The South Korean government takes little risk when it comes to student health and safety. As such, they have strict health policies for Western teachers who enter the country. Generally speaking, any ailment or condition that’s deemed a potential health risk to Korean students will result in a denied, or revoked, work visa.
The Korean government enforces health requirements with a two-step verification process.
Step 1 – E2 Health Statement: All candidates are required to submit a signed and dated health questionnaire (sworn declaration) called the E2 Health Statement Questionnaire. This form gets submitted to the Korean Immigration Office when you apply for your E2 work visa.
Step 2 – Physical Examination: Secondly, anyone entering Korea on an E2 visa is required to complete a medical exam at one of the government regulated medical clinics. The doctor will compare the results of your physical exam to the sworn information you provided on the E2 Health Statement. This physical exam will include a blood sample, urine sample, chest x-ray and doctor Q&A. The tests will check for contagious ailments and illicit substances in your system, such as narcotics.
Please Note: Certain medications may cause the blood and/or urine test results to come back positive (a.k.a false positives). Medications for neurological conditions, such as anxiety and depression, will often create false positives. Prescription pain killer medications may also trigger the results.
What happens if my test results come back positive? Unfortunately there isn’t a simple answer to that question. If your blood or urine samples test positive the Immigration office can revoke your work visa, ask you to take the test again within a certain timeframe (usually within 3-5 days), or they can approve the results which clears you for working.
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Gone2Korea is your connection to full-time teaching jobs in South Korea. Western graduates, primarily from the US, Canada, UK, and Australia, use our services to secure jobs with trusted Korean schools, and schools use our services to find and hire enthusiastic teachers from the West.
Worth noting: We’re not a job ‘sourcing’ agency or recruiter that finds new schools on the fly. On the contrary, we work with a select group of schools and programs that we know and trust.
In addition to helping you land a job, we’ll also be helping you with your work visa, departure, arrival, and offering support for the entirety of your contracted term.
Prior teaching experience and related degrees are NOT prerequisites for teaching in Korea. Here’s what you’ll need in order to qualify.
Korean schools and programs offer western English teachers highly competitive benefits packages which includes:
