Job Discussion Forums

Matt_22 · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 193

i'm thinking of heading to mexico next march, after my contract expires here in korea. i hope to find a job working part-time, coasting off my savings for 5-6 months until i leave for graduate school in the fall of '08. my question is: can i get a proper work visa that would allow me to do this, or is it possible for me to just do private work on a tourist visa? also, do many schools offer contracts for part-time work?

Matt_22 · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 193

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

These questions have been answered in detail in previous threads, but I'll take a stab at answering this quickly.

You can't work legally on a tourist card (the white FMT card you receive when you fly/drive into Mexico as a tourist). Immigration offices vary greatly in how strictly they enforce the rules. I've read some reports here that in some areas of Mexico, folks have worked illegally on an FMT without incident.

However, in my experience if you are caught working illegally by immigration, they may fine you a few thousand pesos and give you a choice of vacating Mexico in 5 days or filing all the paperwork necessary for a work visa.

If you have a degree and a TEFL certificate (both apostillized), in many areas of Mexico it isn't difficult to get legal work with a school. Many people will also do private classes for cash "on the side" once they have a legal job set up with a school.

There is a way to get a work visa to work 'independently' of a school, but if you don't have decent Spanish ability this might be difficult to work out with immigration. I've never had one so I don't know the details, but it's been discussed before in this forum - try doing a search.

geaaronson · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 948 Location: Mexico City

There have been two cases that I know of in which the teacher was evicted from the country for lack of an FM3,both in merida, Yucatan. One was a German teaching at a municipal language school. He was yanked out of the classroom in the middle of a lecture and escorted by immigration to the airport. The story was told to me by the director of the school at which the German had been teaching.
The other case involved a Swiss woman who was teaching German and French. she had been in Merida for 2 1/2 years before immigration caught up with her.In her case, they were more lenient and allowed her to stay for another 5 days. That story was told to me by the director of the assesoria at which I had been teaching. She had likewise been in his employ.