Strange Visa/Employment terms? or is it normal? HELP PLEASE

ar1992 wrote:

Hi guys, Thanks in advance for any help or advice, it is much appreciated!

so here's the deal, I'm a native ESL teacher from UK, I've been offered a 3/6 month contract job in Vietnam as ESL teacher through an agency now, agency has asked me to book a flight by said date and send a picture of ticket so they can send proposal letter, they also said i can only sign contract at their office in Hanoi (makes me feel a little uneasy as i have no certainty of employment), they provided me with a draft copy of contract just for me to see (if anyone wants to see it PM me). They also say that they need all my original documents/certificates and passport which they will keep until my contract is over. From looking online it appears i don't meet the criteria for work permit so they told me to get Business Visa (with multiple entry). Worth mentioning that it is 2 contracts 90 days each....guessing they want me to do a Visa run?.

Thanks in advance

I wouldnt use an agency, most of them are total dirtbags. Arrive in VN and look for a job yourself, dont trust agents.

ar1992 wrote:

Hi guys, Thanks in advance for any help or advice, it is much appreciated!

so here's the deal, I'm a native ESL teacher from UK, I've been offered a 3/6 month contract job in Vietnam as ESL teacher through an agency now, agency has asked me to book a flight by said date and send a picture of ticket so they can send proposal letter, they also said i can only sign contract at their office in Hanoi (makes me feel a little uneasy as i have no certainty of employment), they provided me with a draft copy of contract just for me to see (if anyone wants to see it PM me). They also say that they need all my original documents/certificates and passport which they will keep until my contract is over. From looking online it appears i don't meet the criteria for work permit so they told me to get Business Visa (with multiple entry). Worth mentioning that it is 2 contracts 90 days each....guessing they want me to do a Visa run?.

Thanks in advance

If so, why you need to come to Vietnam for Teaching? You should teach in the UK and get a comfortable life there without headache with paper works.

Hisuka wrote:

ar1992 wrote:

Hi guys, Thanks in advance for any help or advice, it is much appreciated!

so here's the deal, I'm a native ESL teacher from UK, I've been offered a 3/6 month contract job in Vietnam as ESL teacher through an agency now, agency has asked me to book a flight by said date and send a picture of ticket so they can send proposal letter, they also said i can only sign contract at their office in Hanoi (makes me feel a little uneasy as i have no certainty of employment), they provided me with a draft copy of contract just for me to see (if anyone wants to see it PM me). They also say that they need all my original documents/certificates and passport which they will keep until my contract is over. From looking online it appears i don't meet the criteria for work permit so they told me to get Business Visa (with multiple entry). Worth mentioning that it is 2 contracts 90 days each....guessing they want me to do a Visa run?.

Thanks in advance

If so, why you need to come to Vietnam for Teaching? You should teach in the UK and get a comfortable life there without headache with paper works.

So people are not allowed to travel to experience new cultures.

Why are you not living in Japan?

Agree with colinoscapee's advice above. Even if an agency is legitimate, it's totally unnecessary to use one.

You should be contacting the schools directly in order to gauge the level of demand and what your options are.

You can post your CV and view ads on https://www.expat.com here:
https://www.expat.com/en/jobs/asia/viet … ching.html

Lots of ads here and you can post your CV if you want to:

https://vietnamteachingjobs.com

Or, just search online, for example:

69 language schools listed for Vietnam
https://www.eslbase.com/schools/vietnam

You should still remain cautious because some schools may also be a bit dodgy. Also, although there is a lot of demand (VN is now the 15th most populous country in the world: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/201 … 50622.html), there is also a lot of competition as more and more people arrive with the idea of finding a teaching job.

colinoscapee wrote:

Hisuka wrote:

ar1992 wrote:

Hi guys, Thanks in advance for any help or advice, it is much appreciated!

so here's the deal, I'm a native ESL teacher from UK, I've been offered a 3/6 month contract job in Vietnam as ESL teacher through an agency now, agency has asked me to book a flight by said date and send a picture of ticket so they can send proposal letter, they also said i can only sign contract at their office in Hanoi (makes me feel a little uneasy as i have no certainty of employment), they provided me with a draft copy of contract just for me to see (if anyone wants to see it PM me). They also say that they need all my original documents/certificates and passport which they will keep until my contract is over. From looking online it appears i don't meet the criteria for work permit so they told me to get Business Visa (with multiple entry). Worth mentioning that it is 2 contracts 90 days each....guessing they want me to do a Visa run?.

Thanks in advance

If so, why you need to come to Vietnam for Teaching? You should teach in the UK and get a comfortable life there without headache with paper works.

So people are not allowed to travel to experience new cultures.

Why are you not living in Japan?

I did not come to Vietnam by Randomly.

Welcome to vietnam.group hug

colinoscapee thanks mate, are all agents dodgy? If I was to approach schools directly what of my visa?.

Thank you

Hisuka

My friend clearly you have never been to the UK. Less headache? UK is the most stressful place to work as a teacher, pay is at a record low, teaching hours and conditions are bad. Vietnam is beautiful and peaceful chaos. I'm not doing this to make millions etc. Just enough to get by and see different cultures.

johnross23

Do the terms of the of it look normal or are they trying to something odd?. Thanks

ar1992 wrote:

colinoscapee thanks mate, are all agents dodgy? If I was to approach schools directly what of my visa?.

Thank you

Jump onto Facebook and join some of the teachers forums.

Vietnam teaching jobs
Vietnam ESL jobs
Vietnam English teaching jobs

colinoscapee

Thanks. I have joined as many as I can. So do you guys think its worth going there and checking out other schools before registering at the agency?

Kind regards

Understandable that you are reluctant to leave familiar UK for the exotic East without iron clad guarantee of job and income. That is being fiscally responsibility. But, as others have said, the schools put out cattle calls and hire warm bodies they can checkout on the spot. You need to risk a round trip flight and a tourist visa. If you are qualified (I assume you have researched), you will probably get employed somewhere, if not in a big city of your choice, a small city. Worst case: you had a vacation and stories to tell.

ar1992 wrote:

They also say that they need all my original documents/certificates and passport which they will keep until my contract is over.

Relinquish passport to employer? Sounds like trafficing. Don't do that.

gobot wrote:

Understandable that you are reluctant to leave familiar UK for the exotic East without iron clad guarantee of job and income. That is being fiscally responsibility. But, as others have said, the schools put out cattle calls and hire warm bodies they can checkout on the spot. You need to risk a round trip flight and a tourist visa. If you are qualified (I assume you have researched), you will probably get employed somewhere, if not in a big city of your choice, a small city. Worst case: you had a vacation and stories to tell.

ar1992 wrote:

They also say that they need all my original documents/certificates and passport which they will keep until my contract is over.

Relinquish passport to employer? Sounds like trafficing. Don't do that.

Never give anyone your passport to keep hold of, its a good blackmailing tool for the holder.

Many language centres are run by dodgy, money hungry arseholes.

gobot

Thank you for your reply, guess your right. Iv booked a flight for 29th August, gives me a few days to approach schools directly before going to agency. After telling the agency I disagree with documents being held. They say they only hold onto documents for 3 weeks...sound right?

Many thanks

colinoscapee wrote:

gobot wrote:

Understandable that you are reluctant to leave familiar UK for the exotic East without iron clad guarantee of job and income. That is being fiscally responsibility. But, as others have said, the schools put out cattle calls and hire warm bodies they can checkout on the spot. You need to risk a round trip flight and a tourist visa. If you are qualified (I assume you have researched), you will probably get employed somewhere, if not in a big city of your choice, a small city. Worst case: you had a vacation and stories to tell.

ar1992 wrote:

They also say that they need all my original documents/certificates and passport which they will keep until my contract is over.

Relinquish passport to employer? Sounds like trafficing. Don't do that.

Never give anyone your passport to keep hold of, its a good blackmailing tool for the holder.

Many language centres are run by dodgy, money hungry arseholes.

I'm such a noob to forums sorry. Only just worked out the "quote" option.

After voicing my disagreement with holding my documents for entirety of the contract. They changed their mind and said they only need them for 3 weeks.. Does that sound better?

Many thanks

gobot wrote:

ar1992 wrote:

They also say that they need all my original documents/certificates and passport which they will keep until my contract is over.

Relinquish passport to employer? Sounds like trafficing. Don't do that.

I'm not a teacher, I just butt in when I get triggered.
Sounds like others are raising warning flags about that particular opportunity, yeah?

Again I suggest doing similar to what I did although I didn't come to Vietnam to work.
I came for a 6 month to 1 year tryout. I planned for my financials, stored stuff instead of liquidating, kept an open mind, waited to see whether I could adjust to the heat, culture, and other differences.

Stay active in the forum. Ask very specific questions for specific responses. Join the teacher FB groups, teachers talk about and review all kinds of schools, and schools advertise there too. I'm pretty sure you will figure it out after a couple weeks on the ground. It's a little scary for everyone at first.

You never know. Vietnam isn't for everyone, and other places (including home) might suit better.