The criminal record check: order it before anything else
Of every document in the E-2 process, the national criminal record check is the one most likely to delay your start date, because it is the only one you cannot hurry once it is in a queue.
Park English · Published 2026-08-19 · Updated 2026-08-19 · 2 min read
We have watched more start dates slip because of this one document than for every other reason combined.
Not because it is complicated. Because people order it fourth.
Why it goes first
Your degree you already have. Your transcript a university can usually produce quickly. Your passport exists. The criminal record check has to be issued by a national authority, then apostilled, and both of those are queues you cannot jump.
Turnaround varies by country and by season, and it is not unusual for the two steps together to take several weeks. If you order it on the day you accept an offer, it is usually the only document still in flight when everything else is done, which is fine. If you order it last, everything else waits for it.
The order that works
- Criminal record check. National-level, not local or state, unless your embassy tells you otherwise for your country.
- Apostille it. In most countries this is a separate authority and a separate wait. Start it the day the check arrives.
- Degree and transcript. Sealed transcript where required. Apostille the degree.
- Passport photo page, photos, application forms.
Steps 3 and 4 can run alongside 1 and 2. That is the point.
The mistakes we see most
Ordering the wrong level. A local police certificate is not the same as a national check. Some countries make the distinction confusing. If you are not certain, ask the Korean embassy or consulate in your country before you pay for anything.
Forgetting the apostille. The check on its own is not enough. It needs the apostille attached, and getting that done from Korea after you have already flown is painful and slow.
Letting it go stale. These documents have a validity window for visa purposes. Ordering one very far ahead of a start date you have not confirmed can mean ordering it twice.
Assuming your recruiter has it. We chase these, but we cannot order one on your behalf. It has to come from you.
What to do the day it arrives
Photograph every page and send the images to your recruiter immediately, before you post anything. That lets the paperwork move forward while the physical document is in transit, and if something is wrong with it you find out in a day rather than a fortnight.
The honest caveat
Requirements differ by nationality and they change. What is written here is the shape of the process, not a legal checklist. Confirm the specifics for your own country with the Korean embassy or consulate before you spend money, and tell us what they said so we can plan the timeline with you rather than around you.