Job Discussion Forums

[skamen]

Hi,

I am a U.S. citizen. I graduated this past spring with a B.A. in History and completed TESL/TEFL certification with Oxford Seminars. On September 4th I am flying to Milan. I am going to be staying with a friend that I know from studying in Bologna last summer and trying to obtain a job teaching English in Bologna or the near vicinity.

My mom's side is Italian. I have spent the last six months getting all of the necessary documentation to apply for Italian citizenship by right of blood together. I just got back from the Italian consulate in Detroit and had the bummer of finding out that I need to submit a different form for my mother's birth certificate and that it will then anywhere from 2 to 4 months to process my application after that before I can expect to receive my Italian citizenship.

While I hope to be a legal citizen and could potentially be one in anywhere from two to four months from now, I am heading over early this September and am hoping to find a teaching position for this coming school year. I have been looking through the visa options. Without doing anything and simply flying over, I would be trying to find illegal employment with my tourist visa and touting the fact that I hope to be legal soon. I do have a roundtrip ticket that returns within 90 days from when I arrive in Milan so even if I do overstay my tourist visa there shouldn't be an issue coming through customs upon entry.

How difficult do you expect me to find it be trying to find illegal employment on a tourist visaf? I have heard a number of success stories and a number of horror stories as well. How much better off would I be in heading over with a student visa? How long does it generally take to process a student Visa? While I am a relatively poor college graduate, I could report my parent's financial resources to the Italian consulate as proof of my ability to have financial independence in Italy.

Is it true that I could work 20 hours a week on a student visa and possibly work more on a quasi-legal basis? How feasible would it be trying to work for a school on a student visa?

How would you go about suggesting getting a student visa if I don't know what school might hire me in Bologna? I have a number of schools that are interested in interviewing me. Would you suggest that I simply enroll in some Italian language school in Bologna (which I want to do anyways) so that I could apply for a student visa? Would I have to prove that the course will continue for as long as I would like my visa to be? Do you have any suggestions for such schools in Bologna?

I'm sorry for the barrage of questions. I'm trying not to stress out over figuring out how I'm going to work things but it's all a bit dizzying.

Thanks so much for your help,

-Scott

[dime a dozen]

Hi Scotty

I've been teaching in Bavaria and am looking at getting German citizenship by descent, and am trying to find out what the obligations are to military service. I think you will find that there is a military obligtion in the details of the Italian deal.

Sorry I can't answer all your questions.

Good luck with your dilemma, Scotty.

[spiral78]

I can't answer all your questions, either, but with a tourist visa and only Oxford certification, you'll definitely be at the bottom of the barrel regarding work.

The problem with the cert is that the standard for Europe is a 120-hour on-site course, that includes supervised practice teaching on actual students (not peer trainees). Because Oxford isn't on-site and doesn't include the teaching practicuum, it falls below the norm for newbie teachers in Europe.

To rememdy this, you could try to volunteer teach somewhere before you leave, and get a letter of recommendation from some authority in that organization, if possible.

Otherwise, you may need to consider taking a course that meets the standard in Italy - which may not be the worst idea in terms of getting the local contacts you would need to find a job pending your citizenship.

[Nmarie]

What's the rush? Is four months really such an eternity?

Why not go on a nice holiday in Italy, and then go back to your home country while your paperwork is getting sorted (citizenship, student visa, etc.)? Sounds far less stressful than worrying about working illegally and the lack of choice and benefits that comes with that.