Work Visa

Gator says on May 6, 08:17:

Each school has its own requirements but now most require TEFL certification Most teaching positions require an applicant to be a native speaker of English and have a university degree. A teaching certificate and some experience are a definite plus. Work is available at bilingual colegios, language institutes, and universities. There is quite a bit of paperwork involved. I would strongly you make arrangement to visit a Colombian consulate to make sure what the current visa requirement are in effect.

For sure you will need:


1. Valid passport and good for a minimum of 6 months.

2. Two (2) passport copies. plain copies.

3. Duplicate visa application form signed and filled out.

4. Three (3) colored passport-type pictures (2"x2").

5. Original work contract with signatures notarized.

6. A "Certificate of Goodwill" of the university/company, notarized and Apostilled.

7. Legalized and Apostilled copy of your university diploma.

8. Letter from the Colombian university/company stating the name and position of the applicant, , and university/company's agreement to assume full financial responsibility for the traveler expenses, including return to the country of origin or last country of residence. This letter must notarized and apostilled.

10. Certificate " Certificado de Proporcionalidad" issued by the Colombian "Ministerio del Trabajo", stating that the ratio of national and foreign workers has been duly respected.

There are a lot of "off the book"jobs that do not require all the above but beware-I have heard horror stories of no pay, half pay and promises unfilled-if you are teaching illegally you have no one to complain to.

This changes from time to time so hopefully someone will jump in and fill in the blanks. If you get a solid offer of employment the institution will help with a lot of the paper work

"Brevior Sltare Cum Deformibus Mulieribus Est Vita!" .

Marielle says on May 7, 11:50:

Yeah, all the documents that Gator listed sound right to me (I got my work visa in November). If you are getting the visa legally, your employer should know what they need to provide, and provide all those things for you.
All that you need to supply is a copy of your degree, notarized in the country of origin. Actually they told me at the Ministry of Foreign Relations that if you are going to teach English as a native speaker you only need a high school diploma. I guess if English is not your first language you might have to present a college degree in English. And these will have to be translated into Spanish.