E2 VISA INSTRUCTIONS FOR UK CITIZENS
You have decided to teach in South Korea, congratulations! We are here for you every step of the way as you embark on this wonderful adventure. We have prepared a helpful guide below to help guide you through how to get an E2 Visa.
And hey, if you haven’t even applied for a job in Korea yet and are just 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 help guide you step by step). This saves you time and hassle not having to figure everything out on your own. 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. How to get an E2 visa. E2 Visa Guide. E2 Visa Requirements. E2 Visa instructions.
- Must be a Bachelor’s degree (at minimum) in any discipline
- Must be from an accredited university
- Your degree must be a notarized photocopy with Apostille:
- Take your degree to a local notary public. The lawyer will make a photocopy of it and notarize it.
- Send or take the notarized copy to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the United Kingdom for the Apostille
- Your record check cannot be more than 6 months old when you apply for your teaching visa.
- A ‘Basic’ check is fine – advanced checks are not necessary.
- Use the ACRO Police Certificate Form that you can download here.
- If they ask, tell them it is for the issuance of your working visa for South Korea and if they require a company and address please use Footprints Recruiting and provide our address.
- Have the results sent to you.
- The record check takes up to 40 days to process.
- Check back to make sure progress is being made – you would be amazed how these little things can slip through the cracks and get lost.
- Please note: You can get local or regional police checks or use other background checks like Disclosure Scotland; however, this is less certain and you are likely to run into problems with Korean Immigration (we have seen this happen to some of our British teachers), so it is best to go with the ACRO check.
- Your record check must then be notarized by a local notary public or lawyer. Once notarized, send it to the United Kingdom apostille office for an Apostille Certificate.
- Find your Apostille office contact info here.
- In-person drop-off: the authentication can be done quickly
- Mail in: if you mail in your application be sure to include:
Return envelope with your address and postage.
Fee: £30
Indicate that the document is bound for South Korea. - Do not send it to the Korean Consulate/Embassy. Send it only to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
- 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.
- It is a photocopy 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 one 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.
- Have one additional passport photo on hand for the final stage of the overall E2 visa application process, in Step 3.
Step 2: Send Documents to Korea (Visa Reservation Number)
Checklist of Required Documents:
- Copy of original degree with Apostille
- Notarized Criminal Record Check with Apostille
- Health check statement
- Photocopy of the information page of your passport
- Copy of your resume
- Signed copy of your contract
- Two passport-sized photos
- Please send your documents by Royal Mail Airsure or by International Signed For (both of these systems allow for online tracking).
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 of 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 Korean consulate.
Step 3: Submit Application with the Korean Consulate
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 or send the Korean Visa Application form and the required documents to the Korean Embassy with jurisdiction for your area.
Required Documents to Apply for an E2 Visa at the Korean Consulate: How to get an E2 visa. E2 Visa Guide. E2 Visa Requirements. E2 Visa instructions.
- 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.
- Consuls Checklist: A simple two page document required by the consulate.
- Fee: The cost will be: 25 pounds
* This must 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, Thailand or elsewhere for vacation.
Always call your consulate to ensure you are familiar with their procedures.
Each consulate or embassy has different processing times (from one hour to 5 days), so ask them when it will be ready and let us know as soon as you know so plans can be made. If you didn’t go in person, call the consulate to make sure your they received your documents and to find out when your visa will be ready.
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. How to get an E2 visa. E2 Visa Guide. E2 Visa Requirements. E2 Visa instructions.
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 our Korean Orientation Package? There is loads of information that will help you with culture, packing, arrival information and so forth. How to get an E2 visa. E2 Visa Guide. E2 Visa Requirements. E2 Visa instructions.
Korean Consulate Location
Consulate General – Korean Embassy, London, UK
Address: 60 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6AJ, UK
Phone: +44 20 7227 5500
This consulate is responsible for the United Kingdom.
How to get an E2 visa. E2 Visa Guide. E2 Visa Requirement
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.
Teach English Abroad. Teach in South Korea. How to get an E2 visa. E2 Visa Guide. E2 Visa Requirements. E2 Visa instructions. Teach English in South Korea. How to teach abroad. Apply to teach abroad.