Korean Job Discussion Forums

[freebeacher]

This email was received in response to my query as to whether, as a US citizen, and never having held an E-2 visa before and never having been to Korea, I could avoid returning to the USA for the required interview and E-2 visa issuance. I am now in Australia. I was told new immigration laws passed in late-2007 meant new teachers could only get the E-2 in their home country.


Dear XXXXX;

This is Ji Hye Han from Korean Council for University Education(KCUE).

Thank you for your e-mail.

To get E-2 visa, you have to get an official document called "Verification of Academic Records" issued by our organization. we can't take any personal degree verification request, so your job recuriter or potential employer should

make a request instead of you, submit a copy of certificate and singed consent form.

After your degree is verified, you can apply for an E2 visa at any Korean embassy/consulate of a third party country. You don't have to go back to the USA, you can go to Japan or another country close to where you live.


This is our verification service website : http://cs.kcue.or.kr/ Unfortunately, all are wirtten in Korean. So I advise you to ask your Korean friends to help make a verification request for you.

I hope that this is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Ji Hye Han




Ji Hye Han(Ms.) Academic Verification Team


Korean Council for University Education

11th floor, 1601 KGIT, Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 121-270, KOREA

Telephone: +82 2 6393 5237

Facsimile: +82 2 6393 5230

E-mail: [email protected]


Homepage: http://english.kcue.or.kr
ReplyReply All Move...

[Ut videam]

This is correct.

The E-2 regulations were revised in late 2007. They require first-time E-2 applicants to interview at the Korean embassy/consulate in their country of citizenship for visa issuance UNLESS the applicant's degree is verified by the KCUE.

As the e-mail stated, the KCUE does not accept individual requests for verification. Your recruiter or employer needs to request it on your behalf. When the verification has been completed, a notification will be made on your immigration file that will allow you to have your E-2 issued in a third country with no need for an interview.

[Tobias]

The fog is starting to lift a bit with all this new visa nonsense.

So the latest word is "One doesn't HAVE to fly back home to get ANOTHER E2", unless he is requested to do that by immigration due to a problem with the CRC or a Korean immi problem.

I hope I don't have to fly all the way back to the US for a simple piece of paper for my passport, Korea.

[freebeacher]

Thank you.

However, I doubt I can accomplish this by the time my Australian visa expires Oct. 10. leaving just over 20 days.

[losing_touch]

Yes, it is correct. I am assuming that you are the one I sent over here from the Lonely Planet site referring to my response to your post. That being said, my verification took something like 10 days. Then, it is a matter of getting the number. I don't think you can do it in 20 days because you need to set up the job and ship your degree off to Korea. However, if you do get it started, you can have the verification start and go have a good time in Thailand for a while while you wait for the rest of the documents to catch up.

[Ut videam]

[Tobias]

Actually, it IS the latest word, given all the different opinions on this subject one encounters. I think I've heard about 5 versions so far. Probably have read about that many here.

Stay a day over and it'll cost you 1500 in a plane ticket, in other words.

If this is the real deal, I wonder about my colleagues who have gone back home to get a simple document and then claimed we all MUST do the same. Very interesting, indeed.

[Ut videam]

[freebeacher]

Thanks. Most, many, some recruiting agencies are unaware of this also. Teachaway is a Toronto based company that recruits teachers for Korea. I dealt with someone named Rene there and this recruiter insisted I had to return to the USA from Australia and would not assist me further.

[freebeacher]

Our Purpose

The Academic Records Verification Service (ARVS) of the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) inspects and verifies information related to post-secondary academic qualifications and institutions on behalf of organizations wishing to confirm the credentials of prospective or existing personnel, students, etc.


Who We Serve


The service is limited to verification requests for official purposes by legitimate post-secondary education institutions, businesses, government agencies, and other similar organizations; we are unable to process requests by individuals. We currently process requests from organizations based in South Korea to confirm academic credentials obtained at either domestic or foreign education institutions. The KCUE plans to expand the service in the future to include processing requests from organizations worldwide regarding academic qualifications obtained at any post-secondary education institutions in South Korea.

What We Verify

Authenticity of degrees obtained at any institution of post-secondary education
Accreditation status/legitimacy of degree conferring institution
Other information related to evaluation/recognition of degree conferring institution

Time & Cost

Requests regarding academic qualifications obtained at education institutions in South Korea are generally processed within 15 days.

Requests regarding academic qualifications obtained at overseas education institutions require between 7 and 40 days to process depending on various factors such as country of origin, the ability and willingness of relevant institutions to respond promptly, etc.

Although exact charges can only be calculated upon completion of processing due to varying time and effort required with individual cases, the following table provides estimates for different institutional locations:

Location of Degree-
Conferring Institution

Cost of Verification
(in South Korean won)


South Korea (request for 1-9 persons) 5,000 won per institution
South Korea
(request for more than 9 persons) 5,000 won per institution
+ 1,000 won per person
United States (simple case) 20,000 won
United States (complex case) 45,000 won
Canada 40,000 won
Japan 30,000 won
China (including Hong Kong) 30,000 won
Taiwan 35,000 won
Philippines 35,000 won
Thailand 35,000 won
Vietnam 35,000 won
India 35,000 won
Europe 40,000 won
Russia 45,000 won
Australia 40,000 won
New Zealand 40,000 won


Protection of Information

ARVS strictly controls the release of information obtained during the verfication process. Information is only given to legitimate requesting organizations and is limited to facts relevant to proving the validity of academic records. We do not sell or otherwise distribute any information obtained to any entity other than the requesting organization.





Copyright ⓒ 2008 by the Korean Council for University Education
KGIT Sangam Center 11th Fl, Mapo-gu Sangam-dong 1601, Seoul 121-270, South Korea E-mail:[email protected]

[DongtanTony]

Wow...great information in this post...

I'm kinda surprised the KCUE process hasn't become a sticky yet. Maybe some of us should try to get the mods to start one. It is a valuable tool...and my employer and I have used their services a number of times now to get our teachers over here without the interview...when time is tight...or if they're coming from a third country.

The one issue...especially having teachers come from a third country...is the verification procedure of the criminal check.

Depending on your home country...and how Korean Immigration requirements apply for the purposes of acquiring, or not acquiring an apostille...you should not...under any circumstances...NEVER acquire an embassy affidavit from a third country!!!

Korean Immigration will not accept an affidavit from a foreign embassy outside Korea...at least in my experiences helping recruit teachers for my employer's schools.

Go through the procedure of acquiring all necessary verification forms for your CRC from your home country...or negotiate with your employer for the visa run after a trip to your respective embassy IN KOREA!!

The KCUE process will verify your credentials...and it will grant you a waiver of the interview requirement...but you must acquire all necessary verification documents of your CRC beforehand...in order to have that visa issued in a third country.

Also...remember that the KCUE process must be initiated by your employer sponsoring your visa. An individual cannot initiate this process for themselves...unfortunately.

Mods...I sincerely hope someone creates a sticky regarding the KCUE process.

[losing_touch]

Fantastic information from the above poster regarding the CBC. I was not aware of this when I did it. I took care of it in the states though (well .. family did).

[freebeacher]

DongtanTony:

Being in Korea now can you please suggest 2 or 3 quality schools in Busan I could apply to, especially who might need teachers quickly?

I am looking to teach adults or university students, which I am told is less common than children, but not uknown. I do not want to teach children.

I am a US citizen in Australia now.

I looked into the crim. record from Hawaii. It is a time consuming process. I must write a letter (not a fax or email) to the appropriate office and include a money order for $USD20. It will take 5-7 days to get there. Then, it takes 5-7 days to process the criminal record. Then it must be mailed fom the office to the Lt. Governor, who acts as the Secretary of State in Hawaii. There it must be apostilled for $USD1. But it cannot be done while waiting, it takes 2-5 days. I tried to ask if a friend of mine in Hawaii can be notified by the crim. office when the record is ready so he could pick it up with my authorization and drive it to the Lt. Governor for the apostille. I was told no, it has to be mailed. Another day for that. Hawaii's neighbor islands (Maui, Big Island, Kauai) have satellite Lt. Governor offices and courthouses that one can read criminal abstracts online for free, they are public record. Only the main office in Honolulu can process the written one. And only the Lt. Governor himself in Honolulu, not staff at his satellite offices, can apostille as he does it personally. My friend is on Kauai island, so that does me no good. Then the Lt. Governor must mail the apostilled abstract to me, not to Korea, which will be another 5-7 days. Time elapsed, minimum 18 working days to 27 days. Exhaustive process.