PART III – EPIK APPLICATION PROCESS: SENDING REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
Even if you pass your interview, there is still a chance that you might miss out on a position if you do not send all the required documents to EPIK promptly.
This post will focus on the various documents I had to collate, the process which I went through and the costs involved. Please note I am from Australia and the documents required will vary depending on which country you are from.
1) Original completed application form (with your ink signature)
Any changes required to be made to your application form which were discussed during the interview should be incorporated.
2) Copy of your passport information page (preferably in colour)
3) Passport sized photographs
It cost me about $19.00 for eight passport sized photographs. Whilst you only need to submit 2 photographs at this point of your application, the rest will be useful later on when you are applying for your Visa or Alien Registration Card in Korea (more about the ARC later).
NOTE: You should make clear that the photographs you need are for the purposes of applying for a Korean Visa. I know a lot of people who didn’t make this clear and later found their photographs to be too large.
4) Apostilled Bachelor’s Degree
You will need to take your original Bachelor’s Degree to a notary. I found this website helpful in locating the Notary service nearest to me:
http://www.notarylocator.com.au/
The notary made a copy of my Bachelor’s Degree and then notarised it. Your Bachelor’s degree should now have a pretty red seal to confirm that the copy corresponds to the original. I paid $50.00 to have my Bachelor’s Degree notarised.
I then took the notarised copy of the Bachelor’s Degree to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to have it apostilled. I paid $60.00 to have it apostilled, left my notarised copy of the Bachelor’s Degree with DFAT and was provided a receipt to collect it in 3 working days time.
I was given the option of having the apostilled documents mailed to me, however the lady who dealt with my application urged me to collect it personally to avoid any mishap.
5) Apostilled National Police Check (NPC)
You will need to apply for your NPC through the Australian Federal Police.
I applied for the National Police Check (without the fingerprint) which cost me $42.00.
Once you receive your original NPC, YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE IT NOTARISED. Skip this step and take it directly to the DFAT to have it apostilled. Once again it cost me $60.00 for the apostille.
6) Apostilled Birth Certificate
UK and Australian Applicants are also required to provide an apostilled copy of their birth certificate.
Similar to what is required to obtain an apostilled Bachelor’s Degree, simply take your original birth certificate to a notary. The notary will make a copy of your Birth Certificate and have it notarised. I paid $50.00 to have the birth certificate notarised.
I then took it to the DFAT to have it apostilled which cost me another $60.00.
To save time, it would be prudent for you to have the Bachelor's Degree and Birth Certificate notarised at the same time before taking them along with the original NPC to the DFAT to be apostilled.
7) Sealed Transcipts
You should make it very clear with your university that you want each of the transcripts to be sealed separately.
What this means is that each transcript will come in a separate envelope sealed with a university stamp over the top. I ordered 4 sets of transcripts which cost me $19.00.
8) Letters of Recommendation
You are now required to submit the original hard copies of both letters of recommendation that were email with the initial application.
9) Proof of Level 2 Pay
Whilst applicants can apply to EPIK without having completed a TESOL/TEFL course, the Offices of Education now require all applications to be at a level 2 or higher before signing the final contract. EPIK sets out on their website various ways to be considered a level 2 on the pay scale.
Generally the easiest way for most applicants is to obtain a Teachers’s TEFL/TESOL Certificate with minimum of 120 hours. I paid $99.00 for an online 120 hours TESOL/TEFL course through TEFLEN which I bought through Groupon - love a good bargain!
There is no requirement as to which provider you must obtain your TEFL/TESOL Certificate from however it must be an internationally accredited provider.
NOTE: Various Offices of Education may have different requirements. For example, you can only teach in Busan it you have at least a 50 hour in-class component.
At the time I sent my required documents to EPIK, I had only completed 50% of my TEFL/TESOL online course. As such, I had to complete a "Sworn Declaration of Intent to Fulfill Mandatory Qualification Required for EPIK Contract" and forward it to EPIK along with a letter from TEFLEN confirming my enrolment. After completing the 120 hours, I emailed a copy of the Certificate of Completion to my EPIK coordinator.
I paid $32.50 for the above documents to be delivered to the EPIK office by international express post. Whilst a bit on the pricey side, it gave me a peace of mind knowing delivery would be prompt and I could track where my package was at any given time.
All up I spent around $491.50 during this part of the application process.
Yes, it is a bit of a gamble to spend so much when there is no guarantee that you will get a position. However, I was sure that even if I was not accepted by EPIK I would still want to teach at a Hagwon in South Korea and so most of the documents would not go to waste.
So this completes my posts on the EPIK application process. I received my Notice of Appointment about 1 month after sending my documents to EPIK. For those who are curious - this is what a Notice of Appointment looks like:
As you can see, the EPIK application process is extremely lengthy. So start early and be prepared to utilise a lot of your patience.