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Vesper007
Joined: 25 Jun 2014
Posts: 5
Location: Dubai, UAE
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 Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 1:49 am Post subject: Croatian Passport & American BA+MA - Where can I teach? |
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I have a question regarding passports and teaching English overseas. I have a Croatian passport but all my education has been in English, from elementary school through my Master's degree. My BA and MA have actually been received in the USA and my BA is in communications with an English minor so I do believe it to be relevant to ESL. In addition, I have years of tutoring and babysitting experience with fantastic references.
While I know that lots of jobs ask for teachers who are "native" speakers by country, English is actually my strongest language because I was raised abroad in Dubai prior to going to the USA for schooling. It is also due to Dubai's large expat community that I sound English and people usually assume I'm from there.
Do you have any suggestions where I should look regarding jobs? I really want to teach and I am working on a 160 hour TESOL course at the moment as well to improve my chances. Please advise regarding which countries I should give a shot, I am particularly interested in Korea and China as the pay is good enough to settle my student debts plus I'm fascinated by the culture (my roommates in college were from those countries).
Thank you so much for your help! |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 3:02 am Post subject: |
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| You first need to look at the visa requirements for the countries you want to work in to see if you're able to gain legal employment based on your passport/nationality. From there, look at ads in those countries, and apply for positions you're qualified for. If you're concerned that potential employers may question your English proficiency, I suggest you include your TOEFL score on your CV. Obviously, having degrees from US universities will help. |
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Vesper007
Joined: 25 Jun 2014
Posts: 5
Location: Dubai, UAE
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 3:34 am Post subject: |
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Great idea on the TOEFL, I have a high score so I'll do just that! 
Regarding Korean visas, I know the E2 is normally given for teaching and yet it is limited to nationalities that do NOT include Croatia.  However, the E7 visa apparently covers both teaching a foreign language as well as teaching at a university so I'll try looking into that. Does anybody have experience with the E7 visa in Korea? |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 3:40 am Post subject: |
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| Discussions about Korea aren't allowed within these forums. Go to http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/ and register to post your Korea-specific questions there. |
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Vesper007
Joined: 25 Jun 2014
Posts: 5
Location: Dubai, UAE
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 3:53 am Post subject: |
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Thanks nomad, I did just that!
Meanwhile, if anybody knows of countries where my passport scenario would not be a problem, please let me know. I'd greatly appreciate it. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 4:32 am Post subject: |
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| Vesper007 wrote: |
| Meanwhile, if anybody knows of countries where my passport scenario would not be a problem, please let me know. I'd greatly appreciate it. |
Since most of us on these forums are from the US, UK, Canada, etc., it's really hard to say where passport holders of certain non-Anglophone countries can legally teach in. Frankly, your guess is as good as ours, which is why I suggested you proactively research visa regulations on your own. |
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Vesper007
Joined: 25 Jun 2014
Posts: 5
Location: Dubai, UAE
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 6:24 am Post subject: |
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Totally understandable. Guess I'll target that question to those from non-native speaking countries if they stop by.
From the looks of it, China's visa policy doesn't favour so I'll put that down as a potential and continue onward through my list of countries. |
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rtm
Joined: 13 Apr 2007
Posts: 1003
Location: US
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 7:10 am Post subject: |
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| Japan might be an option. I believe that having at least 12 years of your schooling in English and/or an undergraduate degree from a country such as the US might get you around the passport requirement. If you are interested in Japan, you should explore the requirements further. |
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suphanburi
Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Posts: 916
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 9:40 am Post subject: |
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China is an option as is Japan,Taiwan and Thailand.
Most of Europe may also be open to you at this point.
Korea is a flat no-go due to your passport in spite of your academic qualifications and educational background.
Your biggest problem is going to be getting a visa. In many cases a Croatian will need a visa simply to enter most countries even as a tourist so the job hunt will be problematic.
In many cases (Thailand, Vietnam, etc) you will also need "proof" of English proficiency because of your passport. A VALID (they have a 2 year shelf life) TOEIC, IELTS or TOEFL certificate will suffice.
Good luck to you.
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 12:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Most of Europe may also be open to you at this point. |
Not yet, actually. Unfortunately. Croatia is a new EU member and its citizens are still restricted in many cases.
Usually a good idea not to comment on regions where one has little/no direct knowledge and experience. I've been around the European region for over 15 years and know for sure that Croatian nationals still need visas in many countries as teachers. It's a bit easier for people with skills/qualifications in professions that are more in demand, like some engineers.
A quick search yielded this list:
Nationals of Croatia
"Your right to work as an employee in another EU country may be restricted by transitional arrangements until 30 June 2020.
You may need a work permit to work in these countries:
Austria
Greece
Slovenia
Belgium
Italy
Spain
Cyprus
Luxembourg
UK
France
Malta
Germany
Netherlands"
http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/work-abroad/work-permits/index_en.htm
I believe that in most Central/Eastern European countries, either a visa is not needed or is possible to get, but the competition in, for example, the Czech Republic would make it quite difficult for a Croat to land a reasonable job teaching English.
I think the OP is wise to focus on Asia, and perhaps South America. |
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Xie Lin
Joined: 21 Oct 2011
Posts: 731
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 1:06 pm Post subject: |
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And to round out the EU possibilities:
"10 nations have announced that they will not impose any restrictions on Croatian job seekers, those nations are Sweden, Romania, Hungary, Ireland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Estonia and Lithuania.
No decision from Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland or Portugal has been announced as yet." (Croatia Week)
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 1:10 pm Post subject: |
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France, Greece, and Italy are on the 'doubtful' list, so presumably have decided in the negative for now.
Those countries on the 'go' list are not great EFL destinations. They're either places where pay for teachers is low/nonexistent (Romania, Hungary) or where the level of English among the local population is so high as to nearly preclude the need to hire any foreigners (Sweden, Denmark). Estonia and Lithuania have (tiny) EFL markets and might be a possibility. |
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Xie Lin
Joined: 21 Oct 2011
Posts: 731
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 1:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Xie Lin wrote: |
No decision from Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland or Portugal has been announced as yet." (Croatia Week)
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When I posted, I didn't notice that France was included in the "undecided" list. After the article quoted above was written, France did decide to impose restrictions, initially for two years.
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Vesper007
Joined: 25 Jun 2014
Posts: 5
Location: Dubai, UAE
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| Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 6:01 am Post subject: |
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Thank you so much everybody!
Given my options I feel like China and/or Japan may be good bets for me at this point. I do have student debt (not a mountain but some yes) and I want to explore foreign cultures so they seem like a good mix.
Thank you for the list of EU countries where I can/cannot go w/a Croatian passport as well, I've jotted it down for future reference. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 6:44 am Post subject: |
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| Vesper007 wrote: |
| Given my options I feel like China and/or Japan may be good bets for me at this point. |
If you haven't done so already, do separate Internet searches on non native english teacher japan and non native english teacher china. |
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