Job Discussion Forums

lopez1 · Joined: 21 Sep 2007 Posts: 4 Location: USA

Well, I don't know exactly where to begin. How does it work for people who are not legally married. How do they aquire a work visa w/ no degee. He'd love to teach as well, but we understand it may be not be possible for him to do so. Can I claim him as a dependant?Also, I have a school age child, does anyone have experience getting their children into schools while working abroad?
Thanks,
isi

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

It really depends a lot on where you want to go. Can you narrow it down to a region? In some places (e.g. Japan), he needs a degree to get a visa--unless he can get a working holiday visa. In other places, like the Middle East, you being unmarried could be frowned upon. And as to schooling--if you want instruction in English, international schools can be really expensive, so you'd need to find a job/country that pays well or subsidizes your child's schooling.

d

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

Boyfriends are not dependents. Spouses and children can be.

Education is different for every country, so we need to know where you want to go.

lopez1 · Joined: 21 Sep 2007 Posts: 4 Location: USA

I'm most interested in Latin America, Spain, Italy, & Portugal. I have a BA in Spanish, minored in TESOL. I don't have a problem w/my child attending the public school system. Infact, that is what I want. I think it's important for her to receive the whole experience as well. But I don't know if it will put her behind here in the US. I know I'll be the bread winner, but do you think it will possible for him to get a visa w/o a degree. He is a massage therapist, do you think that is something he could foster while abroad. What if we did homeschooling & he was her teacher, could I play that card?

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

MIght be difficult. Why don't you just get married civilly?

MELEE · Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 3:05 pm Post subject:

If your boyfriend is the biological father of your child, it may be possible to count him as a dependent in Mexico as there are common-law laws, but I do not know that these apply to visas. They do apply in healthcare but if he is not the father, as per her birth certificate then you are out of luck. With your qualifications it would be tough, but not impossible for you to support the three of you. He could not get a working visa as a massage therapist, to get a visa the you must prove that you are better qualified to do something than a Mexican would be. Unlike some other countries, Mexican depenant spouce visas do not allow the spouce to work at all. He could probably get a job teaching English conversation, in some parts of the country he could do that without a degree, in other parts he couldn't.
Your child would definately fall behind US curriculum if you put her in a public school here--but she'd learn Spanish and a lot about Mexican history. But also public schools run from 8am to 1pm so you could buy a US homeschool curriculum for her to do in the afternoons.
Did you get a teaching certificate with your BA in Spanish? If you are a US qualified teacher you might be able to get a job in a Mexican K-12 school that would have better hours for a working mother than most other jobs in Mexico and might give you free or discounted tuition for your daughter.
I suggest you post in the Mexico forum to get more information if what I have said interests you...

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Spain, Italy, and Portugal require you to have EU member citizenship before they issue working visas. If you're a citizen only of the US, those options are probably off the table for you, regardless.

Your boyfriend will likely need to get certified and apply on his own merits for a visa to live/work in Latin America - this is the only region you mention where North Americans can legally work as English teachers, generally speaking.

Sgt Killjoy · Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 438

MELEE · Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 2:44 pm Post subject:

The Sarg makes a good point. In Mexico it's not difficult to get dependant visas, but it's not a cake walk and it's not cheap. Each dependant visa will cost you the same as your work visa and will be entirely your responsibility, not the schools. AFTER you have your work visa you can apply for the dependant visas. You will need all relavent documents officially translated and apostilled in the US before you arrive in Mexico.
It's also worth mentioning that any minor travelling in and out of Mexico needs an official notarized letter of concent of both parents. So if your daughter's father is not your current boyfriend, you need to go about getting that permission from her birth father. If he is deceased or has zero custody rights you will need the legal documents proving that, all notarized, apostillized and translated, of course.