Documents You Need for Teaching English Abroad
Landing a teaching job abroad is the easy part — the paperwork is where most delays happen. Schools and immigration authorities in China, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf, and elsewhere typically require your degree, TEFL certificate, and police check to be formally certified before they will issue a work visa. Here is what that involves for Canadian teachers.
The Core Document Package
Almost every teach-abroad destination asks for the same three documents: your university degree, your TEFL or TESOL certificate, and a Canadian police check. Some employers add transcripts, reference letters, or a medical certificate, but the degree, TEFL, and police check are the documents that consistently require formal certification.
Each usually needs preparation before certification. Degrees and TEFL certificates are typically notarized as true copies (or signed by the issuing institution), and the police check must be the type your destination accepts — many countries specifically require the fingerprint-based RCMP certified criminal record check rather than a local name-based letter. Because employers sometimes hand new hires a checklist written for another nationality, it is worth confirming which Canadian equivalents apply before ordering anything.
- University degree (and sometimes transcripts)
- TEFL / TESOL certificate
- Police check — often the fingerprint-based RCMP certificate
- Occasionally: reference letters, medical forms, or a bachelor's-degree verification
Apostille Destinations: China, Korea, and Others
Since Canada joined the Apostille Convention on 11 January 2024, documents for member destinations can be apostilled in a single certification step. China is a Convention member and accepts apostilles on Canadian documents, which replaced the old consular legalization chain for Chinese work permits. South Korea, Japan, and Spain are also members.
Which authority issues the apostille depends on the document: provincially issued or notarized documents go to the provincial competent authority (such as Ontario's ODS), while federal documents like the RCMP police check are apostilled by Global Affairs Canada.
Legalization Destinations: Vietnam, Thailand, and the Gulf
Not every teaching destination accepts apostilles. Vietnam is not a Hague member, so documents for Vietnamese work permits must be authenticated in Canada and then legalized at the Vietnamese mission. Thailand likewise requires legalization. In the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE all require the full authentication-and-legalization chain through their embassies in Canada.
The legalization route involves more steps and more handling time than an apostille, so teachers heading to these destinations should start their paperwork as early as possible — ideally as soon as a contract is signed.
Sequence and Timing
The order of operations matters: obtain or notarize the document first, certify it second (apostille or authentication), legalize at the embassy third if required, and translate where the destination demands it. Police checks add a timing wrinkle, since many countries only accept certificates issued within a recent window.
Processing times at notaries, government authorities, and embassies are set by those bodies and vary — build buffer into your plans rather than working backwards from a school start date with no margin.
How Visa Jet Can Help
Visa Jet is a private Canadian agency that prepares teach-abroad document packages end to end: confirming what your destination requires, arranging notarization, routing each document to the correct certifying authority, and handling embassy legalization where needed. Everything runs remotely by email and secure courier, wherever you are.
We cannot guarantee any authority's decision or timeline, but we can make sure your file goes in correctly the first time. Contact info@visajet.ca or +1 819-635-8787 to get started.
Frequently asked questions
No. China is a member of the Apostille Convention, and since Canada joined on 11 January 2024, Canadian documents for China can be apostilled instead of going through the old consular legalization chain. Always confirm current requirements with your employer or visa agent, as implementation details can vary.
Many countries specifically require the fingerprint-based RCMP certified criminal record check rather than a local name-based letter, and often within a recent issuance window. Confirm the exact requirement with your employer or the immigration authority before ordering.
Canadian authorities certify Canadian documents and Canadian notarizations. A foreign degree generally needs certification in its country of issue, though a notarized Canadian copy is sometimes acceptable depending on the destination. This is worth confirming case by case.
As soon as your contract is signed. Between notarization, certification, embassy legalization, and courier time, the chain can involve several independent authorities whose timelines vary and cannot be guaranteed.
Important: Visa Jet is a private travel, visa, and document support agency. We are not a government office, embassy, or consulate. We assist with document preparation, legalization support, application review, embassy submission, and tracking. Final approval and processing times are determined by the embassy, consulate, government office, or destination country.
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