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Transfer and Admission Procedure
for Students Living in Korea after
Staying Overseas for a Certain Period of Time

Overview

The transfer and admission procedures for students who stayed in foreign countries for a certain period and then came to Korea, regardless of nationality, are as follows:

  1. Decide to transfer schools
  2. Contact school in your district

    [Transfer consultation]

    1. School in your district: Contact a vice-principal or a teaching director
    2. Regional office of education or district office of education: Contact a school admission officer or an officer in charge of multicultural education
  3. Documents required for transfer
    • One copy of transfer & admission application form (form prepared by city and province)
    • One copy of migration & immigration or foreign registration confirmation certificate (migration and immigration confirmation letter)
      ※ If it is difficult to submit the above forms, documents verifying your residence such as written guarantee of the neighborhood and tenancy agreement may be used instead.
    • Documents verifying educational background4) (Graduation certificate or documents verifying presence at school, report cards, etc.)
    Documents required for transfer
    Category Details
    When student attended a certified foreign school listed on the Education Ministry’s website Document issued by the principal of the school listed in the Education Ministry’s website may be a key document without authentication by Apostille or counsel

    For the list of certified foreign schools, access the Education Ministry’s website (www.moe.go.kr) and then main menu: policy> elementary, middle and high school> educational course to check: Document name: “Guide to simplified school record handling procedure for students who have studied overseas”
    ※ If the school is not listed, the person concerned shall verify that the school concerned is a registered educational institute. Otherwise, the school must be confirmed by Apostille or counsel.
    Apostille member states If foreign documents are submitted, allow Apostille to confirm, translate and certify them before submitting in Korean
    Non-member states of Apostille For states without Apostille services, receive a signature from the Korean counsel in your birth country before submission.
    • To confirm information regarding the student for educational purposes, you may be asked to submit a copy of the student’s passport, family relationship certificate and copy of resident registration (if student has acquired Korean nationality).
    [Principle for recognition of foreign enrollment or graduation]
    - Completing 6 years or more of school education = Graduation from elementary school
    - Completing 9 years or more of school education = Graduation from middle school
    - Completing 12 years or more of school education = Graduation from high school
    [When it is difficult to verify the educational background] If it is difficult to verify educational background of any student, regional offices of education shall be requested to deliberate regarding recognition of the academic degree
  4. Submit documents for transfer
  5. Transfer

- Apostille confirmation letter

If Apostille is issued for public documents (transcript, etc.) from Apostille member countries, the documents may be used as official documents in Korea

- Issuance of Apostille

  • Prepare documents verifying academic certificates issued by foreign schools attended (shall includes signature or seal of the school’s principal, with translation* attached)
    * Translation should be submitted after being notarized to receive confirmation of Apostille
  • Receive confirmation of Apostille through the foreign ministry in the country concerned or the Apostille issuer (Apostille attached)
  • If you submit it to the desired educational institute in Korea, it will be recognized as a public certificate.
  • As the nation guarantees mandatory education for children and adolescents under the constitution and convention on the rights of the child, any child or adolescent is allowed to enter elementary school or middle school, regardless of his or her residence status. Sometimes, parents that are in Korea illegally do not send their children to school, as they are concerned about being caught. But to ensure children’s right to education, the Korean government does not attempt to find illegal immigrants through their children.
    Convention on the rights of the child
    • Article 2. 1
      The Nation is obliged to respect the rights of the child stipulated in the convention and guarantee the effectiveness of the convention to each of the children regardless of the child’s, his or her parents’ or his or her sponsor’s race, gender, religion, political and other opinions, ethnic, racial or social background, property, incompetence, birth or other social status and without any type of discrimination.
    • Article 28.
      The Nation shall recognize the right of each child to education, and gradually take the following procedures to make them achieve such right based on equality of opportunity. a. Elementary school is mandatory and shall be provided to all children free of charge.
  • If parents want their child to transfer to a local school, they need to go to the school or to the relevant regional or district office of education first for admission consultation. At the school, the vice-principal or teaching director takes care of admissions. At the regional or district office of education, there is an officer in charge of admissions consultation and an officer in charge of multicultural education (multicultural family coordinator). As the officer in charge may be away from his or her desk or you might have to wait to meet with them, please call them first to make an appointment for your visit. For admission to school, you need the documents described above. If you bring the documents with you for the consultation, it will be more likely to go smoothly. To meet educational needs, you may be asked to submit additional documents.

Transfer and Admission Application Procedure

  1. Student
    School visit and application for transfer and admission in nearby district
  2. School
    After evaluating documents or performing school subject assessment, follow general transfer and admission application procedures
    (Elementary school - transferred or admitted into school in the vicinity of home address)
    (Middle school - Allowed to fill vacancies by grade)
    (High school - Approved by the principal of school, unless it affects educational course to be taken)
  3. Student
    Register transfer and admission

Academic Review Committee for Students from Multicultural Families

  • Students (aged 6 to 18) from multicultural families who want to be transferred to middle school but find it hard to confirm their educational background may request deliberation on the recognition of their academic history to regional offices of education.
  • Academic history of multicultural students is decided through comprehensive consideration of the standard school age in Korea, extent of education received in other countries, current learning ability as well as student/guardian's wishes, in addition to the documents submitted to the committee.
  • If deemed necessary to verify an applicant's ability to follow the curriculum, the academic review committee can carry out an in-person interview or a written test.

- Academic Review Process for Children from Multicultural Families

  1. Student (applicant)
    Submit a learning ability assessment application to the regional office of education by mail or in person
  2. Regional Office of Education
    Documents submitted and academic review committee convened
  3. Academic Review Committee
    Documents assessed (Interview or written test given to the applicant to verify the applicant's learning ability, if required)
  4. Committee Regional Office of Education
    Applicant notified of assessment result

- Documents for Submission to the Regional Office of Education

  • Learning ability assessment application x 1
  • Photocopy of passport or another official document for date of birth verification x 1
  • Proof of residence in Korea or alien registration x 1
  • Proof of academic history x 1 (may be omitted if cannot be obtained)
    ※ Documents in a language other than Korean must be translated and submitted. In such cases, the original and its translation must be notarized.