Background Checks

Criminal Record Checks (CRC) for Teaching in Korea

 

Depending on your nationality background checks may be referred to as criminal record checks, police checks, basic disclosures or police clearance certificates.

 

  1. All teachers must submit specific types of criminal record checks (CRC) from the designated issuing authority within their country of citizenship.
  2. CRC’s issued through third party providers are not acceptable by Korean Immigration; meaning, you can NOT use a private company to obtain the CRC (exception: Approved channelers for American FBI checks). All background checks must come directly from the designated police department or government office/bureau that’s responsible for issuing the type of check Korean Immigration requires. CRCs that were ordered online and come as ‘print outs’ are NOT accepted by the Korean government.
  3. CRCs must have an issue date that’s within 6 months of the applicant’s visa application date. Outdated criminal record checks (older than 6 months) are not accepted by the Korean government. To avoid potential problems and delays people applying for the spring hiring session should have an October 1st (of the previous year) or later, issue date on their CRC. Similarly, people applying for the fall hiring session should have a March 1st (of the same year) or later, issue date on their CRC.
  4. IMPORTANT: Before sending your CRC to Korea for processing it MUST be authenticated with an Apostille seal certificate (note: Canadian teachers need to secure a consulate verification stamp as an alternative to the Apostille Seal). Refer to our Apostille pages for authentication procedures (USA Apostille or International Apostille).

 

American Criminal Record Check Requirements

Type of Check: All Americans must submit national level FBI criminal record checks – no exceptions. Note: State level CRC’s are NOT accepted by the Korean Immigration Office.

Timeline: FBI checks can take upwards of 2 months to process when ordered directly from the FBI, however, they can be issued in as little as 2-3 weeks when ordered from ‘Approved FBI Channelers’. Gone2Korea strongly advises all Americans to order their FBI check through an Approved Channeler.

IMPORTANT: There is a difference between a channeler that assists with FBI checks and a ‘FBI Approved’ channeler. Only FBI Approved Channelers can assist you with checks that are accepted by Korean Immigration. See below for instructions.

Authenticating FBI Checks – Apostille Authentication: American teachers must have their FBI check authenticated with an Apostille seal from the Department of State. Without the Apostille authentication seal Korean Immigration will not process your documents for visa issuance. Click HERE for apostille authentication procedures.

How to order an FBI check from an Approved Channeler:

Recommended Company: National Background Check Incorporated (NBCI) – NBCI Website

Note: We are not affiliated with NBCI nor do we collect a fee for referring people to their services. We recommend them because many of our teachers have used their services in the past without problems.

STEP 1 – Download the NBCI Order Form – CLICK HERE

Complete all sections on page 1 of the Order Form

*** For section 1 – Fill in the correct details. This information must match the information on the fingerprint card.
*** For section 2 – Select “Foreign Residency/Travel”
*** For Section 3 – The fee for this service is $50 USD
*** For section 4 – Select UPS 2nd day Option ($35 shipping charge)
*** For section 5 – You can ignore this section
*** For section 6 – Fill in the USA address where the report should be sent back to when completed. The report should be sent back to yourself. If you are not in the US have the check sent to a family member or friends address.

The total fee should be $85 USD so make sure you enter your payment details, and then sign and date the application.

STEP 2 – You will need to send the NBCI fingerprint service two (2) fingerprint cards. Make sure you get your prints done ASAP. Don’t wait another week to get this taken care of. Make sure you send in two (2) original fingerprint cards. DO NOT get one done and then make a photocopy for the second; photocopied fingerprints are not accepted. Important: The fingerprint cards must be completed by professionals and they must sign both fingerprint cards; meaning, you cannot do the fingerprints yourself. Please visit a local police station or private finger printing service for this task. If your fingerprint card is not clear enough, it’ll get rejected by the NBCI so please let the technician know it needs to have a perfect quality.

STEP 3 – Send the completed application request form, two (2) fingerprint cards and payment (if paying by check or money order) to the following address (please use a priority courier service that offers a tracking number such as Fedex, DHL, UPS, etc.)

National Background Check
1486 Bethel Rd, Attn: FBI Channeling
Columbus, Ohio 43220

Once they receive your paperwork, it will take them 3-5 business days to process your FBI check and then they will mail it back to the return address you entered on the request form.

 

Australian Criminal Record Check Requirements

Australian checks are usually referred to as Police Checks or Police Certificates.

Australian teachers must submit Federal Level Police Checks; meaning, the check must constitute a nationwide search. Applicants can download the Australian National Police Check Application Form directly from the Australian Federal Police website: http://www.afp.gov.au

Note: All Australians need to have their checks authenticated with an Apostille Seal. Refer to our International Apostille page for details.

 

British Criminal Record Check Requirements

The Korean authorities currently accept 4 different types of criminal record checks from British teachers – Basic Disclosures, Standard Disclosures, Enhanced Disclosures and Subject Access Reports.

Subject Access Reports take 40 days to process and standard or enhanced disclosures require extra paper work; therefore, Gone2Korea advises all British applicants to secure Basic Disclosures when possible (Basic Disclosures are cheaper, have a shorter processing period and are usually issued within 3 weeks of the application date).

How to order a Basic Disclosure: Simply visit the Disclosure Scotland website and follow their easy step-by-step application instructions.

Note: All Brits need to have their check authenticated with an Apostille Seal. Refer to the International Apostille page of our site for details.

 

Canadian Criminal Record Check Requirements

Canadian teachers MUST secure National level FINGER-PRINT based checks from the RCMP. Name and DOB based checks or provincial level finger-print checks are not accepted by Korean Immigration.

Please be advised: All Canadians must have their original RCMP background check verified by the Korean consulate with a Consulate Verification Stamp – no exceptions. NOTE: Canadians cannot have their checks authenticated with an Apostilled seal because Canada is not a signatory of the Apostille treaty.

How do I request nationwide criminal background check from the RCMP? There are 2 ways to secure finger-print based checks from the RCMP.

  1. Electronic finger-print submission (recommended method)
  2. Paper finger-print card submission by registered mail

Gone2Korea advises all Canadians to secure their check via electronic finger-print submission. Electronic submission only takes 5-10 days to process and paper finger-print cards by registered mail can takes upwards of 2 months.

How do I submit electronic finger-prints to the RCMP?

  1. RECOMMENDED: Through a private finger printing service such as Clear Need.
  2. Through your local police station. Make sure to speak with the police office to confirm they have digital finger printing scanners available.

CRUCIAL: Please remember that name and DOB based checks are no longer accepted by the Korean authorities.

RCMP homepage http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/

 

Irish Criminal Record Check Requirements

Background Checks in Ireland are usually referred to as: Police Check Certificates.

Best Method: You can secure Police Check Certificates (that are accepted by Korean Immigration) by contacting the Garda Police Station in your jurisdiction and requesting a Police Check Certificate of Character.

Note: All Irish need to have their check authenticated with an Apostille Seal. Refer to the International Apostille page of our site for details.

Garda Police homepage (http://www.garda.ie/)

 

New Zealand Criminal Record Check Requirements

CRC’s are usually referred to as Police Clearance Reports in New Zealand. The Ministry of Justice does not issue Police Clearance Reports over the phone. In most cases, New Zealand teachers will need to download the proper form from their website (http://www.justice.govt.nz) and submit a written copy which has been signed and dated with an ink signature.

New Zealand teachers must submit Federal Level Police Clearances; meaning, the check must constitute a nationwide search.

Note: All New Zealanders need to have their check authenticated with an Apostille Seal. Refer to our International Apostille page for details.

 

South African Criminal Record Check Requirements

The South African Department of Foreign Affairs currently issues Police Clearance Certificates that are accepted by the Korean Immigration office: http://www.dfa.gov.za/consular/policeclear.htm

South African teachers must have their checks authenticated with an Apostille Seal. Refer to our International Apostille page for details.