Job Discussion Forums

[Scottydawg]

I did phone the Polish consulate in Chicago~~twice. The man was very helpful. He strongly advised me not to do what they asked. He said he was not completely up on the temp. res., but he knew of course that I could not work legally without that or the work permit visa.

Well, I've given up on this gambit. My backup plan is to snag one of the super discount flights (some are under $400 right now), go to Poznan for a couple of weeks, set up as many interviews (formal or not) as I can with schools that may be worth working for, and see if I can get a mid-year position.

By the way, does anyone know how long it actually takes when the school applies for your work permit?

[Alex Shulgin]

It varies on the school. They have to advertise there for 8 weeks without getting any Poles who meet their criteria. Once they have done that they can apply for permission to employ a foreigner. If they are smart then they are always advertising in the local labour office. So then they can immediately put you up as a foreign candidate and get you approved and a promise of work permit for you to take to the consulate. Once they have the promise you go to the consulate and get the sticker in your passport. Then you go to Poland and start the application for a Temporary resident's card.

The one piece of good news that I can offer you is that in the past the immigration office have been quite reasonable with schools. They used to let people slide if all the paperwork had been submitted and the person was working while their application for the promise of a work permit was being processed. You still have to go back to the USA to get it all completed tho'. And you'll be relying on what the immigration office have allowed to happen in the past rather than doing what the law requires them to do. You also have to be able to trust the school completely when they tell you that the application is in and being processed. I don't think I'd try it myself.

[mike10]

[go2guy]

So what's the big deal about Poznan anyway? Or is it just the place where this Milennium outfit sends its recruits/victims?! Poland seems like a very dynamic market for EFL opportunities. Hope to visit it some day. Are there any EFL/language fairs of note in Poland?

[Scottydawg]

I have been absent from the board for some time because I don't have a computer at my flat here in Warsaw. I've been teaching for Orange School for three months, and I like it. I spent a couple of weeks in Poznan, and I can tell you I like Warsaw worlds better. For a large city, I have to say it is a very nice place to live. I would hate to leave now.

[marty5371]

Millennium Service has changed it's name to M&M Service, sorry Aerk changing your business name will help you scam more teachers.

[Scottydawg]

I've been here going on two years now, and I have to say I still don't understand the residency and work permit regulations very well. My school tells me what to do and when to do it. Each year, the process takes five months. I have to have a registered address which means I have to sign a one-year lease with my landlord. If you have relatives in Poland, they can register you. All the fees and stamps total about 500 PLN.

I still say Warsaw is a better place to live than any American city of similar size (about 2 million), but I'm getting a bit tired of it now, and things didn't work out with my gf, so I'm thinking about Spain (where I can actually speak the language a bit). I'm definitely going to have one more magic summer in Warsaw (my residency is already set until Sept.). Winters here are depressing, so this year, I'm taking up ice skating and skiing to try and beat the blues.

My school (Orange) is good about arranging my paperwork and reliable about paying. Unfortunately, they have recently been bought by Empik, so who knows what changes that will bring. All-in-all, I haven't experienced any seriously bad slings and arrows that TEFL teachers are sometimes heir to...