Korean Job Discussion Forums

[latinthrilla]

The contract negotiations went well. I like it. The school (private elementary) has a good rep. To process my application quickly (job starts march 1 and I'm in Canada) then want me to send them my degree along with other stuff. Should I send them my degree? Can notarized copies do the job instead? Help!

[UncleAlex]

By no means send your original diploma to Korea from Canda.
Your prospective employer can apply for your E2 visa with a copy
of it along with copies of your original transcripts. Once the E2 visa
has been processed and approved, your employer should send you
the official papers from his end, which you take to the nearest Korean
Consulate in Canada, where the notarization process takes place. In
the meantime, contact the Korean Consulate for the latest information.
But don't give anyone in Korea your diploma.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

No.

[princess]

No, never ever do that.

[UncleAlex]

I should add that I'd be wary of an employer who would make that kind of
request. He should no better. I think he might be afraid that you will bail out
at the last minute before departure time, so with your diploma in his possession
he can use it as a bargaining chip to persuade you to reconsider. I'm afraid
to think what he might do with it if you remain steadfast in your decision to stay
home or pursue another job here.

[Big Mac]

I thought I was unusual for insisting on not sending my original degree. My employer requested it and I refused and got it notarized instead. He said that immigration was confused and said they had never seen a notarized degree before, but accepted it nonetheless.

In the history of my school though I was the only one who ever did this...every one else sent their original degree over and got it back when they arrived.

I still think it's not a very smart thing to do though.

[mindmetoo]

You can send them a notarized copy. I dunno, I thought that was more trouble than it was worth. If you're skeptical about them returning your degree before you've even taken the job, then you probably shouldn't be taking that job in the first place.

[Big Mac]

[Novernae]

First of all, it's just a piece of paper. You can simply order another copy from your university and have it in your hand in 3 days by courrier if something happens to it (I'm on my third).
Second, copies of degrees notarised by your university are no longer acceptable for the visa process. If it is notarised by a Korean consulate, it's fine. If not, it's not worth the paper it's written on to the immigration office (this is a recent change after the false degrees scandal).

[latinthrilla]

I wrote back and told them that I would send a notarized (by the Korean consulate) copy and the response was that the law has now changed because there were too many fake degrees going around. I'm going to call the consulate today but want to know if there is a current website somewhere with the official verdict on this isssue?

[Big Mac]

I would imagine that you'll get the official verdict from the Korean consulate. Let us know what they say.

[latinthrilla]

Ok, I contacted the Korean consulate in Toronto, the girl can barely speak English and wasn't much help. She did say that as far as she knew a notarized copy is ok. I then called the consulate in Ottawa and spoke with Matilda (613 244-5010), she spoke English well! As far as they know a notarized copy is perfectly fine. In fact there is no law about it, it is only a regulation. Apparently you can't find this information anywhere on the web, as far as they know.

The girl in Toronto told me to email [email protected] to get a written reply, so I did. No reply yet.

The notarized copy takes 1-2 days so if you are in a rush then it's faster to send your original degree. I think because the job starts on March 1, I may just take a chance and send them my degree. Yikes!
Am I nutz? I wish I could find the spell check feature on this thing

[splok]

[buster brown]

When I signed my uni-gwon contract in January, the coordinator insisted that my original diploma was necessary to process my visa. I politely requested that she call the immigration office and ask if my consulate-notarized copies would be sufficient. The following day she had backed off her insistence after immigration had said they would accept the copies. I just feel more comfortable keeping my diploma stored back in the States...I already had to replace it once and it was a real pain. Why take an unnecessary risk?

[Gman2000]

Hey Folks

Saw this string and thought it fell in my wheelhouse of a question. So, I have my diplomas, can I just call up/show up at the Korean Consulate and ask them to notarize them and they'll do it and understand what's up? (the Consulate is very close-by)