Job Discussion Forums

mozsmith · Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Posts: 35

21, Australian but living and working in Ireland, a degree plus CELTA and half a years teaching experience. Intermediate Spanish, although studying in Seville put that level to the test at every opportunity!

When would been the best time to arrive in Mexico?

Would 2000 USD be okay to set myself up?

Can I actually work while waiting for my FM3 paperwork if I bring my qualifications?

City versus rural?

Thanks Smile

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

mozsmith · Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Posts: 35

Thanks Guy, that must be record time for a response!

Do you think it will be an issue to get my qualifications certified by Irish authorities rather than sending them back to Australia?

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

I assume your degree is from Australia and the CELTA from Ireland. I believe the degree has to get an apostille from Australia in that case. The CELTA, if they even offer an apostille for it, would probably have to be done in Ireland. Not sure on that though. Best ask the Mexican consulate or embassy near you.

mozsmith · Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Posts: 35

I got my CELTA in Spain. Ah I hope this doesn't turn into an administrative nightmare! Crying or Very sad

Ben Round de Bloc · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1946

Just to add a few things to what Guy said . . .

As for working prior to receiving a work visa, the "reality" in some parts of the country is that you'd be working illegally for a very short time . . . followed by a big fine and/or an invitation by immigration to leave the country. Some (most?) immigration offices, however, are rather lenient once all the paperwork has been turned in and the process is in progress.

I'm not sure what your definition of "rural" is. In this part of the country, there's next to nothing available for TEFL jobs in rural areas (small towns, villages.) Even in smaller cities, TEFL job opportunities are quite limited.

Definitely get an apostille on your university degree (or whatever the equivalent is for an apostille in Australia.) As for the CELTA, I suspect that if it has all the original official signatures, stamps, and seals on it from when you received it, that would be sufficient, but it's worth checking into at a Mexican embassy to be sure.

I'd say $2,000 USD would be a safe amount to bring with you to keep you going until you find a job and the pay checks start coming in. You probably wouldn't need to use all of that amount, but it's better to have a little extra than not enough, IMHO.

lozwich · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 1536

Australian pipes up....

Take certified copies of your Australian documents to the local Australian embassy/High Commission thingy, and get the certified copies apostillicised. I never saw my certified copies again after getting my FM3 - believe they're still in the Oaxaca immigration office. I can't remember what an apostille is called in Oz, but just make sure its the official stamp from The Hague.

Why not try getting the apostille on your CELTA in the UK, as Cambridge is technically the issuing body...

Good luck!

Lozwich.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

Very good advice, ls650. Nothing is standard across Mexico it seems. I know of schools that never help teachers with FM3's, for whatever reason. They send them packing when they get close to FMT (tourist card) expiry time rather than provide the paperwork necessary for them to get legal.

I have never heard of a teacher being busted for working illegally, but a gringo musician working in the restaurant of a prestigious local family got fined heavily about 4 years ago and so did the restaurant. Many, many of the time share folks are working illegally but I think they get busted now and again when the mood strikes the Migra. I do know a young female teacher from the USA arrested and charged with fraud for writing bad cheques. They didn't seem to care that she had no work permit even though she was working in an upscale University. They held her passport awaiting her court date but she escaped out of Mexico in the meantime. Rather sad the things people get themselves into here.

The other day a fellow from Germany ended up in the clink at Immigration because he was charged (by an American) then arrested on the fraud charge. They kept him overnight in the Migra lock-up and then transferred him to the "big house" where he remained for nearly 2 weeks while his American wife scrounged up a rather substantial bail. I was surprised that he was incarcerated rather than deported. They want him to stay and face the charges. (Like that will happen)

The one thing about getting put in jail in Mexico is that you have to know someone who can bring you food every day. The news reported two separate incidents of American citizens arrested on drug possession this week. They won't see the light of day for a very long time and could get pretty hungry unless someone helps them. But that is for a whole different thread. I only brought it up as a gentle reminder of possible consequences of Napoleonic law in Mexico for those not familiar with it.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Ben Round de Bloc · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1946

delacosta · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 325 Location: zipolte beach

Hey IS 650, was that fine levied at the uni or the teacher? And was the teacher actually on payroll getting paid? Because we have a teacher going through the immigration process right now and he is 'volunteering' his classes.
Let me know, as I will inform him of the risk he is undertaking, as we are of coure under the rule of the same migra thugs as you.

And to all of you in the univerity system starting classes today:
good luck!

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

As my experiences with immigration have been different (all good) I wonder if certain schools get flagged and watched by la migra? I know of a school that had such problems in Cuernavaca. One jilted lover turned in a teacher there, and ever since they've been passing by for 'random' inspections. They were quoted a rule stating that no more than 10% of their teaching staff could be foreign-born, something I have never heard elsewhere.

PlayadelSoul · Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 346 Location: Playa del Carmen

I think it all depends on who is in charge, both locally and nationally. This year, immigration has been cracking down hard on illegal workers in this area. We have lost 5 students whose FM3s were not renewed for one reason or another. People are running scared, because things that were once routine, are now nailbiting experiences.

At one point, we needed to prove that a teacher candidate had taken a TOEFL exam. Then, we were asked to provide translated CELTA or TESOL certificates. Now, they ask for translated and apostiled certification, which if you don't have, may take up to a month to get. Add this to the time Immigration takes to make a decision, and it could be three months from the time we want to hire someone to the time they actually start work. It has become such a hassle, that I don't even consider foreigners, anymore, unless they have all of their papers ready.