Job Discussion Forums

amandajoy99 · Joined: 08 Nov 2004 Posts: 63 Location: Brazil

Hi all,
I'm looking at the possibility of moving to Athens next December or January. My boyfriend has a potential opportunity for a job in Athens, so I'm really only looking at that city (I know people have recommended working outside of the capital). I'm an American citizen, and when I arrive I'll have an MA in TESOL. From scanning this forum, I gather that job opportunities are spotty in Greece, especially for those of us who are non-EU citizens. I also gather that January is probably not the best time to seek employment since the school year starts in September. That said, can anyone give me any ideas of what my chances would be of finding a decent teaching job in Athens? Any tips on where to look? Will my MA be helpful in Greece? Any help would be much appreciated! This is all quite early but I'm just trying to get some general ideas. Thanks!

Amanda

original21 · Joined: 04 Sep 2006 Posts: 3 Location: Cyprus

Due to immigration restriction close to none. There are jobs available in Athens, which is a very expensive city, and all over Greece. However, you don't have an EU passport and that will disqualify you. There is always the illegal path.
Original21

flapjack · Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006 9:55 pm Post subject:

I don't know the specific laws for Greece, but jobs in Spain require an EU passport OR a work Visa from the Shengen States (EU). It's huge hassle for an American to get a visa to the EU for working as an English teacher. It took me 7 months. First, I had to fly there and get a signed contract and a place of residence(I had a friend who let me use their address) Then I had to come back and apply from the Spanish embassy here in the States. It took me anbout 2 months to do the paperwork(enough to choke a horse) then it took 5 months for the visa to go through.

But it was well worth it. One of the best years of my life and one of the best schools I have ever worked at as far as being strictly legal and professional in all their dealings with the teacher.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

......'visa for the EU'..............??????????

There is no such thing
Visas are issued by the individual states

Deicide · Last edited by Deicide on Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:13 am; edited 1 time in total

Deicide · Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:46 pm Post subject:

flapjack · Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:13 pm Post subject:

ok let's see,
I got a visa for Spain,90 day visa, on the proof that I had a job and a place of residence in Spain, after I finally got there I had to get that extended while I was working there, I stood in line for 8 hours, twice and actually the government is so busy with paper work my year was up before I ever got the extension, anyway it was all legal. And it can be done without getting married or proving any ancestry.

Yes, the visa was to an indivdual state but I traveled to France and Belgium on that visa, crossed borders by bus and didnt need to have my passport stamped, I entered those other countries without being processed because they are Shengen States. My post may have been unintentionally misleading,but if you read it carefully I never said it was a visa for the EU, Perhaps I should have said "a work visa from (one of) the Shengen States) anyway it might be a good idea to take this topic to a forum with real experts.

stoth1972 · Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 9:32 pm Post subject:

A friend of mine attended the TESOL conference in Seattle just this past week. She's an MA TESOl and had an interview, along w/ loads of other non-EU passport holders, for a job in Athens. It is w/ a company hiring teachers, rather than an educational institution. Is it possible for Americans to get work permits in other areas aside from teaching?

flapjack · Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2007 12:34 am Post subject:

I recently applied with a hiring company called mexconnect. They are also able to get jobs for non-EU passport holders in Spain and Italy. But these jobs are with private schools in no way linked to goverment schools.

Work permits for other jobs may be granted by the government if the company can prove they are short of a certain kind of worker in the the feild they need. For example airplane or helicopter mechanics and people in the mining industry, computers, etc.
The best way to find out is look at the immigration laws for the countries you are interested in. There is isually a section that tells which jobs they are granting work visas for.