Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Hotpants]

Bracing myself for not getting renewed in my current job, I'm looking ahead at how I would actually get all the visa docs from within Korea, as this would be my first E2 since 2005. How things were much simpler then ...

Regarding getting the notarization for the degree:

I'm looking at the British Council's 'Verification' service:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/korea-studyuk-verification.htm

They say they can offer EITHER a verfication of higher ed qualifications letter (60,000 for 5 copies) or an official stamp (same price) within 10-30 days.

Would either of these (and which one would I need?) suffice as the equivalent of a notarization? It doesn't sound like it offers the same weight. However, if any of you have recently used the BC to get your docs, I'd appreciate any tips.

I'm aware that I can also go through the FCO Legalization procedure before then posting my docs to the FCO for apostilling, which as both steps are covered by the FCO, probably then offers the BC no advantage whatsoever?

Thanks for any pointers.

[morrisonhotel]

You want the five copy thing from the British Council. The first option is accepted by the FCO for apostille, not sure about the second. You then have two options:

1) Send your documents back to the FCO in Milton Keynes for apostille (or use a private company and get mercilessly ripped off)). You can no longer get your documents apostilled in Korea. It costs 28.80 at the FCO plus whatever the delivery charges are.

2) Send your documents to the embassy in Hong Kong. According to their website, at least about two months ago, they offer apostille services as part of their consular services. Check up on this, though, to see if that's current or not. It doesn't state what they charge but I'd imagine it'd be similar to the FCO.

[Hotpants]

As a follow up for any Brits who are interested:

I've now directly contacted all British embassies/consulates/high commissions in all the neighboring countries to Korea (bar North Korea). NONE of them offer apostillization services. The best they can offer is to 'verify' that your certificates are authentic. I think you could probably get away with such a stamp for the 'notary' part, but it still falls short of the apostille part.

So, in conclusion, it would seem that Milton Keynes remains the ONLY way for apostillizing for Brits. For sure, in the UK alone, no one else except the FCO in Milton Keynes have authorization to apostille docs.

Why is Korea the only country that requires apostilles for a work permit? Grr.

[morrisonhotel]