Japan Visa How Long To Process

In some countries where teaching ESL is popular there is a clear path for obtaining a work visa or permit that allows you to live and work long term, while in others the process can be overly complicated, expensive or simply nonexistent. However, as the demand for teachers is so high in many countries, the need for a work visa can often be ignored by employers. The truth is that thousands of people are currently working as ESL teachers in countries worldwide without a formal work visa or work permit. In two of the most popular ESL teaching destinations in Europe, Italy and Spain, it is very common for Americans and other non-EU nationals to start work as teachers with nothing more than a tourist visa in their passport. A standard tourist visa is valid for 90 days and there is no...  [Read more]

In the vast majority of cases, ESL teachers will need to obtain some form of visa to enter their destination country. What specific visa you need is wholly dependent on the rules and regulations of your host country, so you should contact the relevant embassy or take a look at their website to make sure you have all the correct information. Below we outline the most common forms of visa you are likely to come across. Tourist visas are typically issued to people who only plan on a short visit and do not intend to work or study. This type of visa comes in many different forms depending on the host country and your own country of origin. The 'upon entry' tourist visa is the most common and this is issued upon arrival at the airport immigration desk. For example, US citizens arriving in...  [Read more]

Italy is one of several European countries where it can be difficult for non-EU citizens to find teaching jobs. Many language schools are reluctant to go through the process of getting a work permit for a non-EU teacher when they can simply hire one with an EU passport. If you are in this situation, one option available to you is to apply for a student visa that also includes the right to teach up to 20 hours per week. To allow for a comfortable lifestyle many teachers also take on a few private students in their free time. It can take up to a month for your visa application to be processed after you have handed over the required documents to an Italian embassy or consulate in person. Your passport needs to be valid for a minimum of six months after your stay in Italy is over and...  [Read more]

Spanish language schools often prefer to employ teachers from within the EU to avoid the hassle of applying for a work permit. Despite this, thousands of non-EU citizens still head to Spain every year to work as ESL teachers. A large proportion of these enter the country on a standard tourist visa and work illegally without a work permit. Although illegal, this practice is very common and rarely causes any problems for the teacher. However, one alternative for non-EU citizens to consider is to apply for a student visa which also allows you to legally teach a set number of hours each week. To get the process underway you need to visit a Spanish Embassy at least three months before your planned departure date. At the embassy you can pick up an application form, verify the exact...  [Read more]

One of the reasons why Mexico is an increasingly popular teaching destination is the fact that it is possible for most foreign teachers to get a work visa. Also, there is no requirement for you to possess a degree or to be a native English speaker in order to apply for one. As long as you possess a TESOL certification from a reputable provider, you are eligible for a work visa in Mexico. The great news for foreign ESL teachers is that there are very few restrictions on who can apply for a work visa for teaching English in Mexico. The only nationalities that are not eligible to apply are those from North Korea and Iran and there are no age limits either. A TESOL certificate is required, but there is no need to have a college degree or any previous teaching experience. The only other...  [Read more]

EU citizens who want to teach English in Germany should have few problems as they can work freely in the country without a visa. Teachers from countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada are able to apply for a working holiday visa that allows them limited access to teaching jobs. However, for everyone else, including Americans, there are fewer options if you want to live and work in Germany. That being said, if you are willing to be patient, it is still possible to obtain a work visa. As the application process has to be completed from within the country, most people initially enter Germany on a standard tourist visa. Unfortunately, the process can take up to two months so you will need to have enough funds to support yourself while you wait for your application to be...  [Read more]

If you are TESOL qualified and you have a university degree you will have a huge choice of options for teaching English all over the world. For those without a degree, the options are more limited but still plentiful. Recently, some of the more popular countries for teaching English abroad have begun to demand that teachers have a degree in order to qualify for a work visa. In particular, some of the big Asian markets for teachers such as South Korea, Japan and Taiwan now require a degree to obtain the necessary paperwork to stay and work long-term. Most of the high-salary Middle East countries are also difficult to crack without a certain level of formal qualifications. Despite these examples, there are still many options open for non-degree holders if you are flexible in where you...  [Read more]

France, like many other countries in the region, can often be a difficult place for non-EU citizens to find teaching jobs. Employers often prefer to hire teachers with an EU passport, rather than go through the difficult process of applying for a work permit. One popular alternative route for non-EU teachers is to apply for a student visa as these allow you to work for a set number of hours each week. Although the legal amount of teaching hours is limited with a student visa, many teachers also take on a few private students in their free time to top up their income. Applications for a student visa should be made in your country at least four weeks prior to your departure date. Required documents include a passport that is valid for at least six months after you plan to leave France...  [Read more]

As TESOL courses come in a range of different shapes and sizes, the answer to this common question will vary depending on the one you choose. In order to meet the needs of all our trainees, ITTT has developed a set of unique courses that should cover every situation. As you will see below, each individual TESOL course has its own contents of study and its own overall timescale. If you are looking for the quickest turnaround when it comes to your TESOL certification, a short-format, introductory online course might be the way to go. At ITTT we have a 60-hour TESOL course that provides our fastest and most convenient route towards TESOL certification, although this option does come with caveats. Around the world many employers will expect their job applicants to have completed a...  [Read more]

In recent years Vietnam has gone from being a possible teaching destination for the future to being a fully fledged TESOL hotspot that is attracting a growing number of teachers every year. First-time teachers, and those with some experience, are drawn to the country for a variety of different reasons including the strong demand for foreign teachers, a relatively low cost of living, competitive salaries, world famous cuisine, and the warm and friendly atmosphere that is evident wherever you go. Although it was once possible to turn up in Vietnam and find a job teaching English with no qualifications and no experience, those days are firmly in the past. Government requirements and those of individual schools have become much stricter in recent times, leading to an increasingly...  [Read more]

Japan is often regarded as one of the major world destinations for teaching English abroad due to the large number of potential jobs on offer and the large number of people who want to fill them. People come from all over the world to live and work in this most unique of environments and you can join them providing you meet the criteria necessary to gain a work visa. Whether you are drawn by the history and culture, the safe and friendly atmosphere, or the sheer number of things to see and do, Japan is unlikely to disappoint. If you think Japan could be the right choice for you, read on to see what requirements you need to meet. The following represent the basic requirements for teaching English in Japan. However, it is important to know that some of these requirements are not set...  [Read more]

You may or may not be aware that TESOL courses are often assigned to a certain level that reflects their position in the global scheme of ESL teacher training. Thanks to this classification it is much easier for teachers to compare all the options available to them and hopefully pick the best one to suit their personal situation. However, it is also necessary to know that there is not one set of TESOL course levels to be aware of as many countries and teaching organizations use their own system when setting course levels. While this might seem a little confusing, the good news is that they are all generally designed using the same criteria and are usually very similar. The main areas that are used to decide the level of a course include the type of study involved, the number of study...  [Read more]

ESL stands for English as a Second Language and refers to non-native English speakers who live in countries where English is not widely spoken. It refers to people who study English as a second language in addition to their native tongue. From Japan to Spain, students all over the world study English as a second language. Teachers from English-speaking countries frequently head abroad to teach English. Popular destinations for ESL teachers include Vietnam, Spain, China, South Korea, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates - but pretty much anywhere around the world is an option! Many schools offer ESL as a subject to students who speak a language other than English. ESL teachers will assist students with their speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills. ESL teachers can be native...  [Read more]

Before we address the main question it is best to first give a brief outline of the different types of class levels that English language classrooms adopt around the world. Although there will be different names used for the different levels taught in some countries, the five standard teaching levels indicated by the main resources books available (Reward, New Headway, etc) are: Now that we have established the general language levels of our students, we can now look at the four skills of the English language. As an ESL language teacher it is vital that we are aware of the four skills required by any student who wishes to become fluent. Reading and listening (receptive skills) and writing and speaking (productive skills) are all as important as each other when it comes to learning a...  [Read more]

The typical salaries for teaching English abroad are determined by a number of factors, including your qualifications, previous experience, and the country you wish to teach in. Let's look at how much an average TESOL teacher can make in different regions around the world. The pay for teaching English in other countries varies, but you should usually be able to make a decent living. Teachers in high-paying countries may earn anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 USD per month. Many factors can influence your TESOL salary, including the type of employer, your qualifications, previous teaching experience, and the location of your school. Teaching English abroad can be an attractive career path, but salaries vary greatly by region. For example, first-time English teachers in several Asian and...  [Read more]

Making the decision to leave your home country to teach English can be a big move for many people and it inevitably brings some concerns along with it. One of the most common issues that can cause some degree of worry is the fear of losing close contact with friends and family. Those you leave behind might also have similar concerns, so it is likely to be good for everyone if you are able to maintain your close relationships while you are enjoying your overseas adventure. Although human nature often leads us to make excuses when it comes to maintaining long distance relationships, it is really down to you as the one hitting the road to make the effort. Those left at home will understandably have little concept of your new work schedule, the time zone changes, and the simple...  [Read more]

Due to the ever growing popularity of English language learning, the number of TESOL certification providers is also increasing. Considering the fact that there is not much in the way of regulation in the TESOL industry, prospective applicants should be cautious when choosing one. Luckily, there are certain steps you can take in order to check the validity of a program you are interested in. In a nutshell, what you should look at in the first place is the course provider’s accreditation by an independent body. If a TESOL course is accredited by a third party institution, it means their academic standards have been thoroughly checked and recognized. When considering a specific TESOL course, try to carry out some proper research of the provider’s credibility. Start with their own...  [Read more]

When it comes to choosing the best online TESOL certification course you need to consider all the main options, what you want the qualification for, and what you hope to achieve with it once certified. First we will look at all the main online course options. The different types of online courses are easily separated by the average number of hours they require to complete them. Weekend courses: These are often marketed as “taster courses” and are done mainly at weekends to give those who are already employed a chance to see what TESOL is about. Due to time constraints (they usually last about 10 hours in total) there is limited material covered in terms of teaching and learning, but they can be useful to help you decide if doing a full course would be worthwhile for you. Short...  [Read more]

There is no single answer to this question as it can refer to different areas of the English teaching world. However, below we try to answer the most likely questions regarding the purpose of TESOL. The simple fact is that the vast majority of ESL employers around the world expect their teachers to have the minimum qualification of a 120-hour TESOL or TEFL certificate. There are three main reasons for this: Teaching is a profession and as with all professionals, we can expect that they have at least had the minimum required training to do what they do. The main purpose of a TESOL certificate course is to give you an introduction to language awareness (English grammar and so on) and some basic teaching skills. Under these two headings a typical 120-hour course will include: There...  [Read more]

TESOL stands for: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, which is also commonly referred to as TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). Whilst these two terms have slight technical differences they are generally used interchangeably within the industry to say the same thing. The first distinction in certification types comes about from the differences between an in-class course, an online course, and a combined (or hybrid) course. In-class courses are undertaken at a physical location, somewhere in the world. These locations are typically in countries where English is not the first language, but many people are learning it. This means there are plenty of English language learners (ELL’s) available for real teaching lessons, which is a very useful addition to these...  [Read more]