Author Topic: Fingerprints/Criminal Record Check (Canadian Teachers) (Read 7660 times)

B · « **Reply #100 on:** October 05, 2011, 10:36:13 pm »

I'm from Vancouver! Got a 2 original police certificates from the local department. Notarization wasn't a problem either! If anything, the lawyer asked why the police department gave me two original copies ...

rachelsnyder · « **Reply #101 on:** October 14, 2011, 10:53:21 am »

Quote from: ltisdale on October 05, 2011, 11:38:19 am

I'm not from Canada but had a similar problem with my FBI background and the stupid apostille process. My recruiter (who is a total incompetent) mis-informed me of the process to get my apostille completed and told me to send the document to a state institution that would not provide the apostille unless the document had been notarized at a county clerks/court office because this state institution does not have federal fingerprints on file. He however neglected this ever so important step so 3 weeks after I sent it i found out that it did not receive the backup it needed. Which means a delay in payments and other things for me. I was able to find a department in Guam that could provide the verification but it's been such a hassle and the alternative would be to send it back to my home country to the department I should have sent it to the first time, but was told not to do so by my recruiter. The best advice is to look up the information for yourself if your recruiter is anything like mine he's just looking for a payday and could care less about you once you arrive.

Hey itisdale,
I am from the states too and am trying to decide whether to get my background check apostilled with the state or federal government. I have heard both as options from different recruiters, with some telling me that Korea is switching over to a "federal only" process.. which method did you use and when did you go through this process? Recently??
Thanks!!

vanessa · « **Reply #102 on:** October 18, 2011, 09:14:39 am »

Hi
I am South African not canadian but I reckon the same applies as we all need police clearance checks. I am staying on another year and I need to do all this paper work again even though I am not going home at all. Does anyone know how I go about the Police clearance check here in Korea? Do I get the apostle seal done here or send it back home? Any advice would help.
Hope you all well and enjoying Korea!

MattMendell · « **Reply #103 on:** October 26, 2011, 07:32:13 am »

OK I've had a quick browse through this thread and it didn't seem to answer this question for me.

My girlfriend left Korea in August. She is now in Canada re-applying for the March 2012. Can anybody please tell me whether or not she needs to have her fingerprints taken or whether a 'regular' criminal record check will suffice? She has been told different things by different people, naturally.

Cranberryopah · « **Reply #104 on:** October 28, 2011, 04:26:37 pm »

I was in BC last August 2011. I was returning to the same school for a second contract, but my trip home was during the summer vacation and before my contract expired in October. Of course being home, I did the paper work there where English is magic for getting things done. The RCMP told me that there are two types of Criminal Record Check one with a vulnerable sector search and the other without a criminal record check:

-The Domestic one which requires fingerprinting and a vulnerable sector search
-The other, for those working outside of Canada, does not require fingerprinting or a vulnerable sector search. The RCMP counter clerks (not RCMP themselves) assured me that one w/o the fp or vss was fine, but they're not going to stand beside me at Korean Immigration. Against all of their persuasion I opted for the costly route of having both done. The Domestic one took 2.5 weeks to be ready.

When at Korean Immigration in Yangu, the clerk asked me for fingerprints, and I showed him the domestic criminal record check containing a vulnerable sector search and fingerprint authentication. He took it, then asked me to do an electronic finger print check on the spot with a nearby electronic pad. However, I have read other's Korean Immigration stories wherein RCMP fingerprints were not requested, nor was the expat printed on the spot.

Note: on the form she will fill out at Korean Immigration there is a line that goes something like "Depending on the individual case, Korean Immigration reserves the right to ask for additional documents"

To be very certain of what's required you could:
1. call Korean Immigration at 1235. Their English is good, but they're a tad impatient.
2. visit your gf's immigration office with a coteacher or bilingual friend and ask specific questions. Better yet, write out a list of what he/she said and have them sign it.
3. suggest your girlfriend do both criminal record checks.

fattycat100 · « **Reply #105 on:** January 20, 2012, 11:25:16 am »

I submitted my RCMP fingerprint criminal record check to Korean immigration last year. Went to immigration yesterday and they told me that it is incomplete. When I submitted it last year I asked if I needed it to be varified or anything and they said that it was fine as it was, took it from me and entered it into their system. Now they're telling me that it needs to have a stamp from the consulate. If I don't get the stamp by the end of the year (originally they were telling me by the end of March this year!!!) I need to "voluntarily" leave the country. Since the fingerprints are a year old it's too late to get them varified so I'm now required to do the entire fingerprint process again and either to get someone in Canada to get the consulate to varify it for me ($4) or when they're sent back to Korea go up to Seoul and have the Canadian embassy varify it (57,000won).

scott_158 · « **Reply #106 on:** January 20, 2012, 10:47:02 pm »

So does this mean you got everything done in Korea? I'm looking to get my CRC done in Korea in time to apply to SMOE for September positions. I'm currently living/working in Seoul (at a Hagwon) and my contract is up in July. I'm not sure when they'll be hiring at SMOE for Sept positions, but I want to have the paper work in place/ready to go for when they do hire later on in the spring/early summertime.

Does anyone know how long it'll take to get it done while in Korea; start to finish? I've heard anywhere from 2-8 months from various people. Trying to get as much info as possible. Gonna call Canadian Embassy and Korean Immigration on Wed after the Lunar New Years.

새해 복 많이 받으세요 e'erybody!

fattycat100 · « **Reply #107 on:** January 21, 2012, 01:50:26 pm »

I haven't been home since the summer of 2010 so I am now doing the entire process for the second time from Korea. I went to my local police station here and got my fingerprints taken. You can either have the embassy send you the RCMP form or you can use the Korean form, just make sure that everything that the RCMP needs is included. Some people have had difficulty at their local police station. Some are great. If you have problems with one, go to another. It all depends on the station. My local one is great. I've had my fingerprints taken 3 times there free of charge. The guy who does it has even been taking English classes to help out foreigners who need to get them done!

Then you need to send the fingerprints from Korea to the RCMP in Canada. The current processing time estimate on their website is approximately 12 weeks. They will then return the check to you through regular mail. You can have the fingerprints sent to you in Korea or if you give written permission they can be sent to a family member in Canada for you.

Once the criminal record check has been done the check then needs to be varified. You have two options if you are out of country. First you can go to the Canadian embassy in Seoul Monday - Friday 8:30am - 11:45 am, pay 57,500 won and they will varify it. The other option is to have it verified at the consulate in Canada. When I had my degree confirmed they wouldn't mail it to Korea even though the website suggests that they may. I am assuming that they won't send me my fingerprints either...so, what I plan to do is have the criminal record check sent to my mother. My mother will then send it to the consulate along with $4 to have it confirmed. It will then be sent back to her and then she will send it to me in Korea. When I had my degree confirmed in this way it was confirmed and sent back to my mother in less than a week. I'd say for the entire process to be completed you're looking at 4-6 months if your doing it from Korea. It is considerably less time if you are in Canada.

teachertq · « **Reply #108 on:** February 08, 2012, 05:05:12 pm »

Are two criminal reference checks required or just one?

Johnzorz · « **Reply #109 on:** March 19, 2012, 10:31:22 pm »

They accepted my notarized copy. Notarized by RCMP and the Korean consulate in Toronto

#basedcowboyshirt · « **Reply #110 on:** March 21, 2012, 09:20:30 am »

Okay - I am officially very, very confused now.

I just called Korean Immigration and spoke with a very patient, fluent English speaking fellow who told me the following:

Fingerprints are not required by Korean Immigration for the purposes of visa issuance for an E2 and the only reason fingerprints would be necessary is if our domestic governments required them in order to issue a criminal record check. The same goes for a vulnerable sector search (for Canadians) as he said that is only on the Canadian side of things and that Korea does not need that information.

He said that as long as it is at a national level, it will be accepted, fingerprints or not.

This confuses me because it contrary to almost everything I've heard up to this point about (for Canadians) having to mail their prints etc. off to Ottawa and wait 3-4 months.

#basedcowboyshirt · « **Reply #111 on:** March 21, 2012, 01:48:42 pm »

What a nightmare -

I booked half a day off work to go to the police station to get my prints done, Canadian fingerprint and hangul instructions from the embassy in hand.

Not a single person spoke a word of English, and they wrote the address of the police station down in hangul and refused to give me a signature beyond the Korean-style signature red stamp, despite trying to explain that people in the RCMP in Canada won't be able to read hangul.

Not really their fault, but they did show an unwillingness to follow the hangul instructions provided by the translator at the Canadian embassy. which means I now need to order yet another form and get it filled in again with prints and English writing.

Grumble.

balehead · « **Reply #112 on:** March 23, 2012, 02:04:17 pm »

I just went to my local RCMP and got the VS check done for $35. It was sent to me in 2 days. No fingerprints were needed. Just had to get it notarized.
The RCMP website is awful. The 12 week processing time quoted is way off when applying from within Canada.

Summer · « **Reply #113 on:** April 11, 2012, 02:58:46 pm »

To anyone from Vancouver who got a CRC recently, can you tell me which branch to go to? I have gotten SO many different answers when I called the RCMP and 311 multiple times.
It should be either Graveley or Cambie... RCMP told me Graveley, but 311 told me Cambie twice (I called maybe 4 times), and the website says Cambie:

http://vancouver.ca/police/organization/records-checks-fingerprinting/police-records-check.html

I would like to hear from someone who has done it recently. I read the whole thread and even though most of the posts are fairly recent, in 2011, I think a lot of changed already. Some people in this thread said they went to an RCMP office to do it, but I called the RCMP and they said that they no longer do CRCs and I must go to my local police department, which is one of the Vancouver detachments. I also go a variety of different quotes for the CRC when I called the RCMP and 311. The website says $70, but I have gotten quotes from between $65-$140... I'd really like some clarity on this issue.

Any help is MUCH appreciated! Thanks!

msryoo89 · « **Reply #114 on:** April 17, 2012, 04:17:37 pm »

Is anyone getting their criminal check up done in korea?
its taking 4- 5 weeks. I was wondering if there are any other faster ways to get this done?

syslee · « **Reply #115 on:** April 18, 2012, 08:18:11 am »

i believe approx. 2 months.
had fingerprints done in incheon around the 3rd feb. 2012 and mailed it via reg. air mail with a forwarding address in canada. my family received it today...so not as long as expected, but still need to get it stamped at a korean consulate and mailed back to me. good luck!

kneekick · « **Reply #116 on:** April 26, 2012, 01:14:59 pm »

Quote from: eggplant_tyrant on February 09, 2011, 08:08:06 am

On the RCMP website, they specifically say that mailed-in applications should take about 8 weeks, but can take 120 days or more, and that you shouldn't contact them asking where it is until after those 120 days are up.

Also, a heads-up to any other Canadians out there -- even though your city/provincial police department may be in charge of administering national-level criminal record checks in your region, and even though they consult the same national database that the RCMP does, unless you specifically have a CRC from the RCMP (as in, it says RCMP on the paper), immigration will not accept it. Even if the Korean consulate back home stamps it. Maybe you'll get lucky and be able to argue it through / get someone at immigration who doesn't care, but the official policy is to reject anything that is not specifically issued by the RCMP.

We had our search done through the Edmonton Police Service and had no problems with it at all. We sent the original to the consulate with a notorized copy (this was done in February 2012). In the past, they would not accept just an original, we actually had it sent back to us and we had to get a notorized copy to send to them. (It took us about 2 weeks in Edmonton to get receive the papers back from the EPS.)

Summer · « **Reply #117 on:** May 11, 2012, 08:32:06 am »

I got my CRC back today. It's a photocopy of the form I filled out to get it with a red stamp that says, "Certified to be a true copy of the original document. RECORD CLEARANCE VANCOUVER POLICE DEPARTMENT" and has a signature on it. Does this mean it's already been notarized? I think it may be too good to be true but it's kind of weird to take that to a notary public to get a photocopy of this copy and notarize it....................... Does anyone know?

#basedcowboyshirt · « **Reply #118 on:** **Yesterday** at 02:59:35 pm »

I just got mine back, about 40-50 days after I sent it in. Much earlier than they said it would arrive.

News:

Author Topic: Fingerprints/Criminal Record Check (Canadian Teachers) (Read 7660 times)