In part 1 of our graduate series, we gave you the top 5 TEFL destinations for graduates, in terms of life experience and salaries. We hope this has evoked some TEFL lust in some of you and you’ve thought, ‘that’s it! I’m leaving next week!’*. So just for you, we’ve listed the top destinations for instant employability!
Now, before you get ahead of yourself, there are a few things you’ll need to have in place before you head off:
A passport that’s valid for at least 6 months
A copy of your degree certificate
A copy of your TEFL certificate
A criminal background check (no more than 90 days old)
Travel insurance
A flight to your chosen destination**
A visa for your chosen destination (if applicable). Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be a work visa as this can be arranged once you’ve been offered a job.
*might take slightly longer than a week…
**Whilst you can get a job reasonably quickly whilst at home, if you want to start right away, you may need to be on the school’s doorstep!
The Thai school year starts in May and ends in February, so this is the best time to arrive if possible. Outside of the school term there are still plenty of teaching vacancies and you have a golden opportunity to jump in right away if a teacher has left mid-term. The school can easily transfer your holiday visa to a working visa within 2-3 weeks. You simply have to make an appearance and fill in some forms at the local immigration office.
Term starts in September but given the HUGE demand for TEFL teachers in China, you can pick up a job at any time of year. You will need to organise your Z visa from home, but that can take as little as 3 weeks from initial application to boarding the plane!
You are unlikely to find many teaching job ads online to teach in Brazil, but don’t let that put you off, demand for EFL teachers far outweighs supply. Within big cities, you should get a job offer fairly quickly and once that’s official, you need to deliver your documentation to the Brazilian Ministry of Labour to apply for a temporary work visa, which is valid for 2 years. You will need to leave the country in the meantime (short holiday to the Bolivian salt plains anyone?) but it only takes 5-10 days for your visa to be processed.
You would arrive in Taiwan on a landing visa, and then apply for a working visa when you have a job. For most people this is obtained on arrival in Taiwan, but for a few countries you will need to get it before setting off. There are a few other things to consider, but nothing too time consuming. If you arrive on Friday there’s no reason you can’t be working by Monday.
This only applies if you are an EU citizen, but you can show up in Madrid on Monday and start teaching on Tuesday if you like! This is because it is not necessary for EU citizens to obtain a work permit – hurrah!
So there you go – all that’s left to do is get on that plane and turn your TEFL dreams into reality!
