Korean Job Discussion Forums

[yamyam]

[OiGirl]

[vox]

[latinthrilla]

I checked out my university (UWO) in Ontario and it seems pretty easy to get a replacement diploma, it's $44 CND but I may take up to 6 weeks. Here's the link http://www3.registrar.uwo.ca/InfoServices/Diplomas.cfm, I don't know what it's like in other provinces.

GMAN, to get your degree notarized, take it to any lawyer and have them notarize your photo copy (usually do it for free). Take that to the consulate. It may take a couple of days to get it back though.

[Pandora]

[latinthrilla]

Call around, there are tons of laywers who do it for free. I just randomly called up one and he gave me 6 notarized copies. He even made the copies! Gotta love karma.

So I wrote back to the school and told them what the consulates told me. They quickly changed their tune. So to conclude....notarized copies are just fine as long as they are approved by the Korean consulate!

[memorabilis]

Just for the record, your degree is not a piece of paper, it's the accreditation conferred on you by the senate of the university. The piece of paper is your diploma. It varies from university to university on how long it takes to get a replacement. It takes six weeks from mine (U of Ottawa).

The lady at the embassy in Ottawa does speak very good English. I got my degree notarized ($10) by a lawyer and stamped at the embassy (like $2.65). This was in December and it was perfectly acceptable. Unfortunately, I also had to bring sealed transcripts which they then opened, so I had to go get another copy to send to Korea, as they also needed sealed transcripts. That part was truly stupid.

I would advise getting several copies of your transcipts sealed in seperate envelopes at once, as well as a few copies of your degree notarized and stamped and bring them with you. I wish I had done this. When my year's up here if I want to change schools this will be a big hassle.

All the best!

[yamyam]

[Big Mac]

In my case I tried bringing my degree to the consulate in Ottawa first to be notarized. I was promptly turned away and told to go see a lawyer first. I think it cost me $25 for a lawyer to hold the degree up to the light, confirm it was real and write a letter stating that in his opinion my photocopy was a true copy of a genuine document.

Then it was back to the consulate. They took my degree for a couple of days and called my school to find out if I was for real. Then they gave it back to me with some paperwork in Korean to send to immigration in Korea.

So as far as I know, that is the process you have to go through to get it notarized.

As for the transcripts, I had several transcripts made up by my school (Carleton U). They had the university seal on them and it was a watermarked document and they accepted that with no issues. They didn't ask for it in an envelope with a seal and all that jazz. The consulate gave it back to me when they were finished and I sent it in the mail to Korea with all my other documents.

[Qinella]

I sent my original diploma. According to the other responses in this thread, that was apparently a stupid move, but it worked out okay. I've got the diploma in my apartment right now. Was no big deal.

[Big Mac]

[Grotto]

The last 2 times I needed a certified copy of my degree I took my degree(original) to the local immigration office. Told them I needed a certified copy of my degree and they ran a copy off on the photocopier and signed and dated it.

They didnt charge me anything and the process took no more than 3 or 4 minutes.

Before I left this time I did the exact same thing...got a certified copy from immigration before I left the country. Even if you aren't planning on returning its a good idea to do it. Just in case you end up returning.

[VanIslander]

To combat fake degrees, it'll become standard to submit real degrees, increasing the number of "disappeared" and "misplaced" degrees that find their way into the hands of unscupulous directors who re-use them for others.

Of course, this isn't possible if the entire blame for the fake degree scandal falls solely on the shoulders of the teachers involved. It's not like any directors knew of it, any recruiters who encouraged it, nooooooooo.

A teacher should never hand their degree over to any recruiter or any director. It should be presented to a consulate or immigration officer directly, the only parties in the process without a vested interested in keeeping fraud going.

[OiGirl]

[OiGirl]