Job Discussion Forums

[wiganer]

[wiganer]

Pardon Moi!

What about work visas?

Visa requirements vary widely by location. In many countries, participants enter on a tourist visa and the hiring school will help sponsor a work visa after being hired. In Ecuador, we obtain a Cultural Exchange visa for our TESOL Plus participants, which is unique to that country. In Asian countries, work visas are commonly obtained. In Costa Rica, most schools do not want to go through the bureaucratic, lengthy process to obtain a work visa, so the common practice is for teachers to do a "border run", or leave the country for 72 hours every 90 days in order to stay there legally. Most people there look forward to their border runs as a travel opportunity!

Many schools in the Czech Republic and Russia will sponsor their teachers for a work visa. However, it is difficult for non EU citizens to obtain work visas elsewhere in Europe. Most schools do not want to go to the trouble to obtain them, as it is a lengthy process, and in fact, if a school sponsors you for a work visa, you would typically need to fly back to the U.S. and go to a consulate here to get the visa, and then return to Europe. Most people do not want to go through the hassle and expense of doing that. The common practice is for schools to hire non EU citizens for "cash-in-hand" positions, and most people just overstay their 90 day tourist visas. Many non EU citizens are in Europe teaching, and being a native English speaker along with a TESOL certificate (after you complete the four week course), makes you quite marketable.

Well there you go then! Language Corps are actually advising prospective teachers to break the law! The law is a 'hassle' so why the hell not? You are an American! You can do what you want, wherever you want! Those doggone foreign laws don't apply to you! Language Corps are also omitting to tell anyone daft enough to do their courses what happens when you overstay your 90 day tourist visa? Well, that is when it starts getting interesting folks.


http://www.languagecorps.com/faqs.php#q4

[nickpellatt]

I kinda support ttompatz on this one Im afraid, hence my earlier advice to try and transfer to a program they offer that might make finding employment easier and 100% legal.

I dont support spurious course providers at all. I often post about them when threads come up and try to give fairly solid advice. BUT .... whilst they advice copied and pasted above is in hard print on the training providers website, I think that there does also have to be an element of 'buyer beware' and there does have to be some responsibility taken on the buyers side when entering into any kind of contract.

If challenged, I am sure the course provider could easily provide examples of their graduates who have done/are doing exactly as they state on the website.

Course providers in the UK dont turn away applicants who dont have a degree even though most people will need one for a legal work visa in many parts of the world, and their websites may also feature examples of people sans-degree, who are working in a variety of locations around the world. They dont turn away non-native speakers either...and they are also not very likely to find work. I work part time in a non-teaching job with a Polish guy who has a CELTA, taken in the UK with a reputable course provider, yet has only a slight chance of finding work teaching anywhere! I also know a Chinese girl studying in the UK who is planning to take a CELTA during the summer.

Legally, I would guess there is no recourse....thats a guess of course. A long fight to try and get money back is likely to lead to a lot of frustration and perhaps, no result. Far better to try and transfer to a more desirable location in terms of future employment IMO.

Rightly or wrongly, the buyer has entered into a contract, and whilst some claims from the course provider may be exaggerated, I dont think they constitute a breach, and they have stated their deposit and cancellation terms. I do think any prospective teacher has some responsibility to research the markets they wish to work in, and check visa requirements and other legal issues. I do not believe this is the sole responsiblity of course providers.

Like I say, I really dont support many course providers, but in many examples, they do offer what it says on the tin. Its the buyers responsibility to make sure what it says on the tin is suitable for the market they want to work in, and to check everything else out too.

Id try and swap locations....realise this is not a popular opinion though.


Ive worked in a number of sales jobs (not related to education) and their is an element of 'buyer beware' that applies to many transactions. Does this course break any rules under trade description acts....probably not. Are their claims 100% moral, probably not....but morality and legality are two different issues unfortunately.

[artemisia]

It�s true that this situation may not be strictly covered by law as the website does outline what getting a proper work visa entails. Verbally informing prospective clients that they can overstay the 90 days - as many other clients have - without outlining the consequences if you�re caught is possibly not a legal breach. Some responsibility must fall back on the individual to check his or her legal working position in another country.

However, IMO, this type of information put out by a course provider puts that organisation into a shady, ambiguous area, and not just morally. They�re not being upfront and above board by telling somebody that they can get work through their organisation, as many do, regardless of whether a work visa is obtained. It�s hard to say to what extent that might be governed by law in a small claims court. I think it�s worth checking that option � it would probably have to be lodged in the U.S. You could argue that the site and phone information is a misrepresentation of the true legal ramifications of not holding a work visa. I�d not hold my breath on getting any money back but usually small claims court costs are not excessive, so it�s worth checking if a claim can be accepted. There�s always going to be an uneasy relationship between offering educational courses and making enough of a profit to survive in a competitive market. However, this type of course provider offers unprofessional advice that seems to be driven by the latter point and their prospective clients' ignorance.

Trying to be transferred elsewhere might be more fruitful, as Nickpellat suggests, although that didn�t sound very hopeful, either. When you're starting off trying to get work overseas, you often do make a lot mistakes and yes, learn the hard way from them and often at a financial cost. I think many (would-be) Teflers have experienced some hardships along the way. I hope the OP has some success getting at least a portion of the money back or a transfer.