Job Discussion Forums

[Great Teacher Umikun]

2000 K? is about USA $100, right?

[spiral78]

roughly

[Arab Strap]

actually it's $US122.........

[spiral78]

oh, yeah, dollar's down significantly
I don't use them anymore and forgot to check for current rates.

[ITTP]

Yep, the USD is almost 16 CZK now.
It's expected to sink to 15 before rising again to above 18.

Btw, we had a trainee from the States pop in today for a chat (he flew in yesterday after having left Prague in mid-January for a trip and was worried about not being allowed back into the Czech Republic), and let us know that the Prague airport passport control strictness and attention still resembles an atmosphere not completely unlike the third day of a 5 day hippy music festival so I wonder just how seriously the CZ is pinning the Schengen commitment on N.American citizens

Actually, has ANYONE from N.America EVER had any issues coming through Prague airport passport control?
I would really would like to know as it seems that N.Americans seem to have the same 'free passage' as the Brits.

[spiral78]

There is an assumption that North Americans entering Prague via air are tourists.

Even more, if they've first flown into Germany or another Schengen zone country, there's no passport control upon entry into the CR, because they've now been through border control in their first country of entry.

[johnnyappleseed]

Bad news for non-Eu teachers. Word is that embassies in the Schengen Zone are no longer accepting applications for either short or long-term visas from anyone(as of March 1st.) Which means that if you want to work in the Czech Republic, you will have to either sort everything and apply before you arrive--which means you had better start working on it NOW--or you will have to come here, gather the documents and then leave the Schengen Zone to apply and pick up the visas. AT considerable expense, really.

[spiral78]

That's big, bad news for lots of people
Presumably you have to make the application from your home country.

[ITTP]

Hi!

Well, that def ain't the case here in Prague.
As far as I am aware it isn't in any other part of Czech Republic either.
Don't know where that 'word' is from.
It might happen by the end of the year though; part of the salami effect

Mmm, I suddenly see those Easy Jet flights to London getting busier and busier...

Neville
ITTP Prague
Jungmannova 32
Prague 1

[johnnyappleseed]

I don't think you would necessarily have to apply in your home country, Spiral, though I suppose that's the idea. Just outside the Schengen Zone. A few weeks ago a colleague did apply for and get a short-term visa at the Vienna embassy. I understand that they are no longer accepting applications. She did not know this, but it appears she applied for her visa the week before the rules changed.



My information is coming from expats.cz. A chap* has been posting on that site who seems to work for a company that helps people in obtaining visas(for a fee, of course.) He certainly writes very authoritatively.

Now, it's still possible to get a job here. But the old days of "come here, find a job at your leisure and eventually get a visa if you feel like it" seem to definitely be over.

This is the URL.

http://www.expats.cz/prague/showthread.php?t=177041&page=3&pp=10


*workin' on my British.

[johnnyappleseed]

I realize this is bad news for many, even me(though I am legal and don't have to worry about it, the school I work with really needs to hire non-EU people fairly often) and if I find info contradicting this info, I will post it. I am no authority on this matter, but this is what I have heard from someone who apparently is.

[spiral78]

I'm doing some research through embassy contacts. It seems some laws changed as of March 1st...

Let's try to find out the real scoop. Newbies Need to Know.

[ITTP]

Hi!

As usual, nobody seems to know the real deal; even at the visa offices

The latest is that the Interior Ministry has established a grace period until June 30 for non-Schengen citizens of visa-free countries who apply for a visa between 21 December 2007 and 21 March 2008, even if the visa is not received in time due to lengthy procedures.

Technically, when the CZ joined the EU all non-EU citizens needed to become legal to stay here and teach English as a foreign language.
This was obviously not taken too seriously by the authorities here.

Technically, as part of the Schengen area, all non-EU citizens need to apply for their work visa in a non-Schengen state (such as the UK).
This means that passport control at international boundaries should be strict to enable an effective control system.
Passport control is still very relaxed here.

The fact of the matter is though that teachers do need to get themselves legal to teach English now (technically), and as Online and Onsite TEFL course provider we welcome this as it provides teachers with more working rights and also increases the level of quality of English language teaching in the country.

In the worst case scenario for teachers (if the CZ does get tough on its Schengen responsibilities), teachers will need to travel to a non-Schengen country to apply for and collect their visa and either Switzerland or the UK will be natural options (a little like traveling to either Hong Kong or Macau when applying for and collecting your visa to legally teach English in Taiwan).

Still, I am very skeptical that the new laws will be enforced rigidly simply because I have been here for over 12 years and I know the way the country operates.

It is extremely important though to find out exactly what the latest news is so any such news will be welcomed here (thanks for your PM Spiral - I was going to reply but now that you wrote on this thread I thought I'd write here as well).

Snow here today btw!

Hezky den!/Lovely day!

Neville
ITTP Prague
Jungmannova 32
Prague 1

[johnnyappleseed]

I hear what you are saying about enforcement being potentially lax; however, if they are turning people away in Vienna it seems that that part at least is being enforced. I agree that the quality of teaching will probably go up as it will obviously take more of an effort and commitment to teach here--should mean less fly-by-night teachers. The process is going to discourage many people--as I guess it's intended to do. I know North Americans, and many of them don't have a lot of patience for this stuff.

I don't foresee North Americans etc. being deported in droves or anything in the immediate future; but it is valuable information for someone wanting to move here: It is not all that easy anymore! And the new rules do add a considerable expense. Easy Jet isn't that expensive--heck, I'll even say it's absurdly cheap!-- but we are talking essentially three round-trip flights to the UK minimum, plus whatever money is spent there for food or accommodation or whatever, assuming that both a short- and long-term visa are applied for, the short one being to lengthen the stay in the Schengen Zone so that the long-term one has time to process(takes up to 120 days.)
**takes a deep breath**

All this is on top of application fees(for two visas), translation fees, etc.
NOt to mention the stress involved with not only gathering the documents, but travelling to UK/CH, navigating London and so on...

Some schools will cover some of these fees(my school pays for work permit and translations, for example) but I think few schools are going to be able to cover all the costs.

Now, I think that once the short-term visa is obtained and the long-term visa pending, teacher's will be able to be working--legally! You can work on a short-term visa!----that is a plus. Before you would apply for a visa and usually have to work illegally for at least a few months before you got it and the authorities looked the other way.



Doable? Yes. If a teacher found a job very soon after arriving(or online) it could be done. As my school has to hire over the Internet it means they are already working on it for new teachers next year.
Easy? Not really.

All that said, I personally am not looking to discourage anybody thinking about coming here. I look forward to working with more Canadians, Americans, Australians and so on in the future. Just think people should know the score! AS much as it can be known, of course.

[Aussie Chick]

It seems to me that many schools had previously been unwilling to offer help in obtaining visas unless you had already lived here for a year or more � a way to cull the fly-by-night teachers from the ones who took their teaching more seriously. I suppose this will have to change, which will only be a benefit for us newbie teachers.