About pay for teachers, I'd suggest asking the school, directly. Teacher pay is variable and low, here. I think working as a guide will almost certainly pay more, if only because of the possibility of getting tips from satisfied customers. (Our German guide on the Isla Contoy trip got a lot of money in tips that day.) Although I have zip experience with it, I would think someone on the ground here would have a much better shot at getting a job. Now is peak season and demand will not be higher, nor the chances of being hired better, later- which also raises one of the major issues with such jobs, seasonality.
Yeah, nothing comes easy around here, except lying on the beach and downing cool ones.... As for work, nobody's going to hand it out on a silver platter, not unless you're as cute as Elle Boggs. (Those who know our posters will know what I'm talking about.)
I know very well what it is, I mean, whole this immigration process, because it's the second time I'm living abroad (Spain), I have a lot of Russian friends who immigrated to Spain and believe me that to immigrate to Spain is MUCH MORE difficult for the Russians because of the lack of job here in Spain. The government does EVERYTHING to forbide you the entrance. It's the third time I'm here in Spain but I also have two visas denied to Spain. And I didn't try to go to work, I just wanted to be a tourist. So comparing with Spain, Mexico don't scary me because they're not so crazy about foreign people in their country.
Dariya, things will go more smoothly, getting permission to work as a teacher, if you have an apostiled certificate evidencing any degrees and teaching certificates you may have; and, to have a certified, apostiled birth certificate can be useful for enrolling in IMSS, the national health for employees in Mexico. These are just a lot easier to get when you're still near home, than after you arrive in Mexico. There could be openings for part time Russian teachers at my university, in an extra-curricular program, but they won't even consider you if you don't already have permission to work in Mexico. By the way, I was in Voronezh for a visit, just about twenty years ago! Do you think some of the students at your university would enjoy talking with some of my students, using Skype? I could arrange for an informal, small group conference of students, for practice and contact with people from another land.
How much trouble she´d have getting a resident permit with permission to teach, or act as a guide, after she arrives remains to be seen. Just to see if it were provided for, I checked to see if a Russian could apply for a change of status here, and it seems they can. As for the limitation on hiring foreign nationals, there is indeed such a limit, but stating that it is not allowed if there are qualified Mexicans available to hire is not the law, as I understand it; instead, it seems that not more than 10% of the workplace can be foreign nationals, but there are exceptions to even this. And, don´t forget the option of applying for permission to teach independently, as I did, which is not limited in this way because you are not taking a job in a workplace. There´s a lot to be overcome, but there are many examples of people in Cancun who have done it.
She won't have to, as I understand the process. Once you file, they give you a document which acts as your temp right to stay, and is valid until the immigration matter is settled. If they ultimately deny the application, they would then hand her an FMM, and she would use it to leave the country. This is my impression of how this works, exactly. (This is based on my reading of the Mexican Law, and the experience of myself and others; so, it's not the equivalent of legal advice.) For example, when you apply to renew, they take your resident permit from you which then expires while the process proceeds. In its place you are given a document which shows you have a matter pending before immigration. I´ve asked if this is my permission to stay, and they have said that's exactly what it is. Anyone who has a matter pending before the INM is given one of these. ______________________
Always. Sometimes it seems like we're not people just because we're Russian. Europe and USA can go wherever they want and we need visas to do everything!
