Viewing topic: student visa

Hi. I've been in touch with a university in Siberia with a view to studying Russian but also doing some part-time teaching at the university. (Background: I have a CELTA, will have had a year's TEFL experience by the time I go - if I go - and have bachelor and masters degrees but not in English or applied linguistics.) They were interested in my application, thinking that they might take me in on a visa as a teacher; subsequently, they reckoned that they couldn't do it because of my not holding a masters in linguistics (I had been open with them about my qualifications). So I asked again about my original idea, which was coming on a student visa and then working part-time on top. The person I spoke to said that students aren't allowed to work on a student visa. Is that right? Do we have any up to date information on this?

Hi Cole!

It sounds like them stating that they couldn't take you on because of lack of qualfication in linguistics could be a change-of-mind back-out to me, I am afraid... I suspect that if they wanted you enough then they would be eager to help you....

They ARE quite right about a student visa, though... It is just what it says - and you are not meant to earn money by working when you are on a student visa in Russia... But that is the current rule with a business visa as well, always has been, in fact... It's just the way the rule is applied that matters... and the application has been recently tightened up, as I am sure you already know..

But in all honesty, I would certainly think it unlikely that they would be that keen to be seen to invite you to Russia on a student visa - and then pay you an official salary for working for them.....

Another choice is that you come on a student visa (if they will do it for you) and then you work 'secretly' elsewhere (ie: not for them..). But perhaps they might even expect you (shock! horror!) to do a bit of 'studenting' with them if you did that...(but not teaching cos they couldn't pay you

To go down the student visa route to live and work in Russia, what you really need is a 'friend' in an academic institution, as opposed to speaking to someone officially...

Another option could be to get a teacher invitation from a 'proper school' (Heaven forbid!!) - Some schools are already promising all the necessary documentation to their existing teachers.

Finally, you could try to find an agency who could do you a work invitation and work permit. Now the effects of the new business visa rules are beginning to sink in, there are agencies beginning to spring up who say that they can do this.... It's just taken them a while to set up and register the necessary companies since the new regs came into effect.

Hope this helps and to anyone else here: Please correct me if I am mistaken on anything.

I'm still a bit suss about the work visa agencies... but anyway

Student visas, AFIK, allow you to work up to 20 hours or so per week without any extra papers (no permits, etc.) if you are registered on a full-time course.

It does sound like a crappy back-out to me.

Thanks both. Yes, perhaps the back-out is the issue. I told them the subjects before I sent the certificates, but I guess they hadn't thought it through.
But, you have contradicted each other on the visa rules: either you're allowed to work on top of learning (and I was intending to genuinely learn Russian), or you're not. The old rules certainly allowed you to work part-time on top, but who knows, perhaps this has changed along with the business visas. I can't find any up to date information, however.
I do have a friend in a university in one town, essentially somebody I've helped rather a lot in my visits to Russia, but I'm not sure that I want to stay in that town.
I'll just have to fall in love with somebody I s'pose...

I'm 99% certain that student visas allow you to work officially, albeit your official hours are definitely limited.

About 3 years ago I was recruiting for a call centre (very briefly, it was a bandit outfit) - the only way they could have got any numbers of Brits working for them was to bring them over as students. Otherwise they wouldn't have been able to get the quota they needed.

As I think you have found elsewhere, Cole - there are varying views on this subject and I still think that it comes down to there being rules and there also being the way that they are applied... As someone said to you on ESL cafe, many have worked in Russia whilst on a student visa and got away with it and maybe some others have not...

There is lots of information about this at various places on the internet, some of it out-of-date, some of it correct and some of it downright wrong...

I'm still not sure about bobs12's assertion that it was officially OK to work up to a certain number of hours on a student visa, but I am no more an authority than he on the subject..

However, if you want to become a student then get a student visa and then, once arrived, you can investigate what the working options are. On the ground, I think it very, very unlikely that you would have a problem finding work and getting paid for it, especially given that I feel that there will be fewer native-speaking teachers around in the future in Russia.

Steve's right - student visas don't allow you to work. At least I was 1% right

I'm still sure they used to, along with a small pile of people that still hold the same assertion.

The not-so-fun thing is that now business visas are only getting one month registration at a time. I'll find out next Wednesday whether or not this means we have to leave the country every month. All a big pile of poo

From past experience though (there was a one-month rule before, but it didn't involve leaving the country) different agencies will have different ways around the problem. At one point I was getting three months' reg when it should only have been one, but the agency I use at the moment is a bit more straight-laced.

thanks all.

Well, the American Embassy web site in Moscow

http://moscow.usembassy.gov/consular/acs.php?record_id=acsrusvisas#StudentVisas

has this to say about the Russian visa regime:

There are a few categories of foreigners who can be employed without such a [work] permit: those who have a Russian residency permit or permanent registration with police; church employees; technical experts who come for a short period to assemble imported equipment; and those who come for educational activities.

In the meantime, the university has now said that they'd take me on a student visa and would find teaching work for me in some of their departments; this was my original idea. The previous time I spoke to them, they said it's not allowed; maybe I'll be get paid from the bursary for hard-up students. Still confused!

Well, the American Embassy web site in Moscow

http://moscow.usembassy.gov/consular/acs.php?record_id=acsrusvisas#StudentVisas

has this to say about the Russian visa regime:

There are a few categories of foreigners who can be employed without such a [work] permit: those who have a Russian residency permit or permanent registration with police; church employees; technical experts who come for a short period to assemble imported equipment; and those who come for educational activities.

In the meantime, the university has now said that they'd take me on a student visa and would find teaching work for me in some of their departments; this was my original idea. The previous time I spoke to them, they said it's not allowed; maybe I'll be get paid from the bursary for hard-up students. Still confused!

Glad to hear that it seems to be working out with the uni but be warned that their pockets for paying for teaching work are unlikely to be very deep. Still, if it gets you here then you can still follow the route I suggested above.

It's not really worth debating much further - but I think that 'educational activities' would just be for teachers or others engaged, possibly, on humanitarian activities such as scientific research. I was aware of the various exclusions mentioned in your post - but as there is relatively little money to be made in 'monking' nowadays, I passed the opportunity by.....

I'm not desperately seeking money. Living a life. Having seen the odd well-upholstered death bed in my time, I'm not sure they were worth lying on.