Yes you have to have the required weeks of teaching during your teaching qualification to get the visa. The bureaucracy in HK itself is simply awful, if something is not exactly how they need it you will be rejected by the system. There is a catchphrase in HK when dealing with civil servants and that is ‘cannot’, if you have something that does not fit into their little box they tick then I am afraid it is ‘cannot’.

Getting in is very difficult, then getting out again is also very difficult, getting a bank account is very difficult, signing a kid up to a football team is very difficult. Nothing is easy, the football club registration (primary kid team for example) requires the passport, the birth certificate, a letter from the school, a signed form from parents all to be submitted before they can join.

Yes I had to get this to register as a teacher here, I contacted the university I did my PGCE at and they filled in a template and sent it back. There are a lot of hoops to jump to get into HK, I guess that’s why schools recruit from within the place itself.

I will be looking for a job in Mexico in 2019. I am an IB Coordinator in Asia at present, I like your writing style, your clear professionalism and direct way of conducting business. I was with Search Associates previously but they cover the world, where you cover the area I am specifically interested in.

Come 2018 I will be looking to sign up with your company, Teachers Latin America. Thank you for coming on here to represent your company, I was and am impressed.

I'm in Ho Chi Minh City. Just to echo the previous reply, a job in a poor international school may be the way forward as ESL is just horrible here, really horrid. I've a few friends that started on that track, while good places like RMIT will look after you, you will still have ESL on your CV, Hanoi is a lot less friendly and international than HCMC and it really is a lot more fun here than up north plus it is a lot more international. Start applying to international schools or send a speculative CV, I don't know of any international school in HCMC that hires teachers from the Phiilipines or India but I do know of one school that had a UK national, exceptional Maths HOD who was hired so maybe it is this type of silly judgemental mistake that the previous contributor is talking about. Our Maths department is a mix of Australian and British very experienced teachers, there are a lot of Australian male maths teachers here who have local wives so it's not as easy as you may think but you could have a shot. Go for it, but please work legally, deportation could be the least of your worries if you chose to work illegally here.

ESL work no problem at all and yes I do live in Vietnam. But beware there are a lot of scammers In the ESL world over here, very low pay and often working without a visa meaning you can be deported at any time. Just watch yourself, many a person thinks they can handle it but when you have worked for a month only not to be paid and told it was a trial, get home to find someone new in your apartment as you couldn't be registered with the police because you didn't have the correct visa and the landlord decided to replace you with someone who could prove where their rent money came from you may remember these word. It's a beautiful country with beautiful people but like any country there is a very dark underworld for people working illegally.

A nearby country may be more suited for work during the week and taking advantage of very cheap flights at the weekend might be a better strategy. Think about it as I would hate for you to be caught in the web of working illegally.

Join expats in Ho Chi Minh City on Facebook to get a real glimpse of life here for illegals and legal ESL teachers.

Vietnam is no longer the easy job it once was, competition is fierce at the schools. You will not find a job by just turning up in the country, ESL at 15 dollar (if you are lucky) an hour with horrible conditions. International schools here are paying more and more every year as competition amongst the schools hots up, I'm on over 50k with 1k a month housing, flights every year, top insurance, bonuses paid and the schools are becoming one by one accredited by the various accreditation bodies. Substitute teaching may give you a very small chance but with no experience I doubt very much that any school will hire you. Don't give up, still apply but you might be better going to China for a year and catching a cheap flight every weekend.

Horrific, if my pets can't come then I don't go. Wtf is wrong with people, these are loving, breathing, feeling beins with the capability of love and companionship. If I ever get to have anything to do with recruitment this will be one of those hidden tests, if you can treat an animal that loves and trusts you like this them you have no honour and are scum.

Nalfc here. Got offered the job I interviewed for, in the end I got offered 3 jobs and had another interview lined up. No regrets as I am loving the school and country, big promotion and getting ready to sign a new contract, negotiations already started for the next contract and going very, very well. This international teaching stuff is amazing, my only regret is not doing it earlier. Hope Khalida had as much luck as I did

Iwas responding to you telling people that at best they will get 36k,it is simply incorrect.

Half way up the pay scale, seriously stop telling people untruths. If I didn't have housing allowance I would have to pay out of my wages, likewise flights home and health insurance so yes it does count, it means that 50k plus is pocket money. Next year I have nearly a 10k payrise due to promotion and going up a point on the pay scale along with an inflationary rise plus 200 dollar extra housing allowance a month. SE Asia excluding Singapore and Honk Kong have some amazing schools with great benefits and saving potential. I will be looking to save 25k without even trying as I get a large percentage of my pay in dollars and I don't touch them just send it home to pay debt plus an end of year bonus on top, it's sweet in vietnam please ignore people who don't have a clue and give terrible advice in respect to the region.

Sorry Psyguy but you are incorrect about the salaries, I make over $50k and when you add all the benefits on top, housing, flights, medical etc it is more like $75k. This is in a school you have called third tier in Vietnam and I save around $20k a year after day to day expenses, going somewhere hot and exotic every vacation, upgrading the annual flights the school pays for, adding a little more to the housing (we live in total luxury) and taking taxis to work everyday.

Congratulations and welcome to the most amazing place in the world

The group are in the process of joining the Nord Anglia group. No idea if that helps you at all

Try the IPGCE at Sunderland University - not sure of the ins and outs but it may be suitable