Job Discussion Forums

[Dhrtarastra]

Hi all, need some help on this, cos it's unclear to me.

I am looking at going on the JET Programme in 2009, and am applying from NZ. I know you have to have citizenship of the country from where you are applying, but do you have to submit a passport copy with the application, or is any proof of citizenship good enough?

I ask because I am currently in the process of getting my citizenship (I currently hold an Irish one), and dont think I will have time to get my passport for the application deadline (although I will of course have it for the July leaving date

[Glenski]

What other proof of citizenship do you have?

How can you be in NZ without a passport if you are Irish?

[Apsara]

I think Dhrtarastra means he/she won't have the new New Zealand passport in time. It seems like he/she is in the process of changing from Irish to New Zealand citizenship.

I doubt many people have come across this situation, Dhrtarastra (Bhagavad Gita reference?), so you might want to contact the JET people directly.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

I think the OP means that he/she is a landed immigrant in NZ.

I'm not sure you have to actually submit 'proof' of citizenship at alｌ (for most people, it's just an assumption that you are a citizen of the country in which you are applying for a job REPRESENTING THAT COUNTRY). And it varies from country to country, but I'm pretty sure asking to see a passport isn't required, because of the ramifications of asking to see pictures along with a paper application (pictures on resumes in some countries are common, in others asking for pictures along with an application amounts to saying 'we want to make sure you are good looking before we hire you'. In Canada, that's why the paper stage of the JET applicaiton stopped asking for photos).

If you are selected, then you WILL have to give them your NZ passport a month or so before leaving. But generally, when you get citizenship for a country, you will get a card any way. That card is as valid as a passport as proof of citizenship. You can supply them with a photocopy of the card, but check first.

[Dhrtarastra]

Ahh, what I meant was, that I am a permanent resident in NZ, with Irish citizenship. So, I am in the process of obtaining NZ citizenship as well, and wondering if the papers I get from that will suffice, or will they require me to submit my (NZ) passport as well?

If there are any ex-JETs out there, feel free to give me tips...

And yes, Apsara, Dhrtarastra is a character in the Mahabharata

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

That's what I thought. I got my Canadian citizenship less than two years before doing JET (I was on JET for four years, ending a bit over a year ago). I was a permanent resident of Canada with a UK passport for almost all of my life. I now have both British and Canadian passports (and in the future will hopefully have perment residency in Japan!). You CANNOT travel to Japan as a NZ JET under an Irish passport! (But, I think you mentioned that you will definately have the NZ passport before you were to leave for Japan). Note, if you didn't go through the NZ school system (as in, you haven't lived in NZ for most of your life, but just never bothered to get around to getting citizenship [that's exactly what my situation was]) then you might want to start thinking of answers to questions relating to that that might pop up in an interview. The main goal is internationalization, and so at the interview they will almost definately be asking questions about how you would teach NZ culture. It'll especially probably come up if you graduated university a while back and it was in Ireland.

Like I wrote, I don't think you have to actually supply a copy of a passport page at the paper application stage. I think I DO remember having to supply identification at the interview, but I don't remember if a passport was necessary, I think I just showed my Canadian Citizenship card.

I think the best thing to do would be to call the JET desk at the Embassy or Consulate from your designated city, and tell them that you don't have a passport (I'd try to gloss over the citizenship thing if I were you, especially if your test is very soon anyway) and ask them what else might be acceptable if anything actually is required. Probably, if they require anything at this stage, your citizenship card would be fine.

[G Cthulhu]