Application with 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.

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. Teach English Abroad. Teach in South Korea. How to get an E2 visa. E2 Visa Guide. E2 Visa Requirements. E2 Visa instructions.

E2 Teaching Visa Application Form – here are some fields on the application form that you might have questions about :

  • Classification: OR – ordinary (unless you are a diplomat!)
  • Occupation: English Teacher
  • Purpose of Entry: To teach English
  • Potential Length of Stay: 1 year
  • Address in Korea: same address to which you sent all your documentation
  • Who Will Pay For The Expense For Your Stay?: Employer
  • Guarantor or Reference in Korea: same person to whom you sent all your documentation

Take the Visa Application form and the required documents to the Korean Consulate with jurisdiction for your state or area.

Required Documents to Apply for an E2 Teaching Visa at the Korean Consulate:

  • Completed E2 Visa Application Form
  • 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.
  • Photo: You will need to send a passport picture with your application.
  • Confirmation of Visa Issuance Number: fill in the reservation number at the top of application form.
  • Transcripts: Send one set of sealed transcripts to the consulate (not a stated requirement but better safe than sorry)
  • Consul’s Checklist: A simple two page document required by the consulate.
  • Fee: The cost will be: R350.00
    • This must be cash or a money order.
    • You are generally given a multi-entry visa immediately upon application (typically without having to ask for it). Make sure of this – if you don’t have this multi-entry capability, your visa will expire if you leave Korea to visit Japan, Thailand or elsewhere for vacation.

The actual visa issuance takes 3 working days. They might request an interview in person with the Consul General if they need additional documents and proof. Your visa will be processed after that.

Always call your consulate to ensure you are familiar with their procedures.

Once you have received 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 Is are dotted and Ts are crossed. Have you read through the Footprints Teacher Korean Orientation Package? There is loads of information that will help you with culture, packing, arrival information and so forth.

Korean Consulate Location

Korean Consulate in Pretoria
Address: Greenpark Estates Building No. 3,27. George Storrar Drive, Groenkloof, Pretoria, 0181, South Africa.
Phone: (27-12) 460 – 2508

Responsible for all of South Africa

Additional Resources:

Read on: We have built some really useful guides for teachers and people working online or overseas. Check out our comprehensive guide to teaching abroad, our guide to online teaching jobs and learn how best to write or update your teacher job resume (including a sample resume for teachers without experience). Dig in deeper by learning how to create a positive learning environment or what you can do to practice culturally responsive teaching. A wealth of similar guides and articles are available in our resources section. Are you eager to apply for jobs and register for programs? You can do that quickly on our easy general application that covers all the teaching jobs that we offer. For a little bit more background information on the steps required to teach english abroad and online, head to our home page. If you have other regions in mind, read up on teaching english in Korea and teaching in Dubai – or check out our “Teaching Locations” in the menu at the top of this page. 

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