Tracking — E-2 Teaching Visa
The E-2 Visa Process for Teaching in Korea (2026)
Six stages, two of which are out of your hands — and a first stage whose length depends entirely on which of the seven passports you hold.
Most E-2 timelines you'll read online say "four to six weeks." That is true only if your apostille is expedited. With a mailed-in apostille, the same process routinely takes two to three months — and the difference is entirely in one step that has nothing to do with Korea.
A step-by-step guide to the E-2 visa process for English teachers in South Korea, from OK Recruiting, a Korea-based recruiter (since 2006). General information, current as of 2026 — processing times vary by consulate and by immigration office; confirm your own case with the mission you apply to.
What the E-2 visa is
The E-2 (회화지도) is the long-term work visa for foreign nationals teaching a foreign language in Korea — at hagwons, public schools and other approved institutions. It is tied to a specific employer and a specific workplace, which is why the paperwork below all runs through your school.
The six stages
1. Secure a job offer and sign a contract
YouNothing else can start until a school has hired you. Your employer provides the contract and drives the immigration side. Preparation for the interview stage: interview tips for teaching jobs in Korea.
2. Get your documents apostilled and sent
You2–12 weeks — the bottleneckYour degree and your national criminal record check both need an apostille. This is the step that decides whether your process takes six weeks or sixteen, and it is the one stage where your passport changes the answer. The seven eligible countries run seven separate queues and they are nowhere near each other: the US Department of State currently publishes 5+ weeks by mail, 2–3 weeks for walk-in drop-off, and under 2 weeks by appointment — while in the UK the FCDO publishes up to 25 working days, and that clock only starts once ACRO has spent up to 30 working days issuing the certificate you are apostilling.
Wherever you are, the criminal record check must have been issued within the last six months when you apply, so on a slow route you can burn a third of that window before your school even starts stage 3. Country-by-country timings are further down this page; the issuing bodies and apostille authorities are listed in full in our E-2 document requirements.
3. Your employer obtains the visa issuance number
School10 working days — up to 60Your school submits your documents to Korean immigration and applies for a Certificate of Visa Issuance (사증발급인정서), which produces the visa issuance number you'll need at the consulate.
The official processing standard is 10 working days — weekends and public holidays don't count — but immigration can take up to 60 days if it decides your case needs review. That ceiling is real, and it is the reason recruiters get cagey about promising start dates.
Once issued, the certificate is valid for 3 months and is good for a single visa issuance. If you let it lapse, the stage repeats.
4. Apply at the Korean consulate
You~14 days / 2–3 weeksWith the issuance number in hand, you apply at the Korean consulate or embassy with jurisdiction over you. The Consulate General in New York publishes 14 days for E-2; the Korean Embassy in the US says two to three weeks and advises applying with a buffer. It varies by mission, so check yours.
Which mission, and what to bring: our consulate guide and list of Korean consulates.
If you are applying in the UK, you do not apply to the embassy. The Korean Embassy in London stopped receiving visa applications on 17 January 2022. They now go through the Korea Visa Application Centre (KVAC) in London, run by the IOM at Heron House, 10 Dean Farrar Street. Check which channel your own mission uses before you post anything.
5. Fly to Korea
YouYour passport comes back with the E-2 stamped in it. What to expect in the first days on the ground: the 7-step arrival checklist.
6. Medical exam, then your residence card
YouWithin 90 days of entryIn Korea you take an employment medical exam at a hospital designated by the Ministry of Justice — it must include a narcotics test — and then register as a foreign resident to get your residence card (still widely called the ARC).
Registration is legally required within 90 days of entry, and the immigration appointment must be booked in advance. Details: the medical check and the residence card.
Teachers recruited through EPIK or a provincial education office for public schools are exempt from submitting the medical certificate at registration — the education office handles it. Hagwon teachers are not.
How long it really takes
Total elapsed time — three honest scenarios
Where timelines actually break
The apostille, not the background check
Teachers plan around the criminal record check and are then blindsided by the apostille sitting in a queue behind it. The two are strictly sequential — you cannot apostille a certificate that has not been issued yet — so the waits add up rather than overlap.
If you do one thing with this page, do this: order your criminal record check while you are still interviewing, before you have an offer in hand. A US applicant can then book an appointment at the Office of Authentications and be finished in under two weeks. In the UK and Canada there is no equivalent fast lane for individuals, so starting earlier is the only lever you have.
Stage 2, country by country
Every figure below is the turnaround the issuing body publishes itself, checked in August 2026. They move — ACRO is currently flagging exceptionally high demand, and Global Affairs Canada updates its queue position as it goes — so treat them as a floor rather than a promise, and add postal time to all of them.
| Country | National criminal record check | Apostille |
|---|---|---|
| USA | FBI Identity History Summary. An FBI-approved channeler returns results in days; going direct takes longer. | Department of State for the FBI check: 5+ weeks by mail, 2–3 weeks walk-in, under 2 weeks by appointment. Your degree is a state document, so that one goes to the issuing state’s Secretary of State. |
| United Kingdom | ACRO Police Certificate, £70, up to 30 working days plus post. A basic DBS check (England and Wales only) is £21.50 and usually back in about 3 days. | FCDO Legalisation Office, £45 plus return postage, usually up to 25 working days. The fast e-Apostille does not cover police or disclosure certificates. |
| Canada | RCMP certified criminal record check — the fingerprint-based one. Prints must be submitted electronically by an accredited agency inside Canada; paper submissions are returned unprocessed. | Free. Global Affairs Canada handles federal documents, the RCMP check included — currently working through requests received 25 business days ago, plus 5–10 business days in the mail. Degrees from Alberta, BC, Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan go to that province instead. |
| Ireland | Garda Police Certificate — free, about three weeks. | Department of Foreign Affairs, €40 per stamp, Dublin or Cork, walk-in or by post. Return postage is included in the fee. |
| Australia | AFP National Police Check, A$56 — most are completed and posted within 48 hours. With fingerprints it is A$113 and 15–30 business days. | DFAT, A$105 per document, by appointment at any Australian Passport Office or by registered post. DFAT publishes no fixed turnaround. Your degree has to be verified by the university first. |
| New Zealand | Ministry of Justice criminal record check — free, up to 20 working days, though around 90% come back inside a week. | Department of Internal Affairs, NZ$37, within 15 working days. |
| South Africa | SAPS Police Clearance Certificate, R190, about 15 working days once SAPS has the complete application — postage on top. | DIRCO, free. Same day for five documents or fewer if you book a slot; 3–4 weeks if you submit by courier. |
United Kingdom: four doors, and the fast ones are shut
~11 weeks of paperwork“Basic disclosure” is devolved, so there are four UK routes and they do not behave alike:
- ACRO is the certificate ACRO itself describes as being for people who need a visa to work abroad — and it is now the slowest of the four, at up to 30 working days.
- Basic DBS covers England and Wales only and usually comes back in about three days.
- Scotland’s Level 1 disclosure — the service that used to be called basic disclosure — is £25 and about 14 days, but it arrives as a secure online link and you do not get a paper certificate by default. An apostille has to be attached to paper, so there is an extra step here that most guides leave out: ask Disclosure Scotland to verify your disclosure. It costs nothing, they post you a stamped and signed paper copy, and that stamped copy is the one the FCDO will legalise.
- AccessNI handles Northern Ireland, at £16.
Then the second queue, and this is the part that catches people. The FCDO’s standard postal apostille is up to 25 working days, and there is no individual fast lane: the £40 Next-Day and £100 same-day Restricted Urgent services are for registered businesses, and the £35 two-working-day e-Apostille explicitly excludes ACRO police certificates, DBS certificates, and Scottish and Northern Irish disclosure certificates. Stack the two published maxima and UK paperwork alone runs to about eleven weeks.
One thing that genuinely helps: ACRO will send your certificate directly to the FCDO if you ask for that when you apply. It removes a postal leg, and one opportunity to lose the document.
Canada: free, but the wrong envelope costs you a month
Apostille ~6–7 weeks- It has to be the fingerprint-based certified check. Ink prints posted to the RCMP are returned unprocessed — they have to be digitised and submitted electronically by an accredited agency, and that submission is not available from outside Canada. If you are already abroad, you are mailing prints back to an agency at home.
- The check is running behind. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada currently warns of large demand for RCMP criminal record checks, and is extending its own document deadlines by 30 days to absorb it.
- Canada issues apostilles now. The Apostille Convention entered into force for Canada on 11 January 2024. Any guide still telling you to have a document authenticated and then legalised at a Korean mission is describing the old system.
- Federal and provincial are separate queues. Your RCMP check is a federal document, so it goes to Global Affairs Canada — free, currently about 25 business days plus 5–10 in the mail. Your degree usually is not: if it was issued or notarised in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan, that province’s own competent authority issues the apostille.
Global Affairs Canada returns documents from those five provinces unauthenticated. Send an Ontario degree to Ottawa and you get it back weeks later with nothing on it, and start again — with the six-month clock on your criminal check still running.
What each country’s issuing body is called, and the exact document you have to ask for, is set out in our E-2 requirements page and the full document checklist.
What the visa actually gives you
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Length of stay | The legal ceiling for E-2 is 2 years per grant. In practice immigration grants your contract length — a one-year contract typically gets about a year plus a month. |
| Entries | Single-entry by default. US citizens are issued a multiple-entry visa valid for the period of stay. Once you hold a residence card, you can re-enter without a re-entry permit if you return within a year. |
| Extension | Not automatic. You must apply before your current stay expires, with your employment contract and the school's business registration certificate. See extending your E-2. |
| Changing employer | A report filed within 15 days of starting the new job — not a permission you must obtain first. See below. |
Changing jobs: a report, not a permission
This is the single most misunderstood part of the E-2, and getting it wrong hands your school leverage it does not legally have.
Under the Immigration Act, a professional-visa holder — which includes E-2 — changes workplace by filing a report within 15 days of starting the new job. Not by getting advance permission. Late reporting can bring an administrative fine of up to ₩2,000,000.
A Letter of Release (이적동의서) from your current employer is one of the supporting documents — but the regulation expressly waives it when the old workplace closed or suspended business, or when you worked to your contract's expiry date or a mutually agreed date. It only really bites if you leave mid-contract through your own fault.
The full picture, including what to do if your employer refuses to sign: the Letter of Release guide and our E-2 transfer guide.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the E-2 visa process take?
Four to six weeks is the best case, and it depends on getting the apostille on an appointment rather than by post. Eight to twelve weeks is realistic for a US applicant who mails documents in — the Department of State publishes 5+ weeks for mailed requests against under two weeks by appointment — or if immigration puts your visa issuance certificate into review, which can take up to 60 days. British and Canadian applicants should plan for twelve to eighteen weeks, because their criminal record check and their apostille are both postal queues that an individual cannot expedite.
How long is an E-2 visa valid, and can it be renewed?
The legal maximum period of stay for an E-2 is two years per grant, though immigration normally grants the length of your contract — a one-year contract typically gets about a year plus a month. Extension is not automatic: you must apply before your current period of stay expires, submitting your employment contract and the school's business registration certificate.
Can I change jobs on an E-2 visa?
Yes. Changing workplace on an E-2 is a report filed with immigration within 15 days of starting the new job, not a permission you must obtain in advance. A Letter of Release from your current employer is one supporting document, but the regulation waives it if the workplace closed or suspended business, or if you worked to your contract's end date or a mutually agreed date. Late reporting can bring an administrative fine of up to ₩2,000,000.
Can my spouse and children come with me to Korea?
Yes, on an F-3 dependent visa — but only your spouse and unmarried minor children qualify. Parents, siblings and adult children are not eligible. Note that F-3 is not a work-authorised status: an F-3 spouse who wants to work must obtain separate permission from immigration or change status first.
What is a visa issuance number, and how long is it valid?
It comes from the Certificate of Visa Issuance that your employer obtains from Korean immigration before you apply at the consulate. The official processing standard is 10 working days, extendable to 60 days if immigration reviews the case. Once issued, the certificate is valid for three months and can be used for a single visa issuance.
How long does the E-2 process take for a British applicant?
Plan for twelve to eighteen weeks. The two UK queues run back to back: ACRO publishes up to 30 working days for a Police Certificate, and the FCDO publishes up to 25 working days for a standard postal apostille — roughly eleven weeks of paperwork before your school can even apply for the visa issuance number. There is no individual fast lane, because the FCDO’s Next-Day and Restricted Urgent services are for registered businesses and the two-working-day e-Apostille excludes police and disclosure certificates. A basic DBS check covers England and Wales and is issued far faster than an ACRO certificate, so it is worth asking which one your mission will accept. Note also that UK applications are submitted through the Korea Visa Application Centre in London, not the Korean Embassy.
Where do Canadians get documents apostilled for a Korean E-2 visa?
It depends on who issued the document. Canada joined the Apostille Convention on 11 January 2024, so authentication followed by consular legalisation is no longer the process. An RCMP criminal record check is a federal document and goes to Global Affairs Canada, which charges nothing and is currently processing requests received 25 business days earlier, plus five to ten business days in the mail. A degree usually is not federal: if it was issued or notarised in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec or Saskatchewan, that province’s own competent authority issues the apostille, and Global Affairs Canada will return it unauthenticated. Fingerprints for the RCMP check must also be submitted electronically by an accredited agency inside Canada.
What do I have to do after arriving in Korea?
Take the employment medical exam at a hospital designated by the Ministry of Justice — it must include a narcotics test — and register as a foreign resident to receive your residence card. Registration is legally required within 90 days of entry, and the immigration appointment must be booked in advance. Teachers hired through EPIK or a provincial education office are exempt from submitting the medical certificate at registration.
Sources: the E-2 report track for workplace change and the 15-day deadline — 출입국관리법 §21(1) and Enforcement Decree §26-2(1); the consent-letter exception — Enforcement Rule, appended table 5; the ₩2,000,000 fine — §100(1); the 2-year ceiling on E-2 stay — Enforcement Rule, appended table 1; certificate of visa issuance valid 3 months, single use — Enforcement Rule §18; foreigner registration within 90 days — §31; F-3 dependant scope and the absence of work rights — Enforcement Decree tables 1-2 and §23(1); all via law.go.kr. Korean visa processing times — the Korean Consulate General in New York and the Korean Embassy in the USA; the London arrangement — the Korean Embassy in the UK and KVAC Europe. Criminal record check and apostille turnarounds are the figures each issuing body publishes, checked August 2026: US Department of State; ACRO, FCDO legalisation, basic DBS, Disclosure Scotland, AccessNI; Global Affairs Canada and IRCC; An Garda Síochána and the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs; the AFP and DFAT; the NZ Ministry of Justice and Department of Internal Affairs; SAPS and DIRCO. As of August 2026.
Note: this is general information, not legal advice. Consulates and immigration offices differ in what they ask for and how long they take — confirm your own case with the mission you apply to or the immigration contact center (1345).