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Teaching Abroad

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What Do I Need to Teach Abroad?

Each country has its own requirements, but there are two main documents required for most teaching programs.

You will need:

  1. A copy of your FBI Criminal Background Check
  2. A copy of your MFA College Diploma + Transcript

After obtaining these documents, they must then be certified OR notarized* in the originating state.

Here’s where it gets a little tricky… if the country you are heading to is a signatory of the 1961 Hague Convention, then you need to get an Apostille.

If the country you are heading to is NOT a signatory of the 1961 Hague Convention, then your documents will need to go through Embassy Legalization–which is a more complex, lengthier process of certifying the authenticity of your educational documents.   

What is an Apostille? What’s Embassy Legalization? 

Essentially, both these items are forms of certification from the US government that informs the receiving international government the documents in question are valid and able to be used overseas.

Why do I need to get an Apostille for a criminal background check?

Especially in Asian countries, there has been an unfortunate rise of criminals and sexual predators who have entered the country with the intention of teaching English in their school systems. Because of this, there has been a need for increased security within the education realm, and ESL teaching applicants must now provide certification of their documents.

How do I get an Apostille for my diploma?

  1. Contact your school’s registrar for your school’s policy on notarizing a diploma. Oftentimes, you must request the registrar meet with yourself and a notary to notarize the signature on the diploma.
  1. After you have notarized your diploma, you can mail them into a trusted document authenticating company (WCS…duh!) and let us take care of the rest.

*If your document needs to be notarized, find a notary near you—oftentimes, your banking institution may provide you of this service, or you can find a list of local notaries by state HERE.

*Some countries require that notarized, government-issued document need to be authenticated further through a certification of validity from the Office of the Secretary of State.

REMEMBER: Your diploma MUST be notarized, signed by your Registrar, and Apostilled from the same State the school is located in.

If you’re teaching in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, prepare to be met with strict requirements on degree authentication. You will need to follow additional steps and provide supplemental documentation.

Teaching abroad is going to be an amazing experience. Don’t get bogged down by the complexities of document authentication, contact us and let us handle the grunt work for you.

Fake Stamps!

Watch Out for Fake Stamps!

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Recently we received a call from a major corporate customer asking about our document legalization services for United Arab Emirates (UAE). He was comparing our prices and processes with his current service provider. As we went into the details, he explained that our National U.S. Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC) stamp was more expensive than the US Arab Chamber of Commerce stamp that his current service provider used.

This was an odd statement because there is only ONE authorized Chamber of Commerce stamp for legalizing documents in UAE: the NUSACC stamp with the green outline (pictured). We contacted the UAE Embassy and were told that the only recognized “Chamber” stamp is the NUSACC stamp and that any other stamp is fraudulent. More importantly, the completed documents could not be legally used in the UAE.

Unfortunately, some providers in this industry are engaged in unethical business practices. They “invent” their own Chamber stamp (see the stamp outlined in yellow) and then convince their customers that the stamp is legitimate.

The service providers using fraudulent stamps are engaging in unethical and possibly illegal practices. More importantly for regulatory professionals, by accepting such a stamp, you may be exposing your company to substantial risks, including the non-recognition of your documents in a foreign country, claims of violating the law in a foreign country, and millions of dollars of lost revenue.

Fake stamps are no laughing matter. If you are concerned about documents that may not have been properly and legally authenticated, contact WCS. We will be sure to give you accurate, trustworthy guidance.

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WCS Takeaways from RAPS 2015 Regulatory Convergence in Baltimore

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This year, I had the good fortune of attending the annual Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) Regulatory Convergence in Baltimore, MD. Being my first Regulatory Convergence, I was excited and unsure of what to expect. As I walked into the massive convention center near the Inner Harbor, I was taken aback by the amount of attendees. I didn’t know where to begin.

This event was truly a convergence, a meeting of the minds, where regulatory professionals with very impressive pedigrees provided interactive sessions covering a host of current regulatory issues.

Having a legal background, I attended the session on “Common Challenges Facing Lawyers in our Globalized Medical Products Industry.” The seasoned attorneys on the panel led an interesting discussion about the necessity of communication between regulatory and legal departments within a company andthe need to anticipate potential issues and addressing them proactively instead of reactively.

I found the session about the Ebola Vaccine Development Response to be fascinating. I felt compelled to sit in on this session, as I live less than a mile from NIH and was watching the helicopter that transported the first Ebola patient to the NIH facilities from my front porch. It was truly amazing to hear how the various agencies came together to execute the approval of the life-saving treatment in such an expedited fashion.

Between the well-executed, informative sessions, the impressive exhibit hall, and the welcoming and friendly nature of the attendees, the 2015 RAPS Convergence did not disappoint. I look forward to attending future RAPS events.

 

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