Authenticate TEFL Certificates
International TEFL Accreditation Council
ITEFLAC is an international quality assurance agency, working to improve quality assurance standards of TEFL & TESOL organizations all over the world. With its global network of experts, ITEFLAC grants accreditation to TEFL & TESOL course providers. In this post we´ll take a look at the authentication of TEFL certificates.
Authentication of TEFL Certificates
Some TEFL & TESOL graduates may find English teaching jobs in countries where they are requested to have their TEFL & TESOL certificate authenticated or apostilled. In many cases, the employer or agent does not inform the job applicant about how to go about this. This will leave the job applicant scrambling for answers or contacting the TEFL & TESOL course provider for answers and assistance. We´ll provide some explanation below and will provide a general overview of the processes involved. These processes may be a bit different from country to country, but you´ll get the gist.
A Simple Explanation
TEFL & TESOL certificates must be authenticated or apostilled in the country where it was issued. This process ensures that the signatures are real and that the certificate was indeed issued by the provider concerned. It is therefore important for job applicants to check whether their certificate needs to be legalized. There have been many cases where English teachers jet off abroad to start a new job in a foreign country only to find that authentication of their TEFL or TESOL certificate is required in order to be issued with a valid work permit. In this case, the job applicant will have to send their certificate to the country where it was issued – to be legalized at considerable expense and effort.
For a certificate to be apostilled, the country where the certificate is to be used (where the TEFL or TESOL graduate will be working) – must be a signatory to the Hague Convention of 1961. Some, but not all of these countries may request that an applicant´s certificate be apostilled.
Countries such as China, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia will request that certificates be authenticated as they are not signatories to the Hague Convention of 1961. Again, this can only be done in the country where the certificate was issued.
The Course Provider´s Role
The responsibility for the legalization of certificates usually lies with the job applicant. The course provider should, however, inform their graduates of the processes involved – if requested. Alternatively, course providers are welcome to link to this page for ease of reference. The legalization of certificates has been contentious at times, but TEFL & TESOL graduates need to be aware that the process is complicated and expensive. Bearing this in mind, if course providers were to provide such a service, this would have to be “baked” into the course fees (not only the actual cost but also any administration fees).
Some course providers may offer a legalization fee as part of their service, but in most cases, graduates are referred to agents/companies that specialize in this – and they usually have relevant contacts. These legalization companies can be found in almost all countries and a quick Google search will invariably spit out what you´re looking for. These companies will certainly make your life easier!
The Processes Involved
Below you´ll find a representation of the various steps taken for the legalization of TEFL & TESOL certificates (United Kingdom). Remember that the departments involved and the process may differ in different countries – this is for illustration purposes only.
NOTARIZED
The TEFL or TESOL certificate is taken to a Notary Public to check that the document is an original and that it has original signatures.
APOSTILLE STAMP
The TEFL or TESOL certificate is taken to the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to have an apostille stamp attached. This authority will check whether the issuing provider is from the UK.
AUTHENTICATE
The TEFL or TESOL certificate is then taken to the relevant embassy of the country where it will be used (China, Vietnam etc…) – to be legalised/authenticated.
Conclusion
As you may conclude from the various steps and time involved in the legalization process, the use of an agent may very well be your best bet!
