Job Discussion Forums

[frogandeagle]

Hi all,

I've been reading this message board for a few months and have finally decided to become an active participant. I've read such a wide range of opinions about Vietnam on this board but I'm still really keen to go there and I'm hoping to get in touch with some people first.

Just some brief background info about myself: I'm an American (24yrs old) living in Australia and my boyfriend and I are planning to move to Saigon mid-2010 after completing our CELTA.

We both have Uni degrees but my only worry is that my boyfriend is French. His English is near-native (he had an IELTs score of 8.5 before he came here two years ago and he has improved well beyond that since) and he has a slight accent. I've read that non-native speakers can get work in Vietnam albiet with less pay or at dodgy establishments.

However, he is also starting a French teaching course soon (similar equivalent to CELTA or TEFL) and I'm hoping that his credentials and job prospects will be bolstered by having both teaching certificates.

My questions are: a) Are there many options for teaching French in Saigon? (I've seen a couple of schools with French programs on Saigon ESL but don't know if these are still around?)
b) As an American citizen, I realise that there are more complex rules for getting a work visa in Vietnam involving the background criminal checks. However, since I've been living in Australia for the last 10 years, do I still need this background check from the US? I'm concerend it may be near impossible to get one without being in US at all! I am able to get my Australian citizenship if this makes a difference... Has anyone else had this problem?
c) Lastly, I read somewhere on the board that unmarried couples are not legally allowed to live together in Vietnam. Is this true and how is it enforced?

Any advice from anyone would be SO SO much appreciated, and my apologies if these questions have been answered elsewhere but I haven't been able to find them!

Cheers, H

[phamquocdat41191]

French Center in HCM city

Hi frogandeagle;
I'm not sure that I can help you much about find a teaching French job in HCM city. If your boy friend wishes to teach in a school, such as an university or high school, I'm sorry that I don't have any information. I'm living in Hanoi and even in Hanoi, there are only a few universities offer french courses.

However, I think that your boyfriend still got a chance to teach in these two french centers:

Viện Trao đổi Văn h�a với Ph�p (IDECAF)
31 Th�i Văn Lung, Q. 1, Tp. Hồ Ch� Minh
Tel: (84- 829 54 51 (ext.:113) � Fax: (84- 829 14 24
Email: [email protected]

Trung t�m Đại Học Ph�p PUF
http://www.puf.edu.vn/
Ho Chi Minh ville
P�le Universitaire Fran�ais Ho Chi Minh ville
#706, B�timent administratif de l'UNV
KP6, Linh Trung, Q. Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh Ville
Vietnam
Tel: (84- 37 24 21 81 ext. 1472
Fax: (84- 37 24 21 66
Email: [email protected]

I don't know about the salary for teaching french, but the fee for us studying french is a little bit cheaper than english. The fee varies for level of student, kinds of course as well.

Hope you and your boy friend have good time in HCM.

BTW, it's more easy to get job in english center cause more and more students want to study english.

------------------------------
Volunteer For Community Development & Environment Education
Website: http://vfcd.org/
Email: [email protected] (Ms. Keren)
MSN Live: vfcd.org
Skype: vfcd.org (Dat)

[Texas_blu]

[frogandeagle]

Thanks so much for your responses!

[Texas_blu]

[lensman]

[quote="
From Texas Blu
Yes, it is illegal for unmarried couples to live together...

No it's not.

[Texas_blu]

lensman,

Yes, I believe you covered that in the thread that "saigoncowboy" started and as you'll see, "frogandeagle" posted a reply so it's apparent that they're aware of it too.

But my police friends tell me that it's still enforced predominately on foreigners and a few VN's as a "morality" issue. This means that your neighbors can make trouble for you and the police might back them up. Morality is a very gray area and in a communal society the majority will decide predominately. This is the same way that Hotels can ask for a marriage certificate and refuse you a room.

So, it is still illegal IF enough people or a business owner still wants it to be. This is fairly common here to have over-lapping laws. Welcome to Vietnam!

[inky]

MOD EDIT I've NEVER heard of a foreigner couple being denied long-term rental or hotel rooms. And neither have you.

[Texas_blu]

Not only heard of it many times BUT seen it in Da Nang from a couple my wife and I met on the train before Tet this year. They had to rent 2 rooms and this is a fairly common practice for VN's also.

No fear or rumor mongering here.

You guys want to believe that the society here is very much the same as western countries where the law is more clearly defined and individuals have rights that can't be revoked. Perhaps you've just been lucky so far, but at some point - you're in for a rude awakening.

MOD EDIT

[Tanker]

[Green Acres]

Frogandeagle....you can probably guess that the rules are not well understood by anyone here. They change a lot, and many people live here without ever knowing the law, since most of the time, it's Thompson's law (as in Hunter S., "One hand washes the other. I fear nothing!").

I know that the posters on this board are very experienced and are acquiring information everyday (as we all do). They are not wrong, well, except "inky", and I can't understand why he challenges information that people present, as if they are all telling lies. I must say that had I known what I know today, I may still have come to Vietnam, but I would have been much wiser about my investments and choices. I lost a lot of money my first year here, unnecessarily. Knowing that, I think, is what compels people to write the truth, however unappealing it may be to some.

All you need to guarantee employment in Saigon is a university degree, a police check, and a nice appearance at an interview. If you find a job via internet before coming, well great, but don't let that put you out. It's hard to say what the market will be a year from now. It shouldn't matter that a person is from a non-native English speaking country, so long as they are a teacher. If your boyfriend can teach, no problem. if you both have CELTA degrees, that will be a big plus. Certainly, Vietnam will always have a transitory nature and many ESL professionals will come and go (some people call them backpackers).

As for living together, just claim to be married (a couple that lives together for 2 years is married by common law). Some people may ask for your certificate, which is ridiculous I know, but generally you shouldn't have a problem. If you go to a hotel or try to rent a house and someone makes this an issue, then be thankful that they have brought such attitudes to your attention and go a different way, since you wouldn't want to further their economy anyway. Be sure to check in with the local police and make sure everything is copacetic before making a deposit on your house.

[inky]

Well said (except the part about me); very good summary.

[frogandeagle]

Thanks everyone for your different opionions and experiences, it's really appreciated. I'll definately take it all into consideration but it certainly isn't discouraging me from coming to Vietnam!

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

It would be a very bad decision to continue with the insults and personal attacks on this thread.