Apostille your documents in your home country, not Korea: timing and why it matters
You cannot apostille a document in Korea if it was issued somewhere else, and rushing this step after you have a job offer costs you weeks. Start the criminal record check and degree apostille before you apply, or plan on waiting.
Park English · 2026-08-24 · 4 min read
The apostille is the step that catches everyone exactly once. You find a job, the school wants you there in four weeks, and then you learn that the piece of paper confirming your degree is real needs to be stamped by a government office in the country that issued it — which you left two months ago.
An apostille is a specific stamp applied under the Hague Convention. It certifies that a signature on a document is genuine. Korea requires one on your degree and your criminal record check for an E-2 visa. The rule that surprises people: you can only apostille a document in the country that issued it. A Canadian degree must be apostilled in Canada. A UK criminal record check must be apostilled in the UK. If you are in Seoul holding a degree from Oregon, you cannot walk into a Korean government office and have it stamped. You mail it back, or you ask someone at home to do it, or you fly back.
What needs an apostille for an E-2
| Document | Issuing country apostilles it | Typical processing time |
|---|---|---|
| University degree (original or notarised copy) | Country where university is located | 3–15 business days |
| Criminal record check | Country of citizenship and any country you lived in for 12+ months as an adult | 5–20 business days depending on country |
| Health check | No apostille needed — done in Korea after arrival | N/A |
The degree apostille is usually faster because you already have the degree. The criminal record check apostille takes longer because you have to request the check first, receive it, then apostille it. That is two separate processes.
Order of operations if you are still at home
- Request your criminal record check the day you start thinking seriously about Korea. In the US this is an FBI Identity History Summary. In Canada it is an RCMP certified check. In the UK it is an ACRO Police Certificate. Each country names it differently but every E-2 nationality has an equivalent.
- While waiting for that, confirm your degree is the original or get a notarised copy if your university allows it.
- When the criminal record check arrives, apostille both documents at the same time if your country permits it. Some places let you submit multiple documents in one application; others require separate submissions.
- Only after you hold apostilled copies of both, start applying to jobs in earnest.
We have seen teachers accept an offer, then discover the criminal check takes three weeks to arrive and another two to apostille. The school moves on.
If you are already in Korea
You have three options and none of them are fast.
Mail the documents home. Send your degree to a family member or friend who can take it to the apostille office on your behalf. Processing times do not change, but add international shipping on both ends. Budget a month.
Use an apostille service. Companies exist in most E-2 countries that will collect your document, apostille it and ship it to Korea. They charge $100–$300 depending on speed. Search "apostille service" plus your home country.
Fly back. If you need it done in a week and you trust no one with your original degree in the mail, this is the only sure way.
F-visa holders skip most of this
F-2, F-4, F-5 and F-6 visa holders teaching English in Korea do not need apostilles on their degree or criminal record, though some schools still ask out of habit. If a recruiter tells you that you need the full E-2 document set and you hold one of those visas, push back. You will need your degree as proof of qualification, but it does not require an apostille.
The thing nobody mentions
Apostille offices in some countries will not apostille a photocopy, even a notarised one. They want the original document or a certified copy issued by the original institution. If you only have one physical degree and you are not willing to mail it internationally, contact your university now and ask whether they issue certified copies for apostille purposes. Most do. Some charge $20; some charge $80. It is faster than waiting for a lost original to be reissued.
Start early. The apostille is not complicated, but it is slow, and Korea will not let you skip it.