Job Discussion Forums

wyldfiregyrl · Joined: 26 Feb 2004 Posts: 16

So I need some advice....

I have a job w/ a school in Istanbul and was told that the wait period has been waived, so I began the work visa proceedings and did everything I could on my side to make this a go.

My school has told me (now of course after a month of waiting sending info, etc.) that it is just going to take too long and come with a tourist visa, they will pay and send me to Greece every 3 mo.s, but they are willing to wait for the work visa as well. The school seems pretty cool, they just want to get me there.

I am itchy to go and Im not making money waiting.

My question is: is Turkey real strict about ppl teaching without a work visa? How risky is it? Is going to Greece easy or a real pain in the arse? I am nervous about this option because I've had too many friends get busted in Korea when I was there to want the same thing to happen to me.

What do you think? toursit visa? or wait it out for the work visa??? Rolling Eyes

tesekkur ederim!

Mike_2003 · Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 344 Location: Bucharest, Romania

Hi,

I know lots of people who have worked on the tourist visa and I've never heard of anyone getting into trouble with the authorities. I don't think the custom officers care too much. I attended a wedding last year and was only gone for the night. On returning through customs, the customs officer, on seeing thr departure stamp, smiled knowingly and said "English teacher?".

HOWEVER, I would recommend doing it all legally to protect yourself from your employer. I have also known people not to be paid for months until it was time for them to do a border run, and then simply told to get lost. Contracts aren't worth much here in Turkey, but if your employer is eager to hire people illegally, who knows what other scams he is capable of...

Good luck,
Mike

Anitata · Joined: 30 Apr 2003 Posts: 42 Location: Sydney

Well, I will suggest you to get the legal document before you come over. I waited for two months for my school to get the necessary paper from Ankara. Its only April now and the new semester starts from Mid September so you still have some time. To protect your rights as a teacher here, you should have all the legal documents ready. Teaching in a private school as a teacher, you should have the same benefit as all the teachers in Turkey (a discount card for bus and ferry, techers house card and health insurance) You should push your school a bit more. Having a good start is important.

Theresa · Joined: 05 Jun 2003 Posts: 75

A contract is just a piece of paper.İ have just been told that theres no more work for me as of a weeks time. İ er very naively signed a piece of paper thinking that the contract would be honoured. The students numbers have dropped and İ basically have a week to find a new job or move out of my flat. We all think that it wont happen to us but it does so whatever you do DONT come here without the work visa otherwise youll just be another potential lamb to the slaughter Crying or Very sad

( Yes İm feeling very sorry for myself)

FGT · Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Posts: 762 Location: Turkey

Gecmis olsun, Theresa. There are other (better) jobs here.
Bear in mind that a contract in English has no legal standing in Turkey.

wyldfiregyrl · Joined: 26 Feb 2004 Posts: 16

Thanks for the advice.

The school is telling me that since the law has changed, they really do not know how long it will take, and the consulate is telling me here that there is nothing they can do or tell me from this side of things.... I wish I could get a straight answer.

Does anyone know what the waiting time is, now that the law has been changed? It seems no one knows for sure.

Your replies put it all into perspective. I do not want to be in an unegotiable position once I get there. I didnt even KNOW about the discount bus card and health insurance for teachers.......

Thanks a lot!!!

wyldfiregyrl

gelin · Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 144 Location: Istanbul, Turkey

The waiting time varies according to Ministry of Education backlog and embassy/consulate load. The law hasn't changed, by the way -- they're just enforcing it. If I could come legally, I would. You'll save a lot of hassle. Don't forget, however, that once here you need to make sure that the school or you apply for the residence/work permit at the local foreign office. This is more money and about a week's wait, but necessary. It doesn't just end with the visa.

Otterman Ollie · Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 5:38 am Post subject: Visa woes

Hi

A few I knew came over here without the required visa and they had to go back home after a a while to go through the proper process the people you intend to work for SHOULD know the score about this and take some basic steps to protect your interests . Assumming they have employed foreign workers before they know what to do and it seems to me they are stringing you a line to get out of the costs (to them ) involved .
You didn't say where the the place you are going to work was ,or at least which city ,perhaps we may know a bit more about the place and can testify to its professionalism . İf you do decide to come over with just the tourist visa and a wing and a prayar, for gods sake don't let it expire . The comment was made about the English style contract being worthless this contradicts what I 've heard as it is in your language and understood by you it is then legally enforceable ,a Turkish one on the other hand isn't even if your Turkish is passable ,just thought I would toss that spanner into the works ,so for those of you who are working under a Turkish contract that hasn't being translated into your own tongue basically you can walk whenever you want . BTW, hows outward bound these days not heard much from her lately .

DingirEnki · Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Posts: 10

I worked in Istanbul for a year without a work visa. I'd say that the majority of teachers teaching at perfectly good schools are working illegally and just do border runs every 3 months. It's not a problem, really. I even heard about a group of teachers from another schools who were doing a border run and walked through customs and bought their tourist visas... all the while carrying on a casual conversation about the schools they worked at and how long they'd been working and how long they planned to stay. (This story was relayed to me by a fellow teacher who watched them do it while on a border run herself.)

In a nutshell, working illegally isn't a problem at all. Having a work visa is nice, however, because with it you can open a bank account at a Turkish bank and such. (This can be accomplished without a work visa as well, but you have to be a bit more creative about it.)

By the way, which school is offering you the contract? Some schools there are okay, some aren't.... I'd be happy to comment on which are regarded as the more reputable schools (from a teacher's perspective) if you're worried about the contract and such. Keep in mind, however, that Turkish contracts aren't worth much more than the paper they're printed on (and probably not even that much, since they have ink all over them and can't be used for anything else.) So being in a school that will actually stick by what it says in the contract is pretty important.

Iyi cansler (sp?)

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

I recently heard that if you go to the Yabancı subesi in Aksaray you can get a residence permit for 100 million. It lasts for one year. If you are a house owner you can get a 5 year permit

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

My understanding of the legal code of Turkey is that the only official language is Turkish and only contracts in that language are legally valid and enforceable.

Comments, please, from our barrack-room lawyers ?

(Maybe that should be "staff-room lawyers" ?)

Otterman Ollie · Posted: Mon May 03, 2004 8:00 am Post subject: Contract Language

Hi

The language of your contract should be in English,if it was enforced by your employer as you are not a Turkish citizen then really it is difficult to see how any court of law would uphold the legality of the contract ,not a lot of employers know that because basically they don't know the law themselves and by the same token they expect you to know even less . Very few employers would go as far as taking legal steps against a foreginer relating to their contract ,bad press and all that with private establishments image is very important . Basically if you are fed up with a place ,you give a months notice just like any other job .

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

I am sure that you are wrong about the legality of a contract in English.

The other question of course in any dispute is "What is my remedy ?" Do you think you stand any chance of winning a dispute in a Turkish law court ?

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

I agree with Scot. For a contract to be legal it must be Turkish. Many moons ago I had contracts that were in English and Turkish. I don't know if places still do this

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

You might get it in Turkish and English but the Turkish version is the one that is legally binding. This is standard procedure in most countries - including Turkey. Listen to an oldtimer !

I have been at this EFL racket for a loooooooong time ! And sometimes I explode when a young whippersnapper tries to tell me how to do things.

So Othman Oliver, a bit of respect for the aged amonst us ! Especially the grumply old men like:

"Filthy MacNasty", aka Scot47