Hello, business owners! 🙌🏻
When hiring a foreign instructor,
are you checking things like this?
“They have an E-2 visa, so they can start teaching right away, right?”
Hiring a foreign instructor is not a process that ends after checking just one visa.
Even if you found a great instructor,
if the education requirements are not met,
if the required documents were not properly verified,
if a sex offense background check was not conducted, or
if the instructor’s personal information was not posted after hiring,
there could be problems with running the academy.
Today, before hiring a foreign instructor, here are the must-check items for academy owners:
① Visa
② Education
③ Required documents
④ Criminal and sex offense background
⑤ Health examination
⑥ Post-hiring posting
Vijob will explain all of this at once! 👩🏫
✅ Check 1. Confirm whether the person can actually teach before looking only at “E-2”
To work as an instructor at a private academy for school curriculum instruction in Korea, a foreigner must have
a residence status that allows the relevant teaching activity or permission for activities outside the scope of their residence status for that teaching activity.
And in principle, foreign instructors who teach directly in Korea must also have a university degree or equivalent education. The current Enforcement Decree of the Academy Act also requires both of these conditions for academy instructor qualifications.
The most representative residence status you will encounter for foreign language conversation instruction is E-2 conversation instruction.
E-2 is operated as a residence status for teaching foreign language conversation not only at foreign language academies but also at certain educational and training institutions.
But here is the important point!
“If they are a foreigner, only E-2 is possible”
or
“If they have D-2, they can work as a part-time instructor at an academy”
you should not make assumptions based only on the visa code.
When hiring foreigners with other residence statuses such as D-type or F-type, it is safest to first check whether the current residence status allows the intended teaching activity and whether separate permission is needed.
✅ Check 2. Foreign instructors’ education must also be verified
Having the right visa does not mean you can hire them immediately.
Foreign instructors working at a private academy for school curriculum instruction in Korea must generally be recognized as having a university degree or equivalent education under the law.
So when hiring, you should verify their education through documents such as:
✔ Copy of degree certificate
✔ Proof of degree completion
✔ Graduation certificate showing the degree was earned
For education-related documents issued overseas, you must also check whether they meet the official verification requirements required by law. The Enforcement Rules of the Academy Act separately set out the educational certificate requirements and verification standards for foreign instructors.
In other words,
“They’re really good at English.”
“They’re a native speaker.”
alone is not enough to determine whether they qualify as an academy instructor.
✅ Check 3. If they will teach foreign languages, verify the “required documents” before hiring
When hiring a foreign instructor who will teach foreign languages, the academy owner must personally receive the necessary documents and verify them before hiring.
The main documents usually checked are as follows.
📄 Criminal background check
: A document that can confirm the instructor’s criminal record across their country of nationality and must meet the official verification requirements set by law
You should also check whether there is any criminal history related to the instructor’s suitability.
🏥 Health certificate
: A health certificate is not just a general medical checkup result.
A pre-employment physical examination certificate including test results for marijuana and drugs is required, and
for foreign instructors teaching in Korea, in principle you must confirm that:
✔ Issued within 1 month of the hiring date
✔ No positive result for narcotics/drug tests
✔ No disqualification in the physical examination for public health reasons
and other criteria.
🎓 Education certificate
: Check a copy of the degree certificate, proof of degree completion, or a graduation certificate showing the degree was earned.
🛂 Passport, visa, and foreign registration-related documents
: You must verify the passport and residence status, and confirm whether the foreigner is legally able to perform the teaching activity assigned at our academy.
For owners, it is important not just to copy and keep the documents, but to verify “Do these documents actually meet the hiring conditions?”
✅ Check 4. Does an E-2 instructor not need a criminal background check?
This is the most confusing part.
Under the Academy Act, among residence statuses that allow employment, a person with an E-2 conversation instruction residence status may be exempt from submitting a criminal background check from their country of nationality among the foreign instructor hiring documents under the Academy Act.
So it is easy to think, “If it’s E-2, then all criminal checks are unnecessary?”
This exception applies only to the criminal background check from the foreign instructor’s country of nationality prescribed by the Academy Act.
The sex offense background check required when hiring for child and youth-related institutions is a procedure under a separate law.
Do not mix the two up.
📋 Owner, check these 6 things before assigning classes to a foreign instructor!
If it feels complicated, follow this order.
① Check the visa
Can they teach the relevant class at our academy under their current residence status?
② Check education
Do they meet the university degree or higher education requirement for foreign instructors teaching in Korea?
③ Verify hiring documents
Are the necessary documents such as the criminal background check, health certificate, education certificate, and passport/residence documents prepared?
④ Confirm the E-2 exception
Are you confusing the E-2 exemption for the country-of-nationality criminal background check with other verification procedures?
⑤ Sex offense background check
If the academy falls under a child and youth-related institution, was the check completed before classes actually began?
“Can we also hire foreign instructors at our academy?”
“Can a foreigner with this visa work as an instructor?”
“Where can I find foreign talent in Korea?”
Don’t worry about it alone. Vijob will help solve your hiring challenges together with you.
If foreign hiring feels difficult because it’s your first time, start with Vijob now!
📞 Foreign hiring, start with Vijob from the beginning!
Vijob provides support all at once.
✔ Register and promote foreign hiring job postings
✔ Guidance on hiring eligibility by visa type
✔ Networking with foreign talent by country
(🇻🇳 🇲🇳 🇲🇲 🇮🇳 🇵🇭 🇳🇵 🇰🇭 🇮🇩 …)
Phone inquiries: 070-7124-3581 (weekdays 9:00~18:00)
Email inquiries: service@vijob.net
Instagram inquiries: https://www.instagram.com/vijob_korea/
Focus on finding a great instructor. Vijob will make the criteria for hiring foreign talent easy to understand. 😊💙