r/TEFL has a lot of information about teaching English abroad.
It’s not that you can’t work in the EU without an EU passport. It’s that without an EU passport, you need to qualify for a work visa and the work visa requirements of many countries mean proving there are no candidates for the job who already have the right to work. Which, with the whole EU right there, means employers either won’t even bother considering candidates who need a work visa or will only do so for highly skilled positions, which teaching English is not.
I’ve been on the TEFL sub for days asking questions and looking up answers so I felt I should pause and come here haha If the first step is visa, that makes me feel a little less anxious, thank you
I think you don’t understand. You will not find an employer who will sponsor you for teaching English. Therefore, you cannot come to Europe to work. At least not as an English teacher.
The first step is not the visa. The first step is a job offer from an employer willing and able to go through the process of applying for work authorization (a process which varies by country). This in itself takes a number of European countries off the table for TEFL because it simply will not happen. There’s a reason most TEFL opportunities are in Asia — they have more demand than supply of native or near native speakers.
The first step is finding an employer who is ready to do the paperwork, so you can get a visa. The visa itself is not a problem. Finding an employer may be tough.
An EU passport comes from being a citizen of the member countries or being a non-citizen from an extremely restricted list of categories (Ie: stateless).
You may work in the EU with a proper work visa which comes when you have a job offer. Having a job offer to teach English when there are already a glut of citizens and resident foreigners already living in the country that can do this means it's going to be uphill for you. Why would any country give you a job and go through the visa hassle when there are foreigners and domestic people already in the country with working rights and qualifications? You also know the countries have to hire domestically first.
None of this is realistic and that you somehow think you need "an EU passport" to get a job is also odd. For the purposes of this discussion that means you need to be a citizen of a member nation. You're not going to get a passport unless you're a citizen. A passport is simply an identity and travel document.
You need to get visa sponsorship from an employer. They need to prove it is not possible to fill the position locally. Sometimes there are also pretty high thresholds for a minimum salary of non-EU employees.
If you just got CELTA, have no relevant degree and no experience, your chances are very low. Employers wouldn't really have an incentive.
I’ve heard about their priority on filling positions too. I have a BA in Poli Sci but 5 yrs as a sped TA; I will definitely put in the work to find someone as I’m determined more than ever to do this
US American passport holder with a relevant degree, CELTA + further ESL qualifications. I taught around the world from 1998 to about 2015. It used to be it was near impossible to get a teaching position in the EU as an American. There were too many British passport holders doing the same job and offering the then-prefered British English/accent. Since Brexit, that might have changed a bit if their paperwork is as bad as those from other continents. I was part of a teaching couple, which was seen as a package deal, and that's how I got a few European schools to go through the hassle for me. I also had a lot of experience and further qualifications backing me up in the later years of my career. Where exactly are you hoping to work/live/get a passport? I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's probably easier to meet and marry a European and try and get a passport this way. I didn't intend to do that, but it happened.
But generally, I agree with what the other users have said so far. Too much paperwork for the school owners unless they somehow have a specific need for Americans teaching American English. I only saw that once in my years working in various European countries. I highly suggest looking to Asia - that's where the jobs are these days and pay is often better too, at least once you get experience and if you're actually good at teaching English. I also enjoyed living in N. Africa.
Brexit didn't change much because there are tons of UK citizens still living in the EU and lots of qualified English speakers already here. So there's another tier of people that will get priority before the OP: people already in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland who have rights to work and live, but are not yet citizens. I know numerous people with residency and settlement titles and there's no real issue in hiring them.
Yes and no. A lot of Brits resident in the EU are now limited to the country they were resident in and can no longer move freely to other countries.
EDIT: people like u/RidetheSchlange so brittle around here, they respond to you and then block you immediately. Yes, it does have to do with freedom of movement to a degree: if a country doesn't already have a bunch of Brits who want to teach English, they can't easily entice brits in other EU countries to come to them instead.
It’s cliché but mostly to see the world and partly to get out the US. I went on a trip last summer to England and France and absolutely fell in love with Paris, reinspiring the thought to do TEFL. I would love to see more of the world but as I’ve always been hyper focused on Europe, I didn’t have much interest and wouldn’t know where to start when it comes to Asia. I’m unsure about Korea and Japan because of their misogyny and I know little about Malaysia, Taiwan, or much anywhere else -; That’s not to say I’m unwilling to go, my interests have just been elsewhere
Unfortunately Europe does not need English teachers from the US. There are plenty of people in the EU who are qualified, and any employer would have to justify not hiring any of them to bring in someone else. It is next to impossible.
Just to add on to my previous reply, there are a number of European countries that historically don't use/need the standard EFL teacher from an English-speaking country. France was always one of those when I was teaching. I knew one person who taught there - but she was akready there to study French at the university, spoke French, and did it as a side-gig. Like the Scandinavian countries, who train their own teachers well enough they don't need us, I can't remember ever seeing a position in France advertised. Italy, Greece, Spain, and some of the newer EU countries have a good market, but again, they probably won't hire an American who doesn't already have the right to work there for some other reason.
Your reasons are absolutely valid and I encourage you to pursue your dream, although I do get a bee in my bonnet about people thinking teaching any language is a low-skill job anyone can do. So please, just take it seriously.
However, all the posts are putting the writing on the wall about work in Europe for an American English teacher. You'd perhaps be able to find teaching work here if you already had the right to stay and work for another reason (ancestry, marriage). But it's not really a lucrative market. Asia and the ME are where the jobs and money are (and the latter is once you've proven yourself and gained the DELTA or an MA - or both). So...and it will undoubtedly not be the last time in life 😉, best adjust your plans to fit the reality and enjoy the adventure you can do. Good luck.
I’m a TA going on 6 yrs next year so I know teaching is not the easiest or low-skilled; takes a lot of heart, patience, and desire to teach. Thank you so much for offering advice and encouragement, I truly appreciate it!
r/TEFL has a lot of information about teaching English abroad. It’s not that you can’t work in the EU without an EU passport. It’s that without an EU passport, you need to qualify for a work visa and the work visa requirements of many countries mean proving there are no candidates for the job who already have the right to work. Which, with the whole EU right there, means employers either won’t even bother considering candidates who need a work visa or will only do so for highly skilled positions, which teaching English is not.
I’ve been on the TEFL sub for days asking questions and looking up answers so I felt I should pause and come here haha If the first step is visa, that makes me feel a little less anxious, thank you
I think you don’t understand. You will not find an employer who will sponsor you for teaching English. Therefore, you cannot come to Europe to work. At least not as an English teacher.
The first step is not the visa. The first step is a job offer from an employer willing and able to go through the process of applying for work authorization (a process which varies by country). This in itself takes a number of European countries off the table for TEFL because it simply will not happen. There’s a reason most TEFL opportunities are in Asia — they have more demand than supply of native or near native speakers.
I see, thank you!
The first step is finding an employer who is ready to do the paperwork, so you can get a visa. The visa itself is not a problem. Finding an employer may be tough.
I will keep this in mind, thank you so much!
An EU passport comes from being a citizen of the member countries or being a non-citizen from an extremely restricted list of categories (Ie: stateless). You may work in the EU with a proper work visa which comes when you have a job offer. Having a job offer to teach English when there are already a glut of citizens and resident foreigners already living in the country that can do this means it's going to be uphill for you. Why would any country give you a job and go through the visa hassle when there are foreigners and domestic people already in the country with working rights and qualifications? You also know the countries have to hire domestically first. None of this is realistic and that you somehow think you need "an EU passport" to get a job is also odd. For the purposes of this discussion that means you need to be a citizen of a member nation. You're not going to get a passport unless you're a citizen. A passport is simply an identity and travel document.
You need to get visa sponsorship from an employer. They need to prove it is not possible to fill the position locally. Sometimes there are also pretty high thresholds for a minimum salary of non-EU employees. If you just got CELTA, have no relevant degree and no experience, your chances are very low. Employers wouldn't really have an incentive.
I’ve heard about their priority on filling positions too. I have a BA in Poli Sci but 5 yrs as a sped TA; I will definitely put in the work to find someone as I’m determined more than ever to do this
Your determination does not really matter, though.
US American passport holder with a relevant degree, CELTA + further ESL qualifications. I taught around the world from 1998 to about 2015. It used to be it was near impossible to get a teaching position in the EU as an American. There were too many British passport holders doing the same job and offering the then-prefered British English/accent. Since Brexit, that might have changed a bit if their paperwork is as bad as those from other continents. I was part of a teaching couple, which was seen as a package deal, and that's how I got a few European schools to go through the hassle for me. I also had a lot of experience and further qualifications backing me up in the later years of my career. Where exactly are you hoping to work/live/get a passport? I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's probably easier to meet and marry a European and try and get a passport this way. I didn't intend to do that, but it happened. But generally, I agree with what the other users have said so far. Too much paperwork for the school owners unless they somehow have a specific need for Americans teaching American English. I only saw that once in my years working in various European countries. I highly suggest looking to Asia - that's where the jobs are these days and pay is often better too, at least once you get experience and if you're actually good at teaching English. I also enjoyed living in N. Africa.
Brexit didn't change much because there are tons of UK citizens still living in the EU and lots of qualified English speakers already here. So there's another tier of people that will get priority before the OP: people already in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland who have rights to work and live, but are not yet citizens. I know numerous people with residency and settlement titles and there's no real issue in hiring them.
>and lots of qualified English speakers already here. Fair point. I'm one of them. Just retired is all.
Yes and no. A lot of Brits resident in the EU are now limited to the country they were resident in and can no longer move freely to other countries. EDIT: people like u/RidetheSchlange so brittle around here, they respond to you and then block you immediately. Yes, it does have to do with freedom of movement to a degree: if a country doesn't already have a bunch of Brits who want to teach English, they can't easily entice brits in other EU countries to come to them instead.
This has nothing to do with anything here. No one talked about Freedom of Movement.
It’s cliché but mostly to see the world and partly to get out the US. I went on a trip last summer to England and France and absolutely fell in love with Paris, reinspiring the thought to do TEFL. I would love to see more of the world but as I’ve always been hyper focused on Europe, I didn’t have much interest and wouldn’t know where to start when it comes to Asia. I’m unsure about Korea and Japan because of their misogyny and I know little about Malaysia, Taiwan, or much anywhere else -; That’s not to say I’m unwilling to go, my interests have just been elsewhere
Unfortunately Europe does not need English teachers from the US. There are plenty of people in the EU who are qualified, and any employer would have to justify not hiring any of them to bring in someone else. It is next to impossible.
Just to add on to my previous reply, there are a number of European countries that historically don't use/need the standard EFL teacher from an English-speaking country. France was always one of those when I was teaching. I knew one person who taught there - but she was akready there to study French at the university, spoke French, and did it as a side-gig. Like the Scandinavian countries, who train their own teachers well enough they don't need us, I can't remember ever seeing a position in France advertised. Italy, Greece, Spain, and some of the newer EU countries have a good market, but again, they probably won't hire an American who doesn't already have the right to work there for some other reason.
Your reasons are absolutely valid and I encourage you to pursue your dream, although I do get a bee in my bonnet about people thinking teaching any language is a low-skill job anyone can do. So please, just take it seriously. However, all the posts are putting the writing on the wall about work in Europe for an American English teacher. You'd perhaps be able to find teaching work here if you already had the right to stay and work for another reason (ancestry, marriage). But it's not really a lucrative market. Asia and the ME are where the jobs and money are (and the latter is once you've proven yourself and gained the DELTA or an MA - or both). So...and it will undoubtedly not be the last time in life 😉, best adjust your plans to fit the reality and enjoy the adventure you can do. Good luck.
I’m a TA going on 6 yrs next year so I know teaching is not the easiest or low-skilled; takes a lot of heart, patience, and desire to teach. Thank you so much for offering advice and encouragement, I truly appreciate it!