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simonenglish
Joined: 09 Aug 2011
Posts: 38
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 Posted: Mon May 07, 2012 8:52 pm Post subject: Colombian Working Visa |
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OK, so things are starting to happen now. I only sent my CV out to a couple of institutes but a big organisation contacted me and set up an appointment to meet on Wednesday. Everything looked good.
Then they call me back and ask if I have a working visa. I say no. The guy then asks me how I am supposed to work in Colombia. I say -politely- that as far as I know if a company wants to employ a foreign teacher they help with getting a working visa... He says he will check it out, but he seems unsure.
What is the best thing to do? I feel like rumbling on down to immigration, DAS or whoever and applying for a work permit. Is this a useless idea if I have no one to sponsor me? The company is very big, well respected by my friends, so maybe the name has clout. In Japan you could self sponsor with proof of employment.. It seems a catch 22 scenario waiting for someone to help me with a working visa!
Any thoughts? |
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littlelauren86
Joined: 20 Sep 2011
Posts: 94
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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Yea, it's useless to just run to immigration if you don't have anything.
The employer at the very least needs to provide you with paperwork, and you apply for that first working visa from outside of the country. Most folks seem to go to Venezuela for that. Some employers pay for it, while others just give you the paperwork and make you pay for everything. And some don't help you at all. |
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simonenglish
Joined: 09 Aug 2011
Posts: 38
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| Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 7:54 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, it is annoying as they were a top organisation. I guess they just wanted me for part-time work, so sponsorship not on the cards.. I don't like just sitting around and not trying to make it work!
At least I know that my quals can get me decent gigs, just need to find someone to take me on full-time.. |
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originaloli
Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 25
Location: Little Lisbon, London
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| Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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Ganbatte Simon!
I sent out 30 cold emails, got 10 replies for interview, all of whom offered a job and only one didn't offer to help with the visa. You should have no problem (sounds like you have experience) getting both job and visa. Not like Japan at all. |
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G22
Joined: 25 Oct 2010
Posts: 89
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| Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 4:27 am Post subject: |
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| An employer has to sponsor you, which means they incur a cost, so only the better places generally offer work visas. Most institutes do not. |
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littlelauren86
Joined: 20 Sep 2011
Posts: 94
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 4:04 pm Post subject: |
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| originaloli wrote: |
| You should have no problem (sounds like you have experience) getting both job and visa. Not like Japan at all. |
I agree with this.
Though I interviewed with one shady outfit who fed me a bunch of bs regarding work visas:
"Sorry, we don't do that. Actually, there's no way you can get a work visa here in Colombia. No company will help you."
-- Well, surely you've heard of companies such as International House that sponsor visas for foreigners?
"Well, I've been here for 10 years and I've never met a foreigner with a work visa." 
That was one painful interview. He was also "from the US" and kept mispronouncing my very common name. |
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