Job Discussion Forums

[Guy Courchesne]

It depends on the school and the immigration department in their state/city. Many language schools don't require a degree (though it's definitely desirable) to hire, though the immigration department where they are might require it. Higher-level jobs will require a degree, just for the job, regardless of migra needs.

Immigration, by the book, needs a relevant degree. We've all had this discussion on how immigration in reality differs greatly from state to state.

As far as I've seen, your BA is fine enough for immigration. As for the employers, well it depends on what their job requirements are.

I don't know anything about Torreon, but suspect that Samantha is right here...

[jillford64]

At the immigration office here in Morelia they ask for something that shows you have specific training that qualifies you to teach English. A TESL certificate is acceptable proof.

[cangringo]

Some of the schools we have applied to here in Monterrey haven't even asked to see our TEFL cert. They want to hire us because we are Canadian. Some want to see it but only paid 40 pesos an hour for a couple hours a day and they were too far away to justify the expense - Wall Street. Still others do require a degree but I'm sure some make exceptions if you have a TEFL cert. There is a huge demand for native speakers here...

The school we work at now pays 90 peso an hour and they pay on time and we love their textbooks. They are a little school but are really cool to work for. They also let us use our own materials for some classes.

As for the FM3, there's something to be said for knowing someone at immigration or someone who knows someone...

[ls650]

[cangringo]

In Monterrey they aren't that strict. When we applied at the schools, no fm3 but some schools will help you get it and some won't. It depends too on how many hours they want you to work.

[Samantha]

It sounds as if you have been lucky so far, but be very careful or you could find yourselves deported. The cops have nothing to do with the Immigration department and all it takes is one person to tip off the INAMI and their officers WILL follow up. (eg: Another school, a national teacher that perceives you are taking work away from them) I don't think there is an Immigration office in Mexico that "doesn't care" once a complaint is received and it would be unpleasant for you to find this out the hard way.

About the only work-related paperwork you will need is your legalized (authenticated) TEFL certificate. No matter what kind of FM3 you get, you will have to register and apply to change it in your new location within 30 days of arriving, where it will cost you again. This is how Immigration keeps track of our whereabouts. Good luck.

[Samantha]

Cangringo(a), That was quite the edit job on your last post. My response was addressing the comments made which have now been edited out. Unless I am dreaming you deleted your response to my above post as well. How to make me think I have lost my mind!

[cangringo]

sorry you are right

wanted to rephrase and couldn't think of anything and just gave up...sorry not losing your mind

everyone samantha is not just posting to air, was my fault - all my fault...

damn my canadianness - always saying sorry

anyway to your comments - it was not our plan to wait this long...we had plans to get our school to help us but the boss is hardly ever there and we are very bad procrastinators... we kept hearing that we couldn't apply without a degree or we needed this or that... anyway we will have the required papers in hand soon but for now we don't have anything on record stating we are actually teaching - except this so maybe I should delete all my posts now... yeesh

[Samantha]

In your situation, and IMHO, you should think about applying for the FM3 Independiente, and not one specific to that school. (Your car will be legal the entire time that FM3 is valid - I'll post that in the other thread) That way you are covered to do your privates and your notice in the market (one of the things you deleted...LOL) is not a problem. The cops were only being metiche when you posted your notice unless there is a local ordinance on posting messages.

The small schools do not rush into helping with an FM3 for a variety of reasons. There is an Immigration rule that more than 10 percent of the staff cannot be foreign (you two probably exceed that limit), and they have to show some internal paperwork that more than likely is not up to date. So they let it drag on. You would be the ones deported, not them. They may get fined if you are caught working there but that's when THEIR local connections come in handy.

[cangringo]

Thanks for the info Samantha, I was reading about the independent visa in the other forum and it sounds like the way to go...how hard is that to get though - we don't have degrees??

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[cangringo]

I say because we are Canadian because of the neutral accent...that's what we're finding here...I'm only speaking for where we've applied.

Sorry I didn't mean you coudln't get it otherwise, just that for the people we've talked to here it takes multiple trips and 3 - 6 mos to get them through. [/quote]

[ls650]

[cangringo]

They might not but I'm just telling you what our experience here is...that's all. Like I said it might be different elsewhere but in Monterrey where they do a lot of business with Americans, our accent is neutral. A lot Americans have neutral accents as well...

I'm not trying to insult anyone with different accents, just posting our experience.

Also about fmt's and fm3's I am just trying to point out that it's not as easy as it may seem from reading these forums. It may have been easy for many of you but as some of us know you don't just walk into immigration and ask for an extension on your tourist card, we only got 30 days at the border and had to go through a lot of headaches and paperwork to get an extension and I just think people should know that. It's part of living in another country, especially Mexico and I'm not complaining - that's just the way it is but it would have helped to know some things ahead of time. Anyway just give yourself lots of time to reaaply for things. Again just sharing my experiences...I thought that's what this is for?

I suggest meeting as many different people as possible because a lot of the time if you want something done more easily and faster it's not what you know but who.

[Ben Round de Bloc]