Job Discussion Forums

nzbradly78 · Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 9:44 am Post subject: Visa questions

Hello,

I just signed my contract with a school in Ostrava. Needless to say, we (my family and I) are pretty much over the moon with this job.

I am curious about the next step I should do to prepare for getting a visa for the Czech Republic. My contract is for two years. What documents would I need to arrange and would these need to be translated into Czech? We have plenty of time, my job doesn't start until August.

And, having lived in several countries, would I need to get a criminal background check from all the ones I've lived in, or just my home country? That's the one I'm a little nervous about because some of those places aren't exactly famous for their bureaucratic efficiency.

Finally, and sorry for rambling, what would I need to get for my wife and children in regards to their visas? My children will be 5 and 2 when we leave for the CR.

Thank you for any advice you can pass along!

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Your primary source of information should be the school that has hired you. Laws change - my experiences of a few years back may no longer be relevant, and most regulars here will be in the same situation.

So far as I know, documents don't normally need to be translated. If you are living in your home country now, I think it is most likely that you will only need a clean criminal record from there, but again, I'd check with the school officials to be sure.

The school will also hopefully assist with visa applications for your family. You'll definitely need someone to help you who both knows current law and who is fluent in Czech. I expect it's likely that you will incur some attorney fees in the process.

I'm rather curious what sort of job you have lined up that will pay enough to support a family - these are EXTREMELY rare. Do you plan to put your children in local schools? Will your wife also teach?

gwynnie86 · Joined: 27 Apr 2009 Posts: 159

I am not in the Czech Republic (yet), but from reading around the boards and other sites in seems that most teaching jobs in CZ are given at the time (I mean, not several months in advance) and that you need to be in the country to get them, rather than being able to apply online as you can for jobs in Asia. So I'm just curious as to how you found this job? Also... not to seem paranoid... but I'd definitely check the reputation of this school, and make absolutely sure that once the contract is signed that they can't go back on it etc, as small alarm bells are going off in my head about this!

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

I believe OP in this case has some specific qualifications that are needed by the school. The job's not newbie-level.

You are right, though - in general, newbie level jobs are NOT found from abroad, and any employer seeking someone sight-unseen should be considered possibly shady - why are teachers in the region not taking the job?