Job Discussion Forums

hellerson · Joined: 28 Apr 2008 Posts: 10

Hi All,

I'm interested in coming over and have found some excellent information from this board. However, while the information on visa documents for US citizens seems complete, I'm a bit unsure what needs to be done, coming as I do from the UK.

Ok, so I need my original BA, CELTA and criminal records check certificates and they all need to be notarised. So far so simple. However, while it seems US citizens can get their docs notarised in Vietnam, are there any UK teachers who have achieved this or have you had to send everything back to the UK to have it done?

Also, I'm not clear what I need for the criminal record check. I could either apply for the "basic disclosure" from the CRB or make a "subject access request" from my local force. Are there any Brits out there who have gone through this and have any advice?

BenE · Joined: 11 Oct 2008 Posts: 321

The simple answer is 'yes'

The British embassy provide the service but charge a hefty fee per document. I'd recommend you do it here though because it's better to have a stamp from the Hanoi embassy than from anywhere else as I doubt they will recognise anything else.

wasted_ace19 · Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Posts: 41

Hellerson - I'm from the UK, leaving for VN in 6 weeks, and have been having similar concerns regarding criminal records checks.

I think just a Basic Disclosure is fine. To be honest I didn't realise there was an alternative to Disclosure, but when I phoned them to ask whether to get a "Basic" or "Standard" Disclosure, I was told that people about to leave for teaching in Asia (she used Thailand and South Korea as examples) were all just going with the Basic. I therefore got a Basic myself. She made no mention of "subject access requests", and neither has anyone on this forum...hence my ignorance of the concept.

However I'm well aware that any "cases pending" and out-of-court fines would not show up on the Basic Disclosure, so TBH I'd understand if the authorities didnt accept it. But I think they will. I just sense that I'd know about it by now if Disclosure wasn't sufficient.

Mine has arrived now and it certainly looks like something the authorities would accept! Once its notarized, I'll be confident.

Sorry I couldn't be more help. I actually started a similar thread recently and got no responses despite hundreds of views, so it seems there isn;t as much knowledge on this matter as there should be.

wasted_ace19 · Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Posts: 41

AHAAA. I seem to have quickly got to the bottom of it.

Are you from Scotland? I've just been on a website giving advice to people going to Korea to teach from the UK, which says that In England & Wales, the police check needed is called a "subject access request"...and in Scotland, "Basic Disclosure".

So this answers your question ("disclosure or subject access request??") and mine ("which type of disclosure should I get??")

I do my best. Wink

Best of luck mate

hellerson · Joined: 28 Apr 2008 Posts: 10

Hey WA, thanks for the heads up. Are you Scottish then?

I checked out some Korea boards as well and some with replies last month where people were saying both were acceptable for Korea and lots of peeps saying they had been successful with basic disclosure.

For Vietnam though... Anyone out there who's actually from UK and has a WP? Which did you use?

Wasted Ace, you getting your docs notarised and apostilled here or in VN?

BenE, how much do you mean by expensive?

wasted_ace19 · Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Posts: 41

Aye I'm from the Scottish Borders. Did my CELTA 6 weeks ago in Edinburgh.

To clarify:

Both the "subject access request", and "disclosure" (of some sort) have to be acceptable because they are essentially the same thing. The former is for England & Wales, the latter Scotland. (According to what I've read).

Therefore the only problems I anticipate with my Disclosure form is that the authorities want a "Standard" or even "enhanced" one; I only have a "basic". But as I say, over the phone the Disclosure Scotland employee recommended just getting the Basic- based on the requests they've had from people going to Korea. And clearly, what you've read on the Korea board backs this up.

One would think that Korea and Vietnam would have the same rules; if there even is a "rule" with regard to Scottish Disclosure forms- they probably dont know much about the whole setup. But then that could be a bad thing- they might just demand an enhanced disclosure to be on the safe side. Dont think so, though Smile

I dont know what I'm doing regarding notarization. For starters I need to wait for my CELTA certificate to arrive (absolute JOKE how long its taking).

What are you doing??

hellerson · Joined: 28 Apr 2008 Posts: 10

In fact as far as I understand it, we can both apply for both. A subject access request is made under freedom of information laws, which will apply to the UK as a whole, the basic disclosure, just happens to be from disclosure scotland because that's the company that dispenses them for the whole uk. The sensible thing is probably to get both but the basic disclosure at least comes within 14 days, whereas the subject access request takes a lot longer. They couldn't ask you to get the standard or enhanced as only registered employers can request them, not individuals, so it wouldn't be possible for you to apply and clearly they are not registered to apply or they would do it themselves (as international schools do I believe).

I'm still not sure where I want to go; VN, Thailand, Cambodia or Indonesia so trying to scope out the lay of the land for them all. Are you just going to head on over to VN and try and find a job there? If you're all ready to go, it might be worth applying to some of the schools like ILA and Apollo and they would probably be able to tell you one way or the other about the visa stuff.

BenE · Joined: 11 Oct 2008 Posts: 321

With regard to the questions people have been asking me. (Also in PM)

Firstly I have a work permit and I went through the full process.

I'd recommmend you get your documents legalised here by the British embassy in Hanoi. It's about 25 quid per document. THEN you need to get them legalised by the Vietnamese office. (I've forgotten what it's called)
THEN you have to get them translated into Vietnamese by a recognised translation firm (that's actually quite cheap and the school SHOULD help you here) Finally you need to make sure you are working for a school that is willing to sponsor you. Many schools may say 'yes' but there are quite a lot that will do nothing.

It's a complicated process but once you have done it you should be ok.

Just remember to bring

-Criminal Check (basic is fine)
-Degree Cert (not a photocopy)
-CELTA cert.

You do the medical check here and your school should help you with the process. Good luck when you arrive!

hellerson · Joined: 28 Apr 2008 Posts: 10

Firstly I have a work permit and I went through the full process.

I'd recommmend you get your documents legalised here by the British embassy in Hanoi. It's about 25 quid per document. THEN you need to get them legalised by the Vietnamese office. (I've forgotten what it's called)
THEN you have to get them translated into Vietnamese by a recognised translation firm (that's actually quite cheap and the school SHOULD help you here) Finally you need to make sure you are working for a school that is willing to sponsor you. Many schools may say 'yes' but there are quite a lot that will do nothing.

It's a complicated process but once you have done it you should be ok.

Just remember to bring

-Criminal Check (basic is fine)
-Degree Cert (not a photocopy)
-CELTA cert.

Hi BenE,

Thanks that's great information. Whereabouts in the UK are you from?

When you say "Criminal Check (basic is fine)", you mean from Disclosure Scotland right?

On another subject, how is the market for teachers at the moment?

Thanks again for the information.