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Is this information accurate?
Compared with many other countries in Central America Costa Rica offers many opportunities to natives and foreigners alike. One of the things that Costa Ricans (Ticos) have most in common is their desire to learn the English Language.
You can find any number of institutions not only in the capital San Jose but also in other regions of the country dedicated to this cause. Some even offer their teachers an exchange program: you teach English while the institute reciprocates and teaches you Spanish. You can also be a private tutor and make a bit more money. The prices per class vary somewhat. It depends upon your experience and ultimately on the income of the students themselves. If you do decide to look for a teaching position there are few things that you should know.The first thing is a permit. Some institutions require one; others do not. And if you do decide to stay you will want to get your papers in motion. A good lawyer can help you with this, or you can deal with it yourself. All you have to do is go to Immigration and request the information for a temporary permit. This includes a copy and authentication of your college diploma (translated into Spanish and certified), a letter from the company indicating why they want to hire you over Costa Ricans, pictures, a copy of your passport, your criminal record, etc. Since the permit takes a while, generally Immigration doesn’t say anything as long as you are working toward a legal status. (By the way, if you can get an authentication of your diploma done by the Costa Rican embassy in your country before you arrive you will save yourself a lot of headache.)
After taking care of your legal standing, finding a job is not difficult. The local paper La Nación usually has ads for teaching jobs in the classified sections under “Empleo.” The best time to search for a position is at the start of the school year January-February. Many institutes require teachers during that time. You can also find jobs in The Tico Times, which can be viewed online.
I am no immigration attorney however it does sound accurate although oversimplified. This mentions nothing about the costs or the time involved, and the time that it generally takes to get that work permit which can be a LONG time.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRca.comI have several friends teaching english in heredia. They get paid 4 days of work to leave and go to panama for the required 72 hr absence each 90 days. Cheaper, easier, less like banging your head against a wall, and fun to know you have a paid mini-vaccation each 3 months.
So your friends in Heredia are in fact living as tourists in Costa Rica and working here illegally, would that be correct?
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comYes, Scott, that would be exactly correct.
One wonders just what would happen to these folks if they were caught. They might find themselves on the express bus out of the country with no opportunity to settle their affairs. Leaving personal belongings, maybe a bank account, maybe a car behind could be a costly penalty to pay.
By the way, alexgil, it’s not up to the schools to decide whether your friends need work permits or not. That’s already provided for in the law.
Edited on Jun 19, 2008 05:47
I probably appear like a pain in the a** with my constant harping on about working in Costa Rica under the correct legal status but I think we do have to remember that we are guests in a foreign country and their laws should be respected…
And for those of you who are not reading the local newspapers and do not respect the law, if you are found working here illegally, the consequences could be serious. All it takes is a telephone call from one jealous ‘friend’ or competitor at work to their aunt/uncle or whatever at the immigration department and before you know it, you could be on your way to the airport.
Lastly, if we were sitting ‘back home’ in the US, Canada or the UK reading in our local newspapers about Costa Ricans working down the road illegally, what would we think? How would we react?
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.com
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