Job Discussion Forums

[RustyShackleford]

So I decided to go ahead with the job offer and am going to begin the visa process. The travel company the employer is using told me that my unrelated BA will be fine since I have a TEFL certificate even it is online.

The cert doesn't say that it was conducted online and the attestation of the degree seems to only relate to my bachelors. Just want to see if anyone can confirm or deny this before I start investing the money to get my medical and pay the processing fees.

[nomad soul]

Does the employer know it's an online cert? That's where your answer would come from since online certs generally aren't accepted. Anyway, it doesn't get authenticated by the SACM.

Why are you not qualifying with your MA in Teaching? You completed it on campus, plus, I recall you stating it included a practical component.

[currentaffairs]

I think they check the TEFL cert as well, especially if your degrees are unrelated. It has happened to a few people just to let you know. I will be sending my degrees and certs in for attestation at the end of the week.

[RustyShackleford]

Nomad - my university doesn't even let me order my transcripts and diploma until September at earliest and it would have to be validated by the Saudi cultural mission in Madrid. The employer seemed to take the masters into account for hiring me but for official purposes is a moot point.

I emailed them about the online TEFL situation and since it's the weekend they haven't gotten back to me yet. I mentioned it being online in both stages of the interview and they didn't seek phased by it and the visa agent also assured me that it would be fine but I'd rather have some other people give me some peace of mind.

Current affairs - I take it your TEFL was onsite?

[nomad soul]

Currentaffairs is from the UK. Hopefully you'll hear from someone with a situation similar to yours (online TEFL) who recently went through the employment visa process in the US.

[currentaffairs]

Yes, I was just making the point that a few teachers had their TEFL certs attested not just their degrees. The Saudis contacted Trinity directly, apparently.

[RustyShackleford]

Update: after a delay involving proper papers being misplaced,
The travel agency in charge informed me that my papers were approved by the Saudi Cultural Mission and are now on the way to the embassy. The only thing I could see fowling up there is that the police check is now overdue (agency says 30 days after is invalid, embassy website says 6 months)

[mnruman]

So online TEFL is accepted? Maybe your BA compensated for the TEFL being online?

[RustyShackleford]

repeat.

[RustyShackleford]

Update: My visa literally just arrived in the mail. It is a valid 90 day work visa, with all information being consistent with what I've been told - English Instructor with Recruiter. I had an Arabic-speaking friend check the visa since practically nothing is in English on this thing.

There were some complications with the SACM - I forgot the degreeverify slip and then THEY forgot to check it was there the second time. The gentleman at the agency said he scheduled an appointment directly with the SACM and they verified all documents were correct. (Wasta in action?)

A week later, the SACM sends it back, the agency sends to the embassy and, literally two days after entering the embassy, my documents come back.

Reading everything I have here, I was bracing for a couple weeks of waiting, yet here it is in my hands on Friday. Either the guys wanted to go on their holiday or Block visas are faster, I guess.

Bottom Line from my experience: An online TEFL is valid for US citizens, provided your BA is onsite and they're desperate enough/you're charming/awesome/special enough, but most employers won't give you a second glance and holy moly the stress was unbearable that I'd recommend just get a proper onsite TEFL cert and relevant degrees to not deal with this malarkey of uncertainty.

[nomad soul]

[RustyShackleford]

Oh the company I'm being assigned to (which apparently held the final word in the process) definitely noted my MA in the interview, but also acknowledged that it would be legally useless at this stage. The employer themselves seemed to be indifferent about it and said that so long as I had the TEFL, even if online, I was in the clear. I'm sure you would agree that overworked bureaucrats rarely care about the specifics and mostly just want to make sure the stamps are in the right place. Good to note about the SACM - every time I tried calling, they were never in office.

Finally, to clarify, I guess "Recruiter" should read [INSERT RECRUITER NAME HERE] on the relevant "Employer" line, although most could guess by this point.

P.P.S. I'm landing this month if all goes to plan.

[nomad soul]

[RustyShackleford]

[mpalazuelos]

@ Rustyshackleford: I'm interested in learning how did you get a job with an online certification. I want to teach in Saudi Arabia in the next year but I'm in the same situation you were in. Also, did you work in Madrid this past year?