I am growing concerned about having a partner who is not a teacher. I began registration for the UNI fair and the website indicates that 95% of teachers hired at the fair are single or married couples.
I currently have a longtime boyfriend. I want for him to join me on my overseas career path and he is totally supportive.
We would be willing to marry (we are committed partners who just haven't really considered marriage because we are not religious) in order for the visa issue to be easier, but I am worried that I won't be able to find a job if I am married.
Anyway, we wouldn't be getting married until later in the spring, so as of now, I am single.
What are the possible outcomes of applying for a job as a single person, being hired, and THEN getting married? We are willing and able to cover all of his expenses, so it would not really change what comes out of the pockets of the school.
Are there countries where the visa issue is so difficult that even if we were married, he still could not join me? What are possible reactions from the school?
I really want this to work. I have waited a long time to have a partner who is willing to join me and the thought of that being an obstacle is overwhelmingly disappointing.
Thanks in advance.
partners and visas
Well...
Yes. It is going to be a disadvantage. So is having kids, being in a less popular teaching area, being Asian looking (regardless of where you're from) and a host of other issues people can't control.
I'd say tell people that you are going to be getting married upfront. It WILL change what it costs the school. There are all sorts of issue that are different when you are married (accommodation, health insurance, visas). And you shouldn't be covering the expenses for things like his flight.
Honestly I'd be more concerned about what he's going to do. Will he be able to get work wherever you are? Look for countries where he can get employed. A non-working spouse can be really rough on a marriage.
I'd say tell people that you are going to be getting married upfront. It WILL change what it costs the school. There are all sorts of issue that are different when you are married (accommodation, health insurance, visas). And you shouldn't be covering the expenses for things like his flight.
Honestly I'd be more concerned about what he's going to do. Will he be able to get work wherever you are? Look for countries where he can get employed. A non-working spouse can be really rough on a marriage.
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escapeartist
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2012 1:39 pm
I am not worried about him. He will be certified to teach english, so I am focused on countries where jobs for him will be easy to obtain. On top of that, he is naturally engaged with personal projects that he can do anywhere, so being bored shouldn't be an issue.
Thank you for your response!
Is it a waste for me to pay the expense of going to the UNI job fair if they say that 95% of their hires are singles or married couples?
I thought I may be a competitor at that fair, but now I am unsure.
Thank you for your response!
Is it a waste for me to pay the expense of going to the UNI job fair if they say that 95% of their hires are singles or married couples?
I thought I may be a competitor at that fair, but now I am unsure.
Comment
What do you mean your worried? Your single, go to the fair. There isnt a single guy anywhere that doesnt go overseas that doesnt become attached at some point, and for most guys its pretty quickly.
If you want to get married and have a trailing spouse thats one thing, but if your boyfriend and you are content just being a couple then there isnt anything that cant keep him from visiting you over a number of successive tourist visas. If he gets a job teaching ESL, even the visa issue vanishes.
Just stay out of the ME (laws about unmarried couples living together) and stay away from schools that are overly christian conservative.
Seriously, you dont need your schools permission to have a boyfriend, and their nose doesnt belong in your relationship if you dont want it to. Just understand that means you will be on your own when it comes to logistics.
If you want to get married and have a trailing spouse thats one thing, but if your boyfriend and you are content just being a couple then there isnt anything that cant keep him from visiting you over a number of successive tourist visas. If he gets a job teaching ESL, even the visa issue vanishes.
Just stay out of the ME (laws about unmarried couples living together) and stay away from schools that are overly christian conservative.
Seriously, you dont need your schools permission to have a boyfriend, and their nose doesnt belong in your relationship if you dont want it to. Just understand that means you will be on your own when it comes to logistics.
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escapeartist
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2012 1:39 pm
Psyguy,
Thanks for the perspective. That's pretty much the conclusion that I reached about an hour ago. The thought of getting married, looking for a job, etc was driving me crazy.
Now we need to carefully (and quickly--time is of the essence) determine which countries have the most realistic visa requirements for. I don't want to accept a job and then find out that he can't come at all for some reason.
Does anyone have a resource for this where different country's information would be consolidated on one page so that I could efficiently research visa longs (how long he could stay as a tourist at first, if exit and re-entry can satify requirements to start the time over).
Anyone have experience moving as an unmarried couple? He will be looking for jobs upon arrival, so the goal is to move to a country where teaching english is a viable option.
Thank you.
Thanks for the perspective. That's pretty much the conclusion that I reached about an hour ago. The thought of getting married, looking for a job, etc was driving me crazy.
Now we need to carefully (and quickly--time is of the essence) determine which countries have the most realistic visa requirements for. I don't want to accept a job and then find out that he can't come at all for some reason.
Does anyone have a resource for this where different country's information would be consolidated on one page so that I could efficiently research visa longs (how long he could stay as a tourist at first, if exit and re-entry can satify requirements to start the time over).
Anyone have experience moving as an unmarried couple? He will be looking for jobs upon arrival, so the goal is to move to a country where teaching english is a viable option.
Thank you.
Reply
Sure the DOS:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_t ... 965.html#D
Click on the country and then "entry/exit" requirements.
ill make it easy or you though, you want asian countries, as they have the largest demand for ESL teachers.
S.Korea and Thailand have a lot of ESL jobs and you can get a landing visa for 90 days on arrival.
Vietnam and China require you to have a visa before you leave. Both countries though have a high demand for ESL teachers.
Singapore/Hong Kong/Malaysia/Indonesia/Phillipines have shorter tourist stays and the ESL market isnt as strong.
Taiwan doesnt have the number of opportunities that China has, but quality of life can be better. Its really hit and miss.
Japan is super expensive and while he could get an ESL job in a week, it would be much harder for you to find an IS position.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_t ... 965.html#D
Click on the country and then "entry/exit" requirements.
ill make it easy or you though, you want asian countries, as they have the largest demand for ESL teachers.
S.Korea and Thailand have a lot of ESL jobs and you can get a landing visa for 90 days on arrival.
Vietnam and China require you to have a visa before you leave. Both countries though have a high demand for ESL teachers.
Singapore/Hong Kong/Malaysia/Indonesia/Phillipines have shorter tourist stays and the ESL market isnt as strong.
Taiwan doesnt have the number of opportunities that China has, but quality of life can be better. Its really hit and miss.
Japan is super expensive and while he could get an ESL job in a week, it would be much harder for you to find an IS position.
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eion_padraig
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:18 pm
From what you were saying about your boyfriend being an trained English teacher, I would suggest China or Korea as good places to focus.
1.) He could fairly easily get a teaching job in either country.
2.) In general people in those countries won't be concerned about your personal life (an international Christian or socially conservative school might - Yew Cheng, Shanghai Concordia, QSI etc.).
3.) Both pay fairly well for English teachers, so your boyfriend could make decent money, but you should make more than him unless you're at a terrible 3rd tier school (it can happen). I made more as a university lecturer with side tutoring/teaching jobs (these side jobs doubled my monthly salary) than as a science teacher at an IS in Shanghai. Mind you it was a low 3rd tier school in my opinion.
4.) Lots of schools schools with international curriculum (AP/IB/GCSE) popping up in China and decent growth in Korea as well, so a good number of options for you. Again, watch out for terrible schools in both places, but if you can hack two years then you have a lot more options moving forward.
5.) Depending on your boyfriend's schedule teaching English, he might be able to substitute teach at your school. This could be an in-road into working there if a spot opened up (depends on the school and your bf's qualifications) and getting into international teaching or adding some IT experience himself. Or being a substitute may pay pretty well, which could be good on its own.
I have some warnings. Just remember that there are some terrible schools out there, where two years can seem like a long time. If you're working at a school for Chinese nationals or Koreans nationals in China or Korea respectively, you'd essentially be working at a private high school with a foreign curriculum. Generally local (PRC; mainlander) Chinese cannot attend internationally-run schools in China. Neither can Koreans in Korea. Local Chinese teachers are treated pretty horribly by Chinese administrators; if you're a foreign teacher in one of these schools often you have them trying to treat you like a local. Realize that contracts are not always honored in either country, which can be very frustrating.
Being there with someone you care about can be helpful if you're both excited about living overseas. But I also saw what seemed like solid relationships end with the pressures of living overseas. Then again that happens everywhere.
Good luck.
1.) He could fairly easily get a teaching job in either country.
2.) In general people in those countries won't be concerned about your personal life (an international Christian or socially conservative school might - Yew Cheng, Shanghai Concordia, QSI etc.).
3.) Both pay fairly well for English teachers, so your boyfriend could make decent money, but you should make more than him unless you're at a terrible 3rd tier school (it can happen). I made more as a university lecturer with side tutoring/teaching jobs (these side jobs doubled my monthly salary) than as a science teacher at an IS in Shanghai. Mind you it was a low 3rd tier school in my opinion.
4.) Lots of schools schools with international curriculum (AP/IB/GCSE) popping up in China and decent growth in Korea as well, so a good number of options for you. Again, watch out for terrible schools in both places, but if you can hack two years then you have a lot more options moving forward.
5.) Depending on your boyfriend's schedule teaching English, he might be able to substitute teach at your school. This could be an in-road into working there if a spot opened up (depends on the school and your bf's qualifications) and getting into international teaching or adding some IT experience himself. Or being a substitute may pay pretty well, which could be good on its own.
I have some warnings. Just remember that there are some terrible schools out there, where two years can seem like a long time. If you're working at a school for Chinese nationals or Koreans nationals in China or Korea respectively, you'd essentially be working at a private high school with a foreign curriculum. Generally local (PRC; mainlander) Chinese cannot attend internationally-run schools in China. Neither can Koreans in Korea. Local Chinese teachers are treated pretty horribly by Chinese administrators; if you're a foreign teacher in one of these schools often you have them trying to treat you like a local. Realize that contracts are not always honored in either country, which can be very frustrating.
Being there with someone you care about can be helpful if you're both excited about living overseas. But I also saw what seemed like solid relationships end with the pressures of living overseas. Then again that happens everywhere.
Good luck.
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escapeartist
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2012 1:39 pm
eion_padraig and Psyguy,
Thank you for taking time to respond. I figured that East Asia would be a target, which is great because it would be a dream come true to explore that part of the world and its various cultures. I think that Vietnam, S. Korea, and Thailand will be where I focus my energies.
It's true that living overseas will bring totally new pressures to the relationship. We will cross those bridges as they arise, I guess. For now, we are in the excited phase of anticipation and achieving goals. I'll ride this wave for as long as it lasts.
Thanks again
Thank you for taking time to respond. I figured that East Asia would be a target, which is great because it would be a dream come true to explore that part of the world and its various cultures. I think that Vietnam, S. Korea, and Thailand will be where I focus my energies.
It's true that living overseas will bring totally new pressures to the relationship. We will cross those bridges as they arise, I guess. For now, we are in the excited phase of anticipation and achieving goals. I'll ride this wave for as long as it lasts.
Thanks again
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eion_padraig
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:18 pm
Vietnam and Thailand could work too, though there won't be as many schools as China. Quality of life in Thailand is better so the good jobs are really competitive, though there are jobs to be had both in private national schools with international curriculum and English teaching jobs for your boyfriend. Cost of living can be surprisingly high there especially in tourist areas from what I've heard people say.
From what I hear Vietnam has a lot of the same pros and cons as China, though it's smaller and not as wealthy a country. Some of the top schools seem to pay as well as the middle tier schools in China. I don't get the sense that people are clamoring to live there they way they are in Thailand.
Since you mentioned exploring cultures, I really recommend learning the local language beyond just survival/taxi level. Granted, reaching an elementary level of skill in Korean, Vietnamese, or Thai is a lot of work, but I had a much richer experience in China for being able to speak with average Chinese people. Granted, my first two years in China, I was teaching English and my contact hours were more modest than what one typically works at an IS.
Good luck with your plans.
From what I hear Vietnam has a lot of the same pros and cons as China, though it's smaller and not as wealthy a country. Some of the top schools seem to pay as well as the middle tier schools in China. I don't get the sense that people are clamoring to live there they way they are in Thailand.
Since you mentioned exploring cultures, I really recommend learning the local language beyond just survival/taxi level. Granted, reaching an elementary level of skill in Korean, Vietnamese, or Thai is a lot of work, but I had a much richer experience in China for being able to speak with average Chinese people. Granted, my first two years in China, I was teaching English and my contact hours were more modest than what one typically works at an IS.
Good luck with your plans.
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Teachermom
- Posts: 59
- Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:14 am
- Location: Asia
You should be honest and tell schools you have a partner that would be coming. I just got a job at a school I really wanted to work at (it was my number one choice) and the school were really supportive and still offered to pay for various things for my partner even if we weren't married (we are lucky that my partner can work from anywhere). But they couldn't get him a proper visa if we were not married so he would have to leave every few months, which wouldn't be ideal. We are actually planning on getting married before we go (we, like you, have been together a long time and had always been open to marriage, it just wasn't a priority) so they are sorting out his visas now too. We are very happy with everything. :-)
You could tell them you are planning on getting married before, if that is your intention anyway. Or if you don't want to get married before then he can get a visa through his esl work. Bare in mind that in some countries (e.g Korea), your visa is tied to your job if you are an esl teacher, so he couldn't quit and remain in the country (unless he had a new job lined up or his boss agreed to transfer the visa over). In other countries (e.g Japan) the visa is your own so once you have it you can do as you please.
I wouldn't worry about having a non teaching partner. It hasn't been a problem for me and we are excited for next year. Good luck!
You could tell them you are planning on getting married before, if that is your intention anyway. Or if you don't want to get married before then he can get a visa through his esl work. Bare in mind that in some countries (e.g Korea), your visa is tied to your job if you are an esl teacher, so he couldn't quit and remain in the country (unless he had a new job lined up or his boss agreed to transfer the visa over). In other countries (e.g Japan) the visa is your own so once you have it you can do as you please.
I wouldn't worry about having a non teaching partner. It hasn't been a problem for me and we are excited for next year. Good luck!
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escapeartist
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2012 1:39 pm