Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kingstonian]

Getting my documents together for Korea and just got my criminal check back from disclosure scotland today.

Going to send off that along with my degree to be apostilled but am unsure whether I need a notary for either of these documents or what that even is.

Also can you simply send off a copy or do you need the original documents.

Very confused.

[Jingo besus]

you need to start with the original copy of your disclosure document and a photocopy of your degree certificate.
phone around solicitors in your area and ask if they offer a notary service, they might also describe this as 'swearing' the document, either way, you need that service. i'm guessing you didnt ask for your disclosure to be notary stamped, but if theres a notary stamp on there then that is sorted, you dont need to get it stamped again.

take the documents that need a stamp to them, it shouldn't cost you more than 5 quid per document so if you get quoted a lot more then keep phoning round, one place i spoke to wanted 40 per document.

once you have an original stamped disclosure and a stamped photocopy of your degree, go to http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/what-we-do/services-we-deliver/legal-services/Legalisation/030-Links/010-How-to-apply/ and follow the steps....

i'm doing this for the first time as well and understanding the system took a lot of sitting quietly in a dark room until the headaches passed...

[bentobento]

From what I know, both your degree and CRC need to be notarized before being apostilled. Having your documents notarized just means that someone verified that it is a true document. Do not send your original degree. Make a copy and bring both the original and copy to the notary.

Your CRC should be notarized by your government.

[Jingo besus]

[bentobento]

[Jingo besus]

the copy of the degree just has to be stamped by the notary solicitor. i actually work at the uni where my degree was issued and could get an original copy for free or a stamp from them to verify the photocopy, but the FCO wont accept a notary stamp by the issuing uni and the korean embassy wont accept original degrees. red tape

[Weetabix TEFL Certified]

Please do not listen to the American posters on here who have absolutely no idea how the UK process works! Because of them I wasted time, energy and money.

Your document from DS does NOT need to be signed by a notary; only your degree does.

As long as there is a signature on the check this will suffice.

I know this from experience!

The Americans go through a totally different process!

[Jingo besus]

my understanding was that unless you specifically asked in advance, DS wouldnt put the notary stamp and signature on your document, hence why i reccomended taking it to a notary. he's gonna have to go with his degree anyway and no solicitor is going to stamp an already stamped document, i dont think he's in too much danger of wasting time and money.

[kingstonian]

No disclosure stamp on the DS document so I will have to get that done.

So I get a copy of the degree certificate notarised and then get that apostilled, not the original document?

Cheers for the advice

[Jingo besus]

yeah, take your photocopy and original degree to the solicitors, but only get the stamp on the photocopy and only send the photocopy to the fco.

hope it works out, i'm still a few steps behind you so its a mystery to me too...

[Setaro]

Ignore this crap about 'Notarisation'. You just need any registered solicitor to 'certify as genuine/a genuine copy', personally sign it, date it, stamp it, done. Then send that to the FCO for the apostille.

Shouldn't cost more than 5 pound for each document to be certified as genuine. Any solicitors who try to charge you 40 or 50 pound for the honour of a signature are literally trying to rob you blind. My mate comes to Korea next month, he had to go to 4 solicitors to find one who didn't either directly lie to him, or try to rob him.

[Jingo besus]

Edit: its possible that i'm a wasteman.

[Setaro]

A notary public and a solicitor are not one and the same in the UK. A notary in America is someone who can legally sign a document as genuine. A Notary in the UK is heavily specialised, and thus charges 50/60/70 pounds per document.

Solicitors are the closest thing to American 'Notaries', and charge around 5 pound per document. I was just trying to save the OP a lot of money, seeing as all the information online is skewed towards Americans and their needs when it comes to documents/apostilles.

The FCO will apostille a document certified as genuine by a registered solicitor. There's no special stamp needed, merely the solicitor signing the back saying 'I certify this document is a genuine (copy of the) original", + the solicitor's office stamp, + name and signature.

[Chimie]

Go to a bank where you have an account. Most should provide the service for free, as loans, mortgages and the such all need notarization.

Notarization isn't too terribly rare.. or so I thought. O.o;

[Setaro]