2. Do your research!
Okay, now that you have chosen the country you wanted to work in, time to start the hard work. Moving abroad is no joke, and the first step you need to take is finding out the steps needed to make your transition abroad as smooth as possible. Ready to begin? I first would start at Facebook. In the countries I have lived abroad in, Facebook was simply an invaluable resource. Search on Facebook for expat community groups living in the country you wish to relocate to. Some great keywords for this would be "Expats in Warsaw, Poland," or "Warsaw Expats," "Americans in Poland," if you were looking to move to Poland for example. Most major cities have a plethora of Facebook groups where expats congregate online to ask and answer questions, rant about frustrations of life abroad, and give advice. Join these groups, read the posts, and write your own, asking about how life is in the city or town. My initial post in these groups usually looks something like this:
Okay, now that you have chosen the country you wanted to work in, time to start the hard work. Moving abroad is no joke, and the first step you need to take is finding out the steps needed to make your transition abroad as smooth as possible. Ready to begin? I first would start at Facebook. In the countries I have lived abroad in, Facebook was simply an invaluable resource. Search on Facebook for expat community groups living in the country you wish to relocate to. Some great keywords for this would be "Expats in Warsaw, Poland," or "Warsaw Expats," "Americans in Poland," if you were looking to move to Poland for example. Most major cities have a plethora of Facebook groups where expats congregate online to ask and answer questions, rant about frustrations of life abroad, and give advice. Join these groups, read the posts, and write your own, asking about how life is in the city or town. My initial post in these groups usually looks something like this:
"Hey everyone! I'm an American English teacher with 9 years experience. I will be moving to (city name) soon, and I would like some information. How do you all find this city? What are the best neighborhoods to live in, are there many English schools? What is the overall demand for english (If you are a teacher and are coming looking for a job of course you will need this info" is there a big expat community? How difficult is the residency process? What is the average cost of living?" etc.
Normally, it will not be long for many of the group's members to comment, happily giving you advice, how tos, and dos and donts. Some of this information may be contradictory. Don't take all advice given on Facebook as gospel, but it's a good first step to get the opinions and advice of people who have done what you want to do. Seek out Americans in particular when it comes to residency process questions, because as mentioned in the last post, expats coming from other EU countries have different steps to go through than we do. Often expats will provide you links to websites (like official government customs and immigration pages of whatever country you are thinking about moving to). Click those links and yes, treat this information as gospel. Most of these official government sites will have an English page as well. Bookmark these sites because they will contain addresses of offices you need to go to or any other information about visas and the residency process once arriving in the country.
After facebook, the next step I would look at is www.eslbase.com. This website has a comprehensive list of practically nearly every English school in every country. It's been a really helpful resource. You can go to each individual school's website and check them out. It's best to make a list of schools you may want to teach at, then email them all individually. Send them a cover letter telling them a little about you (Name, where you are from, years of experience teaching, etc) as well as a CV. Tell them that you are moving to the city (make it sound certain that you are coming because they will take you more seriously) and ask them if there are any openings for native speaking English teachers. Usually their representatives will get back to you, and many may want to arrange an interview with you on Skype. During this interview they will probably ask you exactly when you plan to come so have a pretty good idea of when you intend to be there. During this skype interview, ask them if they help Americans with the visa and residency issues. It's important to ask this because often they may assume you have dual nationality and have legal right to stay and teach in the country without their help. If you don't, it's important that you let them know that you will be needing a working visa, residency permit, etc. If the school is really good and reputable, they will help you with this process. If they do not, run away-- Far away! The school will need to file for a working visa for you, or refer you to some entity that can help you set up your own business in the country (an incubator) that can issue a work permit for you. Usually if Americans sign a year contract with certain schools they will help you with the visa process. Make sure you inquire thoroughly about this process. Really good schools will often put you in contact with American teachers who work for them so you can ask them how the process is and will answer other questions you have. Make sure all your legal "ducks" will be "in a row" before you sign any contracts with any school. Be sure to ask them also if they help teachers out with housing process. Though this is more common in Asia than Europe, some schools may have some good information here as well. I will write a list about interview questions, etc in another post.
Great! So you've done facebook and then good an offer from a reputable school. Now buy the ticket? Not yet. Before you do, double check with the school again. Sometimes it is easier for you to file for a working visa in your home country then you deciding to do the process after you land. If you can get a working visa at home, do so. Normally your school will prepare documents and a contract to that they will send to you and you will need to take it to the consulate of the country you are going to. There will be other requirements, too. Usually each country will require proof of a clean criminal record and medical examination proving that you are healthy, etc. They also may want to see proof that you have medical insurance in the country you will be arriving in, and sometimes these documents will have to be translated as well as notarized as well as some take weeks to obtain. You also need to check to see if there is a consulate of whatever country you are going to in or near your city. I'm in San Francisco, and the closest Croatian consulate to me is in Los Angeles, so I have to take a trip there if I want to apply for a visa. There may be a short interview at the consulate, and of course there is a fee for applying. You will need to have your passport with you, and if you are approved, they will send your passport back via certified mail with your visa firmly attached to one of its pages. This process can take up to a few weeks. Often, if you obtain a visa in your home country, there is nothing more that needs to be done in the country you are visiting besides registering your address with the local police, but always check to make sure what you will need to do after you land. Normally there is a short time limit placed on foreigner registration once they enter the country, usually up to a week or 2 weeks though it varies by country. Do your research.
If you prefer to apply for work/residency inside the desired country, get ready for a more complicated process, and long wait times at local residency offices because every foreign person from all corners of the world could be there filing at the same time as you, and it will take longer. The offices may be busy processing many residence permits and it might take months to obtain yours. Staff in these foreigners offices may or may not speak English so it's best to have someone with you to translate. If you need to make an appointment for this process, start EARLY. Many foreigners get tripped up in coming to Germany, for example, because if I'm not mistaken, their foreigner residency process states that foreigners are supposed to apply for residency a few days after arriving in the country, but one has to book an appointment first. Normally after expats land they get online to try to book, then they find out no appointments are available in the short frame of time they are required to present themselves at the office. So it is best to book months before. While in America, check the online residency bureau's appointment list, book an available appointment, and THEN book your plane ticket to arrive a few days before that date. Complicated I know, but necessary in some places. Make sure you know exactly what you legally need to do, where you need to come, and what you need to have to legally be in the country, and make sure you have enough money to cover all of these processes in addition to other living expenses. If your employer will help you with these processes, more the better. It's not easy!
Stay tuned for part 3!
Normally, it will not be long for many of the group's members to comment, happily giving you advice, how tos, and dos and donts. Some of this information may be contradictory. Don't take all advice given on Facebook as gospel, but it's a good first step to get the opinions and advice of people who have done what you want to do. Seek out Americans in particular when it comes to residency process questions, because as mentioned in the last post, expats coming from other EU countries have different steps to go through than we do. Often expats will provide you links to websites (like official government customs and immigration pages of whatever country you are thinking about moving to). Click those links and yes, treat this information as gospel. Most of these official government sites will have an English page as well. Bookmark these sites because they will contain addresses of offices you need to go to or any other information about visas and the residency process once arriving in the country.
After facebook, the next step I would look at is www.eslbase.com. This website has a comprehensive list of practically nearly every English school in every country. It's been a really helpful resource. You can go to each individual school's website and check them out. It's best to make a list of schools you may want to teach at, then email them all individually. Send them a cover letter telling them a little about you (Name, where you are from, years of experience teaching, etc) as well as a CV. Tell them that you are moving to the city (make it sound certain that you are coming because they will take you more seriously) and ask them if there are any openings for native speaking English teachers. Usually their representatives will get back to you, and many may want to arrange an interview with you on Skype. During this interview they will probably ask you exactly when you plan to come so have a pretty good idea of when you intend to be there. During this skype interview, ask them if they help Americans with the visa and residency issues. It's important to ask this because often they may assume you have dual nationality and have legal right to stay and teach in the country without their help. If you don't, it's important that you let them know that you will be needing a working visa, residency permit, etc. If the school is really good and reputable, they will help you with this process. If they do not, run away-- Far away! The school will need to file for a working visa for you, or refer you to some entity that can help you set up your own business in the country (an incubator) that can issue a work permit for you. Usually if Americans sign a year contract with certain schools they will help you with the visa process. Make sure you inquire thoroughly about this process. Really good schools will often put you in contact with American teachers who work for them so you can ask them how the process is and will answer other questions you have. Make sure all your legal "ducks" will be "in a row" before you sign any contracts with any school. Be sure to ask them also if they help teachers out with housing process. Though this is more common in Asia than Europe, some schools may have some good information here as well. I will write a list about interview questions, etc in another post.
Great! So you've done facebook and then good an offer from a reputable school. Now buy the ticket? Not yet. Before you do, double check with the school again. Sometimes it is easier for you to file for a working visa in your home country then you deciding to do the process after you land. If you can get a working visa at home, do so. Normally your school will prepare documents and a contract to that they will send to you and you will need to take it to the consulate of the country you are going to. There will be other requirements, too. Usually each country will require proof of a clean criminal record and medical examination proving that you are healthy, etc. They also may want to see proof that you have medical insurance in the country you will be arriving in, and sometimes these documents will have to be translated as well as notarized as well as some take weeks to obtain. You also need to check to see if there is a consulate of whatever country you are going to in or near your city. I'm in San Francisco, and the closest Croatian consulate to me is in Los Angeles, so I have to take a trip there if I want to apply for a visa. There may be a short interview at the consulate, and of course there is a fee for applying. You will need to have your passport with you, and if you are approved, they will send your passport back via certified mail with your visa firmly attached to one of its pages. This process can take up to a few weeks. Often, if you obtain a visa in your home country, there is nothing more that needs to be done in the country you are visiting besides registering your address with the local police, but always check to make sure what you will need to do after you land. Normally there is a short time limit placed on foreigner registration once they enter the country, usually up to a week or 2 weeks though it varies by country. Do your research.
If you prefer to apply for work/residency inside the desired country, get ready for a more complicated process, and long wait times at local residency offices because every foreign person from all corners of the world could be there filing at the same time as you, and it will take longer. The offices may be busy processing many residence permits and it might take months to obtain yours. Staff in these foreigners offices may or may not speak English so it's best to have someone with you to translate. If you need to make an appointment for this process, start EARLY. Many foreigners get tripped up in coming to Germany, for example, because if I'm not mistaken, their foreigner residency process states that foreigners are supposed to apply for residency a few days after arriving in the country, but one has to book an appointment first. Normally after expats land they get online to try to book, then they find out no appointments are available in the short frame of time they are required to present themselves at the office. So it is best to book months before. While in America, check the online residency bureau's appointment list, book an available appointment, and THEN book your plane ticket to arrive a few days before that date. Complicated I know, but necessary in some places. Make sure you know exactly what you legally need to do, where you need to come, and what you need to have to legally be in the country, and make sure you have enough money to cover all of these processes in addition to other living expenses. If your employer will help you with these processes, more the better. It's not easy!
Stay tuned for part 3!