New Resource: Vietnam TEFL Work Permit Guide
Last November, I made a major career decision while waiting to hear back from the US Patent Office regarding my job application. I opted to pivot my TEFL job search to Southeast Asia — specifically, Vietnam.
Why Vietnam?
It has a bigger market for Business English teachers and unlike Mexico, I do not need to be a legal resident of Vietnam in order to get a work visa and a work permit.
But, getting a work visa in Vietnam is no easy task. You need to get your teaching credentials in order before you can get a job offer. This includes your TEFL certificate, four-year degree (mandatory in Vietnam), and a criminal background check issued within the last six months. For U.S. citizens, this involves getting an FBI background check.
Once you get these documents, you will need to legalize them first in their respective country-of-origin. So if your documents were issued in the U.S. then this means that they will have to be legalized by government agencies in the U.S.
The Document Legalization Challenge
Since Vietnam is not a party to The Hague Apostille Convention, your documents must undergo a full consular legalization chain in lieu of an apostille. A standard apostille will be rejected by the Vietnamese government. The full consular legalization chain requires:
1. Authentication of the notarized or original document at the state level (if applicable, as is the case with diplomas issued by state universities)
2. Authentication of the document at the federal level (e.g., FBI background check, which does not need state-level authentication, bypassing the first step), and
3. Legalization by the Vietnamese Embassy in the country-of-origin of the document (always required)
Since my TEFL certificate was issued in Mexico, it had to be legalized in that country, not the U.S. Then I had to vet over a half-dozen vendors in Mexico before I finally found one that understood what needed to be done with my irreplaceable TEFL certificate and that I was confident in their capabilities.
What I Learned (And What You Can Skip)
Not only is this a lot of work for three documents, I was transiting through Belize and Guatemala while getting this paperwork processed. I had to hire legal vendors to take care of the administrative work while I tracked everything. This was time-consuming and expensive. I had to figure all of this out by myself, with no single person to guide me along.
So I decided to package everything I’ve learned over the past three months into a comprehensive manual, which is now available in my store. This document outlines the complete document legalization process, how to get started, how much you can expect to spend, and the types of vendors you will need to hire. Why reinvent the wheel when you can learn from someone who is doing this now?
The manual includes:
Complete legalization chains for FBI checks, degrees, and foreign certificates
Real vendor names and contact information
Actual costs breakdown ($1,800+ documented)
Critical mistakes to avoid (like breaking document seals)
Vietnam post-arrival procedures
Appendix of FBI-approved channelers
This is just one example of what I learned the hard way:
Your legalized documents arrive in sealed envelopes. Break that seal before reaching Vietnam, and you'll have to start the entire $1,000+ process over again. The manual includes dozens of critical details like this that could save you months of delays and thousands of dollars.
Get yours today at the SPEND Channel store! It has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
