EPIK Get Documents in a Month

When I applied for EPIK I did not have any of my documents ready. And I would not recommend getting started on your documents until you know if you’ve at least passed the application stage. Even then, I would only get documents you think are going to take longer, or simply wait on all of them until after you pass the interview. I only had my fingerprints/BG check and letters of recommendation done after passing the application stage. To stave off confusion, I did switch to the GOE program. But the requirements are pretty much the exact same. This is EPIK Documents in a Month – I hope it’s helpful! I will have an application timeline up soon 🙂

Day 1: 

University:

• Diploma Notarized ($7-15) – When you order your diploma, see if the university can notarize it as well.
• 2 sealed copies of transcripts (Free-$20) – see if your school has free copies for just-graduated individuals.
• Request your 2 letters of recommendations with ink signatures if not already done (I would ask for extra copies)

At Home:

• Photocopy of Passport
• TEFL Certificate Copy
• Printed Application With Your Signature

Day 2-3: 

• Get fingerprinted ($55)- I have heard you should not use the police station ink-fingerprints as sometimes they are rejected. Korvia/Korean Horizons should have guides for this.

Day 7-8: 

• Diploma should have arrived, and your digital background check.
• Diploma Apostille ($22 w/shipping) – Look up the Secretary of State for the state you went to University in. Print and fill out whatever form they require for an apostille. Take to the post office and mail with a pre-addressed return envelope. They can help you do that.
• Passport photos ($45) – I got my photos while at the post office to sent off my diploma. You can probably get these cheaper but I didn’t have a car so going somewhere else would have cost more for Uber.
• Background Check Apostille ($50) – You do not need a physical copy of your BG report. Go to Monument Visa and upload the digital pdf report. They will take care of everything for you and they will cut the time to receive your apostille from several weeks to a few days. Very very worth it.

Day 14-16

• You should have received your Diploma Apostille, BG Check Apostille, transcripts, and your recommendation letters by now.
• Put all of your documents together – go over the list carefully! I nearly forgot the photocopy of my passport! And head to the a shipping service. If you are using USPS, write out the address in both Korean hangul and English. Fedex/UPS will likely get held up in customs which will add a few days. There are mixed reviews for every shipping service. I’m probably going to use the post office/USPS since the local Fedex is known for bungling things and UPS has just as bad a track record as USPS.

List of Documents:

• Application (signed)
• Diploma notarized and apostilled
• Background check apostilled
• 2 sealed transcripts
• 2 recommendation letters with ink signatures on letterhead
• 6 passport photos (# may vary by program)
• Passport photocopy
• TEFL certificate

Day 26-31

• Your documents should arrive!

This is the stage I am in right now (sending out my documents)! I’ll update you when I need to apply for my visa 😀 I hope this EPIK Documents in a Month has been helpful! I wish I had known it wasn’t nearly as hard as it seemed beforehand 🙂

If you are looking for more information about Teaching in Korea and the EPIK/GOE programs, check out my other posts!

Bad EPIK Interview

Programs Besides EPIK 

EPIK Application Rejection? Reasons Why