Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rusty1983]

Can anyone tell me what level of Criminal Background check I need for a Korean visa now? Can I just get it through the police or will it have to be a third party?

[willteachforfood]

All that is required for immigration is Level 2....but some schools require Level 3, so it's best to just get the 3 to be safe.

[morrisonhotel]

Both the police check and the Basic Disclosure are accepted. You can only order the basic level - standard and enhanced can only really be ordered by employers. It depends how long you want to wait and how much you want to pay on which one you get. The local police station check is 10 quid (or at least was) and takes anything up to 40 days. The Basic Disclosure (which covers the whole of the UK) is 23 quid-ish and takes up to 14 days.

[Setaro]

Just get the Basic Disclosure from Disclosure Scotland, it's a full UK wide check, costs about 25 quid and took me just 4 days to arrive. If you call them up they'll even notarise your CRC so you don't have to pay a solicitor 5 pound to do it.

[rusty1983]

Thanks for that guys. And now you have to get an Apostille on your CRB and your degree???

[Setaro]

Yep, apostille for both, with both 'notarized' beforehand, which for UK people simply means getting a solicitor (any will do, as long as they sign it by name, swearing it to be an original/copy of an authentic document) to sign and stamp it for 5 quid.

Oh and I'm sure the degree MUST be a copy, it can't be the original, just photo copy it and show the original to the solicitor.

[fezmond]

[morrisonhotel]

[Setaro]

A Notary Public in America is pretty much synonymous with Solicitor in the UK. There's probably 100,000s of notaries in America, most banks have one.

In contrast, there's only a couple of hundred Notary Publics in the UK, who are highly qualified specialists (and can charge something like �80 a document.)

Everyone I know who came to Korea from the UK used a solicitor to sign and stamp the CRC and Degree copy, and paid �5 for the service.

All that's important to the Foreign Office Apostille workers (and by extension, Korean immigration) is that it's stamped and signed by a registered solicitor.

[rusty1983]

[morrisonhotel]

[rusty1983]

[morrisonhotel]

[_RainBoWs_]

It cost me around �60-70 to apostile my CRB and a further �70-90 to apostile my Degree and PGCE.....

Time was against me so i did not have time to shop around.

Now i am hearing that to re-new your residency/contract you need to get a new CRB check completed. This makes no sense, since the completion of my last CRB i have spent barely 4 weeks in the UK. (My last CRB will be 15 months old when my present contract expires).

Then that creates the additional problem, which is to complete a CRB you need to be employed in the UK, or find an ex employer willing to complete this process for you (which is what i was forced to do last time). But then you still need to sign the paper work.....which i wont be able to do if i am not in the UK.

My internet is not working properly and so i cant load the Disclosure Scotland web page. Can they complete this process for you, whilst your outside of the UK?

Thanks.

[morrisonhotel]