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ls650
Joined: 10 May 2003
Posts: 3484
Location: British Columbia
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 Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 3:41 am Post subject: Teaching without a work visa |
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I'm working legally at my current school. Getting the work visa was relatively easy and the school handled most of the paperwork. I'm coming near the end of my contract and I'm starting to plan where I'll work next.
It seems from reading the information journals that a lot of countries are very difficult (if not impossible) to get a work visa for TEFL, so many people teach illegally while on tourist visas.
I imagine the penalties vary from country to country, but I'm curious to know what happens if you get busted for working without the proper visa. Does anyone want to share his/her experience?  |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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| Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 6:34 am Post subject: |
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I know someone who worked illegally in Trinidad and Tabago and was deported and can't go back for 10 years.
I know of someone else who was deported in Taiwan, told not to come back for 10 years, got married a couple years later. Changed her last name, and went to Taiwan again and got deported again.
But I've heard that for the most part, Latin America is more easy going. I've been told that there are lot of illegal teachers who border hop. |
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Ben Round de Bloc
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1946
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| Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 10:58 am Post subject: |
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I imagine the penalties vary from country to country, but I'm curious to know what happens if you get busted for working without the proper visa. Does anyone want to share his/her experience?
- ls650 |
Here in Mexico a lot depends on which part of the country you're in, your school's relationship with the local immigration office, and probably some other factors as well. In some parts of the country short-term (a year or less) and/or part-time teachers don't bother with work visas. Some foreigners have worked illegally for years in this country. In other parts of the country, local immigration offices are a bit more strict about enforcing the laws.
If one checks out the laws about what can happen if caught working illegally, it can sound pretty scary, especially the parts about jail time and fines. However, the worst that I've heard happening to people working illegally in the part of the country where I am is that they were given 10 days to leave the country with threats of "serious action" if they were caught doing it again. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2004 3:02 am Post subject: Agreed |
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That's about the most I've seen here in Mexico too, Tim. It's almost always a simply matter of a fine to be paid if you overstay your visa. Costa rica is particularly lenient on this.
While renewing my own visa in Mexico City once, I was in line behined a man from Bolivia who was caught overstaying his visa by 11 months. the migra agent told him there would be an 8000 peso fine (800 usd or so). the Bolivian calmly said no, that was too much and started to haggle. Finally got the agent down to 150 pesos (into the agent's pocket of course) and that was that. Welcome to this part of the world. |
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khmerhit
Joined: 31 May 2003
Posts: 1874
Location: Reverse Culture Shock Unit
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| Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 2:10 am Post subject: |
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In cambodia, my visa lapsed by two years. I paid for an update at a dubious government ministry, which cost me the same as it would have done normally.
On leaving the country, the border guards spotted the ruse and interrogated me for three hours. Then they asked me to take them all out to dinner, with lots of whiskey. That was my last dinner in Cambodia.  |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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| Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 2:16 am Post subject: |
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My roommate had overstayed her business visa by a month and was working. She went to the police station in China. The policewoman ended up lecturing the Chinese partner and telling him that it was his fault and responsiblity to take care of the foreign guests,
They had to sign an apoligy and didn't have to pay the 1000 USD fine at all. |
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