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Why should I use Teaching Nomad to get my documents apostilled?

Save the headache

Teaching Nomad can do all steps of authentication for you, including running and authenticating your background check. Let us handle the entire process for you, stress-free.

Stay where you are

 We can do your U.S. document authentication no matter where you’re located. We even take your documents to the consulate so you don’t have to worry about travel expenses.

Results guaranteed

You have a lot to do to prepare for your move  overseas or new job – let the experts take care of this for you! We guarantee our services and will keep you updated every step of the way.

Steps for getting ready to work in China

1
Document preparation
2
Background check
3
Document apostille
4
Work permit
5
Work visa
1

Determine the documents required for apostille

To obtain a work permit for Chinayou’ll need to apostille your university degree and recent background check. If you plan on teaching in China, your employer may also require that you apostille your teaching qualification such as a 120-hour TEFL certificate, a teaching license, or a reference letter for 2+ years of classroom experience. 

Get in touch with your employer to ensure that you’re getting the proper documents apostilled. 

If you are bringing a spouse and/or children with you to China, you will need to apostille your marriage license and/or the birth certificates of your children. 

Documents that typically need an apostille:

Degree
Degree
Background check
Background check
Teaching certificate
Teaching certificate
Birth certificates
Birth certificates
Marriage license
Marriage license

Have other personal or corporate documents?

We can authenticate those too!

2

Obtain a background check

You can obtain a background check report from a local, state, or national organization (FBI). Local and state police stations often have a turnaround time in as little as 1 day or as many as 5 business days. The turnaround time for ordering a background check from the FBI is around 2 weeks.

If you get a local or state-level background check on your own, be sure that the police station notarizes it at the time that it is run.

An FBI check is not always required, but if your employer does require it, here’s some information about how to obtain an FBI background check. If you reside overseas you must order directly from the FBI, if you’re based in the US you can utilize the assistance of channeler, we suggest this one.

Teaching Nomad also offers a state-level background check that’s accepted everywhere in China (aside from the places that specify that they want an FBI check), as well as full authentication services for it! This background check can be completed in just a few days, and it’s easy to bundle authentication of it with your degree, TEFL, or letter of reference authentication. Click here to check out prices and order your background check.

Here’s information for obtaining a background check through Royal Canadian Mounted Police. There’s information for obtaining it while residing in Canada or overseas.

You can apply for a background check at a local police station or you can apply for a full national check here.

Here’s information for obtaining your background check from the Irish National Police.

 

You can obtain your background check through a local police station or through the Australian Federal Police.

 

Here’s information for obtaining a national police background check for New Zealand.

You can obtain a background check through the South African Police Department.

Need to order a U.S. background check? We can help!

Just add “order a state-level background check” to our document request form along with any other documents you need authenticated!

3

Apostille your documents

In order to authenticate U.S. documents for use in China, they must go through a 3-5 step process, depending on what state the notarization is done in.  

1. Notarization. Certified copies of your original documents are typically accepted for authentication, however, verify this with your employer. Please only complete notarization if your employer requires the original document to be authenticated, otherwise, we can do the notarization! 

2. County Clerk. Documents notarized in the following states must be authenticated at the county level: Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, and Tennessee 

3. Secretary of State. Take your documents to the SOS to get authenticated. If you are doing this step on your own, make sure you indicate that the document will be used for China and do not take apart staples! 

4. U.S. Department of State. This step is only relevant for federal documents such as an FBI background check.

Ready to get started? Fill out our order form now.

1. The document shall be notarized by a local notary public, lawyer, or Commissioner of Oaths of Canada.

2. The notarized document shall be authenticated by the Authentication and Service of Documents Section of Global Affairs Canada — if the applicant would like to bring the document to this Embassy for authentication. The notarized document shall be authenticated by the authentication office of the corresponding province (territory).

3. The document shall be authenticated by the Chinese Embassy if it has been authenticated by the Authentication Office of Global Affairs Canada. The document shall be authenticated by one of the Chinese Consulates General in Canada in accordance with its consular jurisdiction where it has been authenticated by a local authentication office.

You can read more about this process on the Chinese Embassy of Canada website.

If you do not live near a consulate, we suggest using www.mychinavisa.com to complete the third step for you. Use code “NOMAD2020” to receive a discount on your order.

*Teaching Nomad can easily get your degree fully authenticated for use in China. This means there’s one less document that you need to worry about on your own! Visit our order form to get started today, or email [email protected] for more information!*

1. Relevant documents (diploma, certificates, teaching license, etc.) will need to be notarized by a solicitor or public notary in the U.K.

2. After the documents have been notarized, you must take them to get authenticated by the Foreign Commonwealth Office. Once the FCO assesses that the documents are genuine, they will attach an Apostille to your documents.

3. Once apostilled by the FCO, take your documents to the Chinese Embassy to receive Chinese consulate legalization.

*Teaching Nomad can easily get your degree fully authenticated for use in China. This means there’s one less document that you need to worry about on your own! Visit our order form to get started today, or email [email protected] for more information!*


A great agency that provides the full legalization of documents for U.K. citizens is https://www.vitalconsular.com/.

Contact Emma at [email protected]. Let her know that Teaching Nomad referred you, and she’ll make sure you’re taken care of!

Estimated prices using this service are:

  • £209 for authentication of 1 document
  • £398 for authentication of 2 documents
  • £540 for authentication of 3 documents
1. Get your documents notarized by a local notary public.

2. Send the documents to the Legalization Office of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, or visit the Cork or Dublin office in person.

3. Submit the documents to the Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General for authentication. Note – this must be done in person or via a courier service.

Find more information about the requirements and the application form here.

*Teaching Nomad can easily get your degree fully authenticated for use in China. This means there’s one less document that you need to worry about on your own! Visit our order form to get started today, or email [email protected] for more information!*


A great agency that provides the full legalization of documents for Irish citizens is https://www.vitalconsular.com/.

Contact Emma at [email protected]. Let her know that Teaching Nomad referred you, and she’ll make sure you’re taken care of!

Estimated prices using this service are:

  • £209 for authentication of 1 document
  • £398 for authentication of 2 documents
  • £540 for authentication of 3 documents

1. Your documents must be notarized by any Australian notary public.

2. Degrees need to be verified by your university before going to DFAT which can be done before or after they are notarized. Doing this step while applying for your police check might save you a bit of time.

Info for people applying from outside of Australia can be found here.
Info for people applying within Australia can be found here.

3. Once notarized, all documents are to be authenticated (not apostilled) by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or an office of theirs in a state or territory. This can be arranged to be done either in person or by post, but the mailing service can only be used for Sydney or Melbourne.

4. Lastly, take your notarized and authenticated documents to the relevant Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General. You must take your documents to the Embassy or Consulate in the Jurisdiction where they were ‘notarized’, not ‘authenticated’.

*Teaching Nomad can easily get your degree fully authenticated for use in China. This means there’s one less document that you need to worry about on your own! Visit our order form to get started today, or email [email protected] for more information!*


A great agency that provides the full legalization of documents for Australian citizens is https://www.vitalconsular.com/.

Contact Emma at [email protected]. Let her know that Teaching Nomad referred you, and she’ll make sure you’re taken care of!

Estimated prices using this service are:

  • £209 for authentication of 1 document
  • £398 for authentication of 2 documents
  • £540 for authentication of 3 documents

1. Send your documents to the New Zealand Authentication Unit. Before sending your documents to them, make sure they meet the Authentication Unit guidelines, or else they cannot be legalized.

  • For school records (excluding the University of Auckland and Auckland University of Technology), medical records, employment documents, and any other personal documents, please make sure they are first notarized by a local public notary.
  • If you attended the University of Auckland and Auckland University of Technology, your records must be emailed to the Authentication unit via My eQuals. Contact your university if you need assistance with this.

2. Once you have ensured that all of your documents meet the Authentication Unit requirements, fill out the document authentication application form and send it to the Authentication Unit. The notarized documents plus payment must be attached to this application.

3. Documents will then be authenticated by the Department of Internal Affairs Authentication Unit then sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) for verification.

*Teaching Nomad can easily get your degree fully authenticated for use in China. This means there’s one less document that you need to worry about on your own! Visit our order form to get started today, or email [email protected] for more information!*


A great agency that provides the full legalization of documents for New Zealand citizens is https://www.vitalconsular.com/.

Contact Emma at [email protected]. Let her know that Teaching Nomad referred you, and she’ll make sure you’re taken care of!

Estimated prices using this service are:

  • £209 for authentication of 1 document
  • £398 for authentication of 2 documents
  • £540 for authentication of 3 documents

1. The first step in authenticating any documents will be to get them notarized by a notary public/registrar at the high provincial courts in South Africa.

2. Documents will then need to be taken to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa (DIRCO) to get legalized.

3. Take the authenticated documents to the Embassy or Consulate of China to get the Chinese authentication on your documents.

*Teaching Nomad can easily get your degree fully authenticated for use in China. This means there’s one less document that you need to worry about on your own! Visit our order form to get started today, or email [email protected] for more information!*

Previous Teaching Nomads have successfully used this document authentication organization.


A great agency that provides the full legalization of documents for South African citizens is https://www.vitalconsular.com/.

Contact Emma at [email protected]. Let her know that Teaching Nomad referred you, and she’ll make sure you’re taken care of!

Estimated prices using this service are:

  • £209 for authentication of 1 document
  • £398 for authentication of 2 documents
  • £540 for authentication of 3 documents

Our prices for China

Apostille

From $45/document + shipping fees

Background Check

$66

Visa processing

Visa service not currently available

 Prices for our China document apostille service are based on many different factors. Fill out our order form to get an exact quote for your situation. 

Our apostille service

Obtaining a document apostille can be a stressful and difficult process, especially if you don’t live near your secretary of state, you’re currently overseas, or you just don’t have the time or desire to deal with the intricacies of the process. 

We offer a comprehensive service where we do the entire apostille process for you. 

If so, please fill out our order form so that we can get in touch with you and begin the apostille process as soon as possible! 

Do you meet one of the following criteria?

U.S. passport holder U.S. document holder

If so, please fill out our document request form so that we can get in touch with you and begin the document authentication process as soon as possible!

Get started!

4

Get your work permit

Now that your documents are apostilled, send scans of these documents to your employer. They will apply for your work permit which will likely take somewhere between 5-20 business days.

It’s important to tell them which Chinese consulate you will use to apply for your work visa, as you cannot change this later. If you do not live near a Chinese consulate and you plan to use an agent, you may want to consult them at this point.

5

Apply for your work visa

Once approved, your employer will email your work permit approval to you which you will take to the consulate to apply for your visa. This must also be done in person and if you don’t live near a consulate, there are numerous visa companies that can take care of this for you!

 Still considering other countries?

Learn more about the authentication process in each.

What our customers are saying

Amanda was amazing and very responsive to my requests! I was able to get my documents authenticated immediately despite the delays due to the pandemic. She also communicated each step of the process and gave me updates when I requested them. I appreciate all of her help and was able to stay positive because of her support.

Ilaise Levrets

I would definitely use Teaching Nomad again in the future for my document authentications. They were so nice and helpful throughout the process and I didn’t even have to worry about how my documents were going. They notified me and updated information for each step that was taken and I felt so trusted. I was ordering my authentications from overseas and it was as easy as pie! Overall the process was so smooth and of course, my documents safely arrived on time. Thank you for the huge help. Appreciate it.

Gloria Choi

I would recommend Teaching Nomad for all document authentications. The customer service is incredible and they work very quickly to get you exactly what you need! Amanda is a great asset to the Teaching Nomad team and a pleasure to work with!

Elia Tanzer

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