Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tom.efl]

Hi,

I've been reading up on how to go about obtaining an E2 visa (recruiters don't seem interested unless you have all of your documents ready to go) and I just want to check I've got the size of it:

Apply for basic disclosure Scotland (£25) and ask them to notarise it (for free!)
Get a copy of my degree certified at a solicitors (£10)
Send both to FCO to be legalised (£65.50)
Get two copies of my university transcripts (they charge, does anyone know how to get them for free?!)
Have some passport size photos ready
Apply for jobs and actually be considered for a position because I've got everything together

Am I missing something?

[ttompatz]

Pretty much sums it up if you are just looking for a hagwon job.

.

[larry72]

Just been through this process

Disclosure Scotland - £25 - you receive it, check it's OK and then mail it back with a stamped envelope - following this pay online and send it off to the FCO with a stamped envelope - Further £30

Degree Certificate - £27 solicitors/notary public fees plus £30 for the FCO - solicitors dealt with the FCO for this

Degree Transcripts - they're expensive, mine where somewhere around £80-100. I also had mine notarised and legalised along with the degree certificate. Not necessary but useful for future visa applications - same as the Degree Certificate - £57 total

Further £7.20 postage for those two


Would also highly advise contacting a Uni tutor for a reference letter and at least one previous employer - offer to write a draft for them to add to/review if they're not forthcoming.

These were the cheapest costs by quite some margin - documents aren't cheap!

Happy to provide details of the solicitors via pm

[tom.efl]

Thanks for the replies, I've found a local solicitor who can certify my degree copy for me. I think I'll just have to pay for my transcripts, but they're only £10 per copy.

There are a lot of jobs going up daily on this site for Korea, but around what time do they start tailing off again? I'm hoping that I wont be too late to get something once I've got all of my documents sorted out, which should be by the 1st September.

[stormysky84]

Hi - I wonder if anyone can clear this up for me please? My bf and I are both British, with degrees from British unis and we're just getting all our documents ready for the visa as we hope to leave at the beginning of November.
Following all the advice, we're trying to get everything ready before we contact schools and recruiters.
All the information I've read about E2 Visas states that we need our DBS certificates and degree certificates notarised and apostilled. Does anyone know if the certificates actually need to be notarised, or simply verified before being apostilled?
The cost difference is huge, and only a notary can notarise (duh!) but any solicitor canverify a document.
Any advice would be great - I've read a thousand recruiters' websites, and lots of forums, but I can't quite get to the bottom of it!

[ttompatz]

In the case of the degree you need a "Certified True Copy" made by a notary.

The transcripts do NOT need to be verified, certified, notarized or otherwise authenticated. They should be university issued and in a uni-sealed envelope.

In the case of the police check then whatever the FCO wants done this week before they put an apostille on it.

.

[stormysky84]

Thanks so much - your definitive answer was very helpful!.. Shame it's not the cheaper option of the two that I was hoping for, haha!

[Aine1979]

The charge will depend on the notary, so contact as many as you can find and ask their charge. The notary I went to did 2 copies of my degree and my CBC, plus the same for my boyfriend, so 6 documents total, for £20.

[Andyc24_uk]

Disclosure Scotland will notarize the documents for you if you get a CRB check from them. It's a silly and unnecessarily complicated process whereby you order the check, they send it to you, and you have to then send it back to get notarized - but they'll do it for the cost of a stamped addressed envelope (about £2 or so upwards depending on how you send it). They've always been quick for me in the past, should be able to get the whole thing done inside 2 weeks.

[PedanticGiraffe]

[stevieg4ever]

This is great, really helpful and concise information. However, what about the cost of the visa itself (£80 I believe but difficult to confirm) and you may want to include the cost of Fed-Exing.

[stevieg4ever]

On that note, what courier did people use? Seems to be cheaper now with a lot more providers than just the usual suspects.

[wonkavite62]

Judging from what I have just read, then, it seems that the U.K. criminal record check also needs to be notarised before I apply for the apostille. I have just applied for the criminal record check. I already have a notarised degree with the apostille form attached, but I am kind of annoyed that the criminal record check may take another 2 weeks! I am hoping to go back to Korea relatively soon. But this is far better than what I heard happened to FBI checks the other year in the USA. I think some people had to wait 6 months.

For the record, I previously applied for university transcripts and from my university, they were relatively cheap.

[Hotpants]

There is/was a link to a list of solicitors on the fco apostille site. I emailed half a dozen on the list to enquire about certification costs, and a couple of the came back to say they would offer the service for free. So, do ask around to save those pennies.