Job Discussion Forums

SaratheSlytherin · Joined: 21 Jul 2009 Posts: 137 Location: North Carolina

I hope that this predicament can help someone else in my situation, but I'm really worried that I'm just screwed.

To get a working permit for Mexico, of course, you have to have an apostilled TESOL certificate as one of the documents.

I live in North Carolina, the home of simple things made complicated... I was told that they can only authenticate documents from North Carolina or in some circumstances another state.

I got my TESOL certificate in Barcelona...
I'm really worried that I won't be able to get my work permits.

Please tell me if you know of a solution... I have to leave next week and I'm freaking out. Mad

Thank you if you can help.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

Short of sending off to Barcelona for the apostille, how about just getting it for your degree and relying on that? The apostille is for immigration only and not the job.

As well, it appears you don't even need to show qualifications to immigration anymore as long as an employing school writes the job offer letter the right way. I wouldn't bank on it as this seems a new thing, but it could be a problem-solver for you.

SaratheSlytherin · Joined: 21 Jul 2009 Posts: 137 Location: North Carolina

MotherF · Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 9:26 pm Post subject:

Sarah, this worked once for us many years ago when we hired a British man who had a British degree and was residing in Florida at the time.

Take your TESOL cert to a local notary and ask for them to make a notarized copy. Some notaries don't know that they can do this since they have spent their entire career as a notary only notarizing signatures. So if they refuse, tell them to get out their handy dandy notary handbook and check it out. There is special language that they put on the back of the copy saying that this is a true copy of an original document presented before them (but this does not authenticate the institution or the content of the document anyway in only authenticates the photocopy.) Then take this notarized copy to the Secretary of State of the state in which that person is a notary. The Secretary of State also issues apostilles which authenticate notaries. They will authenticate that the signature and stamp of that notary are in fact true and legal.
In theory, this is not the kind of apostille immigration wants you to have, but it is an apostille we've had many teachers who were in states other than the one where they got their degree and in my experience immigration has never looked at any apostille carefully enough to notice the difference. Even in the case when the degree was from England and the apostille from Florida.

Samantha · Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 2038 Location: Mexican Riviera

Guy wrote:

SaratheSlytherin · Joined: 21 Jul 2009 Posts: 137 Location: North Carolina

Hi everyone,

I really appreciate your answers.

Just wondering: Did any of you all get your TESOL certificate in Spain? What did you do about the apostille?

Tretyakovskii · Joined: 14 Aug 2009 Posts: 462 Location: Cancun, Mexico

I've answered this question in detail, before, so I'll just say that you can take your TEFL certificate, accompanied by your affidavit in which you explain that you received the attached original certificate for completion of an intensive course in the teaching of English as a Foreign Language; and, that it has been in your custody and care since the day your received it. A U.S. Consular Official will take your oath, and put their very official looking seal on it. No INM official will question it, in my opinion. If you're already in Mexico, and you have your foreign certificate with you, this is an alternative to the very complex, and potentially costly process of getting it Apostilled; for example, in Spain, as in your case.

This approach is not my original idea, but was advocated on this forum, as was many of the things I've applied to the very nice results I've had before the INM, here.