Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chachee99]

My employer ended my contract and I need to get my degree notorized. BEcause my employer termintate my contract they have refused to use KCUE method many schools follow.





The school said they would give me a letter of release, but I called immigration and they said even witha letter of release I will have to submit a nortized copy of my degree if I want to transfer my visa if I work with a new employer after September 1.

I work for a private school so I can only transfer my visa to a public school, another private school, or university or college/. I cannot transfer to a hogwon because I am just short of the six month mark.

My plan right now is to leave Korea and come back with a tourist visa. My new CRC is already on should be ready within a week. So, that's not a problem.

How can I my degree notorized in Korea? Or do I have to go back to Canada and get it done? Also how long does it take to get my degree notorized in Korea?

[chachee99]

bump

[passport220]

I am in a similar situation as you, I have not done it yet but I think for an American you can do it as follows:

1) Take your degree and have it notarized at the US Embassy in Seoul
2) Send it off to Washington DC to have the notarization apostilled: http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth/index.htm

Change US Embassy to Canadian Embassy and Change Washington D.C. To Ottawa for Canadians?

[ttompatz]

Canadians can't get an apostille (not a signatory to the treaty).

OP: Your NEW employer can get your degree certified by the KCUE then apply for your new visa confirmation number.

It does take about 30 days and once it is done you shouldn't need to repeat the procedure (even if you change jobs).

The only other option is to pop into the Korean consulate at home and get it certified (if you make a trip home any time in the near future).

Get several copies done (they cost about $3 each) so you don't need to go through this next time.

.

[lazurus]

http://www.studentclearinghouse.org/secure_area/DVEV/dvev_bridge.asp

[kiteflyer]

Sorry to inform you, but in America, a university diploma is a STATE-issued document. Please read the policy of the U.S. Secretary of State on document apostilles at this website address:

http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth/c16921.htm

"Please also note that the U.S. Department of State will not issue an apostille for State-issued documents."

If the OP is an American, he or she will have to 1) first get a notary (must be physically-present to do this) in the STATE of Diploma's issuance

2) send out NOTARIZED copy of the diploma to SAME STATE'S Secretary of State Office for the APOSTILLE.

3) Realistic option B: find a non-related Korean business owner [i.e NOT the hagwon who has offered the Letter of Release and is being uncooperative with the KCUE forms/diploma verification request] and ask THEM to make the KCUE request on your behalf. It can be done. All they have to have is a Korean business license (let's say, a smaller-run recruitment firm or agency). Appeal to their senses by informing them that YOU will be making them money by being able to place you, in the long run. YOU are helping them, in advance, as NO ONE will hire you without the paperwork, in hand.

It is senseless to interview until the paperwork is done.

Be prepared for a 6-7 week wait, through KCUE.

In that time, you may book a RT plane ticket to "somewhere" while you WAIT for the diploma to be returned, stamped... to the requesting Korean business. The requesting business does not necessarily have to be your new employer.

You may want to consider offering to pay for the KCUE fee. Since the business, itself, has no financial/hiring interest in you. Be sure it is someone you trust, as you will need that document in your hand, not held by them in-hand when it returns, as a form of control.

Cost: about 65,000 won through KCUE.

Cost of return home to YOUR STATE OF DIPLOMA ISSUANCE: Go figure. If you live in California and graduated from a Connecticut university and, upon your return home have to pick up a visa at the Embassy in Whereverland, USA, (which will most likely happen, if you are recruited while you are in the USA) this may be a financially inept decision.

Good news is: Once the verified/apostilled diploma is submitted to Korean Immigration for a new job (on or after Sept. 01), it NEVER HAS TO BE DONE AGAIN. It goes on digital file at the Immigration Office, so (for those of us who are Americans) all we will have to do for future E2 visa CBC paperwork is file for the FBI CBC (which is also a lengthy process) and APOSTLLE it for the job, upcoming, if you choose to stay another year. The APOSTILLED CBC will be required for each new job. Note as of Dec. 31, 2010, U.S. citizens must submit an FBI CBC with APOSTILLE. FBI website claims a 12 week turnaround. Let's hope for a shorter period than that.

[passport220]

[greasylake]

I graduated from a school in New Jersey. I recently sent a scanned copy of my diploma to my family in California. They got it notarized, and then Apostilled in California. It is currently in route to me via mail.

Will immigration accept this or will they only accept it if it is appostilled in the state it came from?

[kardisa]

[kiteflyer]

Yes, Immigration does not care where the diploma is apostilled.

However, in America, each of the 50 states have their own govts., which make their own laws. My particular state of graduation and the states surrounding it require the diploma to be apostilled in the state where it was issued, and it must be notarized, first, in the state of the diploma's issuance.

"An Apostille is a verification of a notary and that the document has been properly notarized by a Virginia notary. Before submitting the document to our office for authentication, it will need to be properly notarized by a Virginia notary."

Information on how to submit the document to our office for authentication can be found on our website:
http://www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/Authentications/authentications.cfm

North Carolina Secretary of State/apostille website says much the same:

http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/authen/aposinfo.aspx

"Documents (transcripts, report cards, diplomas) issued by a North Carolina university, college, community college or high school must be notarized by a North Carolina Notary Public. A school seal applied to the document by the school registrar is not acceptable."

[passport220]

[kiteflyer]

I wrote you a PM

[GTG09]

Im reading through all this and finding conflicting statements from different people. I am a US citizen and graduated from a school in Michigan. My current contract won't end until next February but I planned to take care of my degree soon to get it out of the way. Will I be able to mail my original degree back home and have my Father get it notarized and appostilled or do you have to do it in person? Also, how long will the FBI checks be good for?

[kiteflyer]

http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-1638_48214---,00.html

Why don't you write them a letter and find out more? Seems pretty unclear, which may work to your advantage or maybe not.

Look for the "contact us" link at the top of the www. page.

I mean, ...what does this really say?:

"Verify that your documents have been signed by an official whose signature the Secretary of State has authority to authenticate [Ok, ... whose signature can the SoS verify?]
Verify that all vital records are certified copies"

"If your documents were notarized, verify that the notary included all of the required information" [OK, ...what's the "required information?"]

Any public office that does not make the process explicitly clear on the official website is only inviting phone call after phone call...e-mail after e-mail of citizens who need to clarify what they could have publicly-posted.

The FBI CBC is only valid for 6 months from the date of its issuance (although I've passed mine through immigration with the docs being valid for 6 months after the APOSTILLED date, which is a couple of weeks later than the CBC issuance date).

[kiteflyer]