Job Discussion Forums

Ackerley81 · Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Posts: 49

i think i have the answer to my question about Non-EU citizens working in EU countries, for anyone else who's still wondering. i have to get a work visa in my home country, and to obtain the visa i must mail the consul a valid Certificate of Employment from whatever school has offered me a job. i think i also have to be in the US to do this, but im waiting for a reply from the polish consul on that one. unfortunatley, i cannot get a job w/out a teaching certificate, which i was planning on obtaining in poland. SO, to avoid flying back to the states after completing the CELTA, heres my new question:

do any schools offer jobs to teacher's who have a pending certificate? could i get a job by stating that i will have completed the Cambridge CELTA by Jul. '05? that way i could get a certificate of employment prior to leaving the states and taking the CELTA and therefore wouldn't have to fly back to get a work visa.

stephabee · Joined: 28 Mar 2005 Posts: 7

Alex Shulgin · Joined: 20 Jul 2003 Posts: 553

Good question. Your solution might well work. It depends a bit on the local labour office and when they want to see the documents proving your expert status (ie the qualifications which get you the job). They might give you the promise of a work permit (which is needed to get the visa stamped in your passport) without seeing all the paperwork or they might not. There's also the question of how long your promise of a work permit would be valid. You'd need to allow the time needed to get the documents to you and the visa done and then complete the CELTA before converting the promise into the work permit.

The best thing to do is to just contact schools in the city you want to work in and ask them if they'd be willing to hire you in the way you want. If they really want you to work for them they can usually find a way to get round any problems.