Degree certificate or transcripts?

Hi Lluviando,

Not sure about what the certain countries need but to be on the safe side I would bring orginals and copies of both your degree and transcripts. In my experience of working in South East Asia they only ask for degree certificates but it doesn't hurt to have both.

On the cheaper CELTA courses have a look at these
http://cambridgeesol-centres.org/centres/teaching/index.do
or http://www.eslbase.com/courses/celta
They have list of the different centres that hold the courses. My friend did hers in Jakarta and the fees where cheaper (not super cheap but cheaper) and the cost to stay for a month are a lot less than the UK/ US.
Most places only offer a set amount of courses a year so it might be worth contacting a few.

Good luck in your new career.

My understanding is that Korea likes a sealed transcript mailed to them from your university and often wants to see the original degree during an interview or at least a scan during the screening process. I am happy to be corrected, however. I am reporting simply what I had to do last time I worked there and that was about 4-5 years ago, thus perhaps old news.

For most other countries, my experience has been that they want to see the degree. Many countries do not have an equivalent transcript type system and/or the officials who review such documents are not familiar with them. Understand that there are two sets of quite different people (sometime more) who will be reviewing your documents. One is your potential employer and others can include immigration, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Education and in some places even local provincial authorities. All will usually have different skill sets and requirements for moving your paperwork along.

I agree with chezal above that it is better to arrive with originals and copies of everything. In some countries - to avoid work? - officials will fish for what you DON'T have and say that is what they want. So it is best then to have everything there and ready to go.

I'd get both. Have SEALED transcripts, the original degree, and also a COPY of the degree apostillised. Transcripts can be brought with you. I have 10 copies of my transcripts, 10 apostillised copy of my degree.

Here are steps on apostillisation
http://theultimateperulist.blogspot.com/2010/11/peru-and-hague-agreement.html

the above poster is semi-right about Korea. SOME places want it mailed to them directly, SOME don't care. SOME will say they can't be more than 3 months old. take that witha grain of salt. I gave kimmi transcrtips that were 6 years old and they didn't blink an eye.

Korea is just now changing its policy for E-2 visa holders (English teachers). As I understand it, only original copies will be accepted; however, in addition to undergoing a medical screening (usually once you are in Korea), applicants will now have to provide a national background check with Apostille. No exceptions for new visas, even if you have taught here before or are extending a contract. This is a big change, especially for Americans, who must now apply for an FBI check. We've been trying to catch up with this at my school, as the news just came out.

Transcripts
Original degree
Apostillised copy of original degree

Over the past 8 years, this is what I've been asked for. And if you're worried about losing your degree, you could get another one. I called my uni and told them that my first had been covered with signatures, stamps, seals, etc and I wanted another . They charged me $20. So now I have two :)

Edited by: naturegirlskc