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Getting the Work Visa: must you return home first?

 
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gloomyGumi



Joined: 29 Dec 2010
Posts: 353

PostPosted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 11:42 am    Post subject: Getting the Work Visa: must you return home first? Reply with quote

Students of mine here in Malaysia have been swearing I can just go to Emirates on a tourist visa, find a job, and get the visa switched over to a work visa .... this would obviously be great. WHO wants to fly 14 hours back to the US, get the work visa at the Emirati Embassy there, and fly back to UAE? The Emirati Embassy here in KL should be able to do the work visa, no? Someone with experience in this, please advise. Much appreciated.
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2buckets



Joined: 14 Dec 2010
Posts: 515
Location: Middle East

PostPosted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 3:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I came in from Saudi, not sure what kind of visa if any, but got a work visa without returning to home country.

Some nationalities can get a tourist visa at the airport upon arrival in UAE. Your nationality might be the determining factor.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 3:33 pm    Post subject: Re: Getting the Work Visa: must you return home first? Reply with quote

gloomyGumi wrote:
Students of mine here in Malaysia have been swearing I can just go to Emirates on a tourist visa, find a job, and get the visa switched over to a work visa .... this would obviously be great.

Not doable. Take a look at a related thread, "Flogging a dead horse?" (http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=106326).

(Edited to correct link) Laughing


Last edited by nomad soul on Tue Apr 29, 2014 4:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 4:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Nomad... did you attach the wrong thread. That one is about bringing pets?

But anyway gloomyGumi... this is NOT the normal procedure for getting a position in education that includes a work visa. Although most nationalities can enter the country getting a tourist visa at the airport, you do not want to get involved with a "local hire."

Assuming that you have the proper credentials for a job in the Gulf (CELTA? MA? experience?), you apply and your employer brings you in with all the proper paperwork to get a legal work visa.

The Gulf is VERY expensive and a local hire job only gets you a salary, but no benefits. You need to be a "foreign hire" to get housing, tickets, health coverage, and all the other perks that Gulf teaching positions normally provide - and will cover your costs.

In the past, it wasn't required that you return to your home country to get hired and the proper work visa. More paperwork is required now, but it can be done from overseas for a price. Apply to a few jobs and get hired... then the employer will tell you the procedures.

VS
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gloomyGumi



Joined: 29 Dec 2010
Posts: 353

PostPosted: Sun May 04, 2014 2:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey VS thank you for that. Im finishing up my 2nd year at a uni in KL, Malaysia, they gave me the work visa WITHOUT any teaching certification, I know that is rare indeed. They said my Masters unrelated sufficed. I know this will not be the case in UAE. At 50, I am not that energetic to go do a 4 week intensive CELTA or TESOL or whatever. I was hoping to be able to work there without having to do one. Also to be able to fly there straight from here (MAlaysia). i.e. not have to go all the way back to the US to get the UAE work visa.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Sun May 04, 2014 3:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

gloomyGumi wrote:
Im finishing up my 2nd year at a uni in KL, Malaysia, they gave me the work visa WITHOUT any teaching certification, I know that is rare indeed. They said my Masters unrelated sufficed. I know this will not be the case in UAE. At 50, I am not that energetic to go do a 4 week intensive CELTA or TESOL or whatever. I was hoping to be able to work there without having to do one.

That's not gonna happen. For one thing, your experience isn't likely to be counted because you've been in the classroom without having received supervised/observed teacher training (i.e., your lack of TEFL cert). That, plus your non-related MA, puts the UAE and nearly the rest of the Gulf out of your reach. Your only bet for this region are Saudi contracting companies, which might be interested in you by overlooking your lack of a cert. Be aware that those companies that bend qualification/requirement rules also tend to be the sketchiest of employers.

More employers and/or visa regulations worldwide require teachers hold some sort of TEFL cert. If you plan to stay in this field, you'll have to conjure up the energy to get yourself into a TEFL cert course. Hoping to get lucky via a "flexible" employer is a gamble.
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MuscatGary



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 1364
Location: Flying around the ME...

PostPosted: Mon May 05, 2014 6:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

More employers and/or visa regulations worldwide require teachers hold some sort of TEFL cert. If you plan to stay in this field, you'll have to conjure up the energy to get yourself into a TEFL cert course. Hoping to get lucky via a "flexible" employer is a gamble.[/quote]


...and don't be tempted by cheap courses or online or distance. They don't cut the mustard in the ME and the checks are getting more and more stringent. Bite the bullet and get a CELTA or Trinity TESOL.
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gloomyGumi



Joined: 29 Dec 2010
Posts: 353

PostPosted: Mon May 05, 2014 1:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

will do. Prices are different for each I see. Might as well do one in a cheaper market, I saw $1700 in IStanbul and $2700 in Manchester. Thousand bucks is a big difference. Those prices I just quoted did not include housing for the month. Shocked This could run $3500 US. Hmmmm
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA

PostPosted: Mon May 05, 2014 2:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Check out the price in Thailand, Jordan, or Cairo for the CELTA. I expect that the cheapest is Thailand, but the second two give you the benefit of experience with Arabic speakers.

VS
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Mon May 05, 2014 9:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
gloomyGumi wrote:
Prices are different for each I see. Might as well do one in a cheaper market, I saw $1700 in IStanbul and $2700 in Manchester. Thousand bucks is a big difference. Those prices I just quoted did not include housing for the month. Shocked This could run $3500 US. Hmmmm

Check out the price in Thailand, Jordan, or Cairo for the CELTA. I expect that the cheapest is Thailand, but the second two give you the benefit of experience with Arabic speakers.

But keep in mind there's still the issue of your unrelated degree, which will limit where you can teach, even with a CELTA.
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