Gone2Korea Recruiting has certain policies for people who apply for jobs from a country that’s not their country of citizenship (e.g. An American applying from Mexico, a Canadian applying from England, etc.)
Western teachers are required to secure their work visas from the Korean Consulates and the Korean Ministry of Justice has certain policies in effect.
Applying for ‘public school jobs’ from abroad - allowed
First time Korean visa applicants (people who have never worked in Korea before) can still use third party countries for visa processing; meaning, Gone2Korea can represent and work with applicants that are residing in another country for jobs in this sector. Note: Just because you’re allowed to use third party countries for visa processing doesn’t mean the consulate will do it. If you plan on applying for a public school visa from a foreign country then you MUST contact the consulate in advance to check whether they have the resources available to process an E2-2 work visa.
Applying for ‘private school jobs’ from abroad - not allowed unless you’ve held a Korean work visa before
Applicants fall into 1 of 2 categories for visa processing in the private school sector.
A. Applicants who have held a Korean work visa before are allowed to use third party countries for visa processing; therefore, Gone2Korea can assist teachers in this category as long as they’re able to secure all of the required documents from their respective location. Note: Because of the complications involved with securing the required seals, stamps, authentications, etc. from a foreign country Gone2Korea coordinators are unable to assist teachers until they have all of the needed documents in their possession.
B. First time Korean visa applicants (people who have never worked in Korea before): Gone2Korea cannot assist first time visa applicants in the private school sector if they’re currently residing in a foreign country. Why? Korean consulate and Immigration policy no longer allow first time visa applicants to use third party countries for visa processing; meaning applicants need to use the Korean Consulate in their country of citizenship in order to have their visas processed.
Please Note: There is one way for first time teachers to secure a private school visa from abroad. In order for this scenario to work applicants must have their documents processed and verified by the Korean Council for University Education (KCUE) as an alternative to having them verified by the Korean Immigration Office. The problem with this scenario is that the KCUE involves some additional expenses and lots of extra paperwork from the contracting school; therefore, schools rarely offer the KCUE as an option unless they’re in dire need of a teacher.
Unfortunately Gone2Korea does not represent schools that are willing to use the KCUE for processing. As a result first time teachers who are applying from abroad and want private school jobs will need to contact some other recruiting companies to see if they have any schools that are willing to use this processing method.
