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[Sappho]

I've been trying to get a residence visa in the Czech Republic for a year and a half now. The bureaucratic system in this country is so labyrinthine that every time I think I've got it, some obstacle jumps in my way and I have to start over. I've made several trips back to the USA to buy myself more time to get this done. This time I thought for sure I finally had everything. I collected all my documents in December, but when I visited more offices in January to apply for various permits, I was told that suddenly everything had changed. Starting at the beginning of 2011, all the requirements and procedures are different. I've been trying to run around during the month of January, sorting everything out and getting back on track, but the more I learn, the more impossible it seems. Now I'm hearing that I have to buy new insurance for the next two years (about $1500 - 3x what I have in the bank right now), I have to "prove" that I earn 1.5x the average Czech salary (while in fact I earn far less than average - also I'm not even supposed to be working yet, so I can't legally provide proof of income anyway), and I even have to go back to the USA to apply instead of just leaving the country (the cost of which I simply cannot afford). I'm trying not to get completely hysterical about this, but my entire life is here. I have no friends in the USA and I'm not close with my family. I hated living there since I was a small child (no offense intended to Americans, it's just not the place for me) and I was overcome with depression until I moved to Europe. My friends are here, everything I know and love is here. But it's looking more and more like they're not going to let me stay. It seems the CZR is becoming like Western Europe, where it's impossible for Americans to get residence unless they work for a powerful international company or have relatives with European citizenship.

I'm growing hysterical here. I don't know what to do. I CANNOT return to my old life in the USA (in MA or RI, to be specific). The idea of leaving everyone and everything I love here makes me feel like crying even though it's not a certainty yet. I only have til the end of February to be here legally, and if I can't get a visa going, I need to figure out some other way.

One possibility would be to return to the USA over the summer (legal minimum of 3 months), work my ass off wherever I can find a job and save up as much money as possible. One way it is still relatively easy to get a visa here is by being a student. I could apply for an English-language master's program in this country (a much easier task than it is in the USA - most people who go to uni here get master's degrees) and stay as a student for 3 years. (I think after living here legally that long I can apply for permanent residence.) I can get private under-the-table work as an English teacher to pay my way. But I think the deadline for application for next year (for most schools) is the end of this month, so if I'm going to do that, I need to make a decision and do it soon.

Another possibility is to go back to the US for a full year or more and, as I said above, work my ass off saving up as much money as possible. Once I have enough saved, I could either pay or bribe my way to legal status (never thought I'd be grateful for the corruption of the Czech government). The problem with this is, I can't live where I lived before. I'd kill myself. Even when I've visited for only a few weeks since moving to Europe, I've been miserable and counting the days before I could return home to Prague.

My skills are all language-based. I can teach English as a foreign language (I have 3 years' experience with both children and adults and am universally recommended by all my students) - but I don't have any official "teaching" certification (my BA is in comparative literature). I can also translate German to English - but it's tough to find a real job doing this. Certainly there's a high demand for translation in the US and it's a lucrative job if you can get a job doing it, but most of the work is through online agencies. I've signed up for work through many of these, but there are so many people signed up through them that I've never gotten a single job offer. For translation, I'd have to work directly for a company who needs a consistent German-English translator. I'm also a good proofreader and writer, but like translation, this is a field where it's tough to get work. This is where I'd like some advice.

Does anyone have any recommendations on somewhere in the US I could live for a year or two and save up money? I WILL NOT work as a secretary again (or in any office where I'd have to constantly suck up to the boss), and I WILL NOT work in retail again. I'd rather starve to death in the gutter. I currently live in an unheated, windowless basement with an alcoholic DJ, so I'm used to a low standard of living (and I'd rather live in a shithole with low rent than a nice place that prevents me from saving any money). I prefer to live with men, and I prefer to live with artists. Does anyone have any tips on finding work in my field, and does anyone have any suggestions for good places to live in the US where I could find work and accommodation? I've heard a lot of cartoonists live in Chicago and maybe that's a cool place to live, but I'm also worried the creative market might be saturated there. I don't like big cities with huge skyscrapers and whatnot, so NYC is out.

Another option is to pick another country to live in for the next year. Europe is out because they hate Americans (at least on paper) in all of Europe now and it's impossible to get a visa. Asia has a huge market for American English teachers, and the pay is supposedly pretty high, but I hear there's a huge problem with air pollution in most of Asia and also I'd miss my European food oh-so-much. South America is also a possibility, but the pay is even lower than here and the idea of saving money (I'm still paying off student loans) is pretty close to out of the question.

I'm losing my shit here, so I'm open to any and all advice from this wonderful community. Thanks for reading all that guys, and thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

[Retro]

I WILL NOT work as a secretary again (or in any office where I'd have to constantly suck up to the boss), and I WILL NOT work in retail again

That, uh... really cuts your options short. Just saying, if you can't get work doing what your degree says you ought to be doing, admin/retail is your best bet for a fallback job along with the food service industry. If you really want to get a job and save up money, maybe you're setting the bar a little too high.

[Sappho]

The job skills I listed above are not related to my degree actually. (My degree is basically useless except as proof that I have a university education.) They're the areas I have skill and experience. I'm happy to work in an area unrelated to these things as long as it doesn't mean going back to that old life where I struggled with severe depression every day. For example, I'd happily work in a warehouse stacking boxes or loading trucks. I did that at UPS for five months and it was the best job I ever had until I became a teacher. The only problem is that I have weak joints and I ended up with injuries from the heavy lifting.

I'm happy to do unpleasant work most people wouldn't want to do (I'm not averse to cleaning toilets), but working in a big retail store and being a legal secretary both literally almost killed me.

Also I forgot to mention that I have a lot of experience with kids besides just teaching. I'd happily work at a day care or be a professional babysitter if I could find the work.

[G-Flex]

The job skills I listed above are not related to my degree actually. (My degree is basically useless except as proof that I have a university education.) They're the areas I have skill and experience.

No offense, but is this to imply that you don't have skill or experience in the field related to your degree?

I'm happy to work in an area unrelated to these things as long as it doesn't mean going back to that old life where I struggled with severe depression every day. For example, I'd happily work in a warehouse stacking boxes or loading trucks. I did that at UPS for five months and it was the best job I ever had until I became a teacher. The only problem is that I have weak joints and I ended up with injuries from the heavy lifting.

Heh. I had a warehouse job once, and had the exact opposite experience as far as my well-being was concerned. Of course, we're not the same person, and it (hopefully) wasn't the same warehouse. There was this one period of about 10 days (just before I quit) where I literally couldn't go into the break room because some substance was rotting under the fridge in some manner or another. It smelled like a dead cat threw up a mouse, which then also died.

I'm happy to do unpleasant work most people wouldn't want to do (I'm not averse to cleaning toilets), but working in a big retail store and being a legal secretary both literally almost killed me.

Also I forgot to mention that I have a lot of experience with kids besides just teaching. I'd happily work at a day care or be a professional babysitter if I could find the work.

One thing to keep in mind here is that even if you get a job that doesn't suit you at all, you can still continue to look for another one. Keep at it, I guess.

[Sappho]

No offense, but is this to imply that you don't have skill or experience in the field related to your degree?

It means that when I obtained my degree I was well aware that it's basically useless for finding a job. There is no job aside from university professor (for which you need a higher-level degree anyway) that requires skill or experience in "comparative literature." Basically I studied a lot of foreign languages, some linguistics, and a lot of history and literature. It was a great experience, but these are not in-demand skills as far as finding a job in the US goes. From the start I knew I just wanted to increase my knowledge of foreign languages and culture enough that I could live in Europe. I succeeded in doing that, but I didn't take into account the fact that Europe doesn't want Americans living here.

I've spent the last few hours looking at information for universities in Prague and emailing various people asking for more information. Then my eye just happened to stumble across the price tag for foreigners. These programs range from 6000-8000 EUROS per year. That's about three times what I earn in a year as a teacher, and I'd have to work in the US or East Asia for several years saving up every penny before I'd be able to afford that. I can't believe this cost. For Czech citizens it was free up until this year, and now there's a maximum tuition of 10,000 kc per semester (something like $500). There is no one in this country who could afford that kind of price for a university education without saving for many years. And unlike the US, there is no "student loan" program in this country. I wonder if I could take out loans from an American company for foreign studies.... But then I'd be in debt for many more years...

[Il Palazzo]

Could you specify if you've got a TESL(or similar) certificate or not? Not having one surely will make things more difficult, but not hopelessly so.

While getting a work permit seems to be hassle indeed, some language schools are looking for native speakers and are willing to arrange a work permit for their prospective employees.

Actually, I don't really get your situation - you have been working as a teacher for 1,5 years, right? Without a work permit? What is it exactly that forces you to consider leaving Prague?

More about language schools - if not in Prague, try smaller towns. There's always more demand for native speakers there, and providing that you'll find one not too far away from Prague, you can easily visit your friends on your days off.

If I were you, I'd apply to as many English language schools as I could find, Czech Republic or not. Just make sure that they do help with getting work permit.

Here's one in Cracow, for example: http://www.york.edu.pl/job_description.php

You can find links to some more popular schools in other Central/Easter European countries here:
http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/esl/articles/teachenglishcentraleasterneurope.shtml

...and of course there's always google.

[Sappho]

My problem is not at all with finding work in the CZR. I have been working under the table for a language school for the last year and a half, and I have more private students and requests for private lessons than I can handle. I do have a TEFL certification.

The reason I'm considering leaving is that I never intended to be illegal in the first place. I've been trying to get legal all this time. I will run out of time for this run at the end of the month, and assuming I don't complete my visa application in that time, in order to try again to get legal (by any means), I'll have to leave for three full months (you're only allowed to be in the Shengen countries (mostly EU) for 90 days per 6 months without a visa). Then I could come back and give it another go. But if I understand the current regulations correctly, it will be impossibly complicated and expensive to apply, and I'll need to save up a lot more money first.

Continuing to look at universities, I've found one program that doesn't list tuition (I've emailed asking for details) and one with tuition of only 2000 Euro per year (not cheap, but I can afford it). I've emailed asking for more details on this program and I might just apply for this one. It's at Charles University, in the faculty of humanities, and the degree is in "historical sociology," which I believe I will qualify for with my comparative literature degree (and after passing the entrance exams this summer). I would still have to go back to the states for 3 months and apply for the student visa from there once I get accepted into the program, but as long as I get in, this is a near-guaranteed visa.

Of course, if I go this route and then don't get accepted, I'll be pretty well fucked for next year.

I'm also considering trying to get hired as an employee at a kindergarten next year. This would mean applying for a work permit rather than a business license (which apparently is easier but restricts me to working for one company) and I think it might be more possible to get a visa this way. On the other hand, I'd still need to buy the insanely expensive health insurance (far more expensive than Czech citizens have to buy) which is far more than I can afford so far.

[Il Palazzo]

Well, have you tried changing your language school for one that takes care of your work permit?

[Sappho]

It doesn't work that way. I can get a job with a school that gives me a work permit, but I still have to go through almost entirely the same process (and I'd have to start over, which means going back to the US for three months anyway). The way I work now is I'm an independent contractor, which means I need a business license, which further complicates the process. I don't do most of my work through a company, I do it privately, which means I need this business license. If I go to work full time as an employee for a school with a work permit, it might be easier to get a visa, but I'd be stuck working only for that school. If I was unhappy with the working conditions or wanted to change jobs, I'd have to leave the country unless I could get a new work permit at a new school (again starting the process over).

My plan for next year was to stop working for schools altogether (they really screw their teachers over) and work only with private clients. Eventually I want to open my own small language school for kids, which would mean a business license for sure. Up until now it would have been possible to just live here illegally and work under the table, but if I ever got caught here more than 90 days per 6 months, I'd be deported and banned from returning to all of Europe for several years. Now they're making it even riskier: everyone who gets a visa now will get an ID card. If you get stopped by the foreigner's police, you have to show this card as proof you're here legally (or your passport, where they will check how long you've been here based on your entry stamp). They're really cracking down on illegal immigration here and I've heard of many people who've been deported in the past few months. It's just too risky.

In any case, I want to get permanent residence here someday. I've already lived here a year and a half but none of it has been legal. If I ever want to apply for permanent residence or citizenship, I have to have lived here legally for a set number of years first (citizenship is ten years, I'm not sure about permanent residence). None of the time I've been here so far will count towards that because it wasn't legal and I can't tell them I was here.

Naturally my hope is that at some point I'll meet some nice Czech man and we'll get married perhaps sooner than I would normally be willing to do that, just so I have the right to live here. But so far no luck in that department. And the Czech government makes it very difficult to get married here - you have to really prove that you're in love and it's a proper marriage, not just one to get the right to live here. They investigate your friends and family and everything (and check in on you regularly during the marriage) to make sure it's not a scam.

[Il Palazzo]

And the Czech government makes it very difficult to get married here - you have to really prove that you're in love and it's a proper marriage, not just one to get the right to live here. They investigate your friends and family and everything (and check in on you regularly during the marriage) to make sure it's not a scam.

Heh, it's the same everywhere in Europe. Although, usually, it's aimed at stopping illegal immigrants from the former Eastern Block, rather than those pesky Americans. Oh, well, the gears of bureaucracy grind us all, indiscriminately.

Regarding your situation, it appears that I really can't help you much. The only bit of advice would be to cosider sucking it up for at least a period of time, and get employed by a single company. Despite all the disadvantages, I think it's still preferable to being deported or otherwise forced to leave. You don't have to stay with them forever, and it might be easier getting your desired visa when already employed. You can still give individual lessons in your spare time "illegally".

[Sappho]

Yeah, I'm considering it for next year. I'd still have to leave for three months, so it makes the most sense to do this starting next school year. I'm contacting Kindergartens (which translates to day care centers in this country, ages 3-5) to inquire about possibilities. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for university as well. I actually got a response from one professor already who said I would qualify for a master's program in English education as long as I pass the entrance exams, but the program is too expensive so I wrote back asking about financial aid and whatnot. Fingers crossed, thumbs pressed I guess.

[Il Palazzo]

Well, best of luck then.

[Sappho]

Thanks.

And in case this doesn't work out and I have to go to America for a couple of years, I'm still open to suggestions for good places to live. I can spend 3 months with my family if I have to, maybe work for my dad or something, but if I'm going to be there long-term I need someplace new. Any Americans who've lived in cool places where I might be able to find work and a cheap place to live?

[G-Flex]

I have no idea because I live in one of the two states you explicitly forbade (hint: I think our entire state government has been in prison at some point or another).

[Sappho]

Heh, yeah I know which one you mean. Really it's not that I have any specific problem with those two states, it's just that I have too much history there and too many associations. If I'm going to end up in the US again I need to have a fresh start somewhere.