OK. That seems to explain it. Thanks for the reply. I naturally interpret the language to apply to teachers, but I guess that doesn't matter.

I suppose the Middle Eastern schools that advertise tax free salaries are just paying the employees' domestic taxes for them or taking advantage of some other domestic law.

Any idea why the tax situation works the way it does in Italy?

I went to a subject specific IB fair for the DP Program earlier this year, and it was very informative, and very useful. There was a great deal of subject specific material we went over, and I now feel comfortable bringing the kids through their two years in my subject.

At the DP level, I'd definitely recommend these workshops, but then again, my school paid for it.

I am currently an international school teacher, and I am pursuing my certificate in educational administration online through a US University. I also held a teacher/administrator post at my last job in the US and will be taking on some administrative responsibilities at my current school this coming year, so I have done a good amount of work to build my qualification.

Do any of you have strategies for breaking into the field? I have looked into the Search Associates fair for administrative candidates this October in Bangkok, but I'm not sure if it will be worth the cost. I naturally plan on sending my CV out to several schools at the beginning of this year.

I think that my best move is to try to get an administrative post at a school other than my own, because it doesn't seem that there will be any openings in administration next year, and there are a few other teachers who are in line for the future administrative posts at my current school.

That's in regards to US taxes. I'm referring to local taxes. For example teachers I've talked to who have worked in Italy have reported that they have had two years, and only two years, free of Italian taxes because of the tax treaty (and US taxes because of the foreign income exemption).

The language in the tax treaty with France Article 20, states that teachers will be exempt from French taxes for two years in, but as far as I know, in practice, this is not the case.


The language from Article 20 of the US/France tax treaty is here:

"An individual who is a resident of a Contracting State immediately before his visit to the other Contracting State and who, at the invitation of the Government of that other State or of a university or other recognized educational or research institution situated in that other State, visits that other State for the primary purpose of teaching or engaging in research, or both, at a university or other recognized educational or research institution shall be taxable only in the first mentioned State on his income from personal services for such teaching or research for a period not exceeding 2 years from the date of his arrival in the other State. An individual shall be entitled to the benefits of this paragraph only once."

Source: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-trty/france.pdf

I was under the impression that a tax free salary was available for international school teachers in a country if the US has a tax treaty with that country.

Germany and France both have tax treaties with the US that cover teachers, but from what I've heard, American teachers do not get two years tax free in these countries.

Can someone correct me or clarify what exactly a tax treaty means, and what exactly dictates whether or not one will receive a tax-free salary?

The list of countries with tax treaties with the US can be found here:

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/internati ... 39,00.html

Thanks for putting together all that detail. That's a lot to work with, and it should be a great benefit to others on this forum as well.

I figured We'd be fine with Western Europe. My fiancee has an EU Passport, so we shouldn't have any problems there, and W. Europe is actually my first choice, but competitive.

Any information about Vietnam or Thailand, down to specific schools if anyone is familiar with any of their policies on non-teaching spouses? It seems from the above that it isn't all about the country, as I had thought.

Thanks for the reply. Ultimately it seems to come down to the country. Some countries are very strict and require a great deal of paperwork and hassle, while others are very lenient when it comes to getting visas, extending visas, and working with only a tourist visa.

This is why some schools will not hire teachers with non-teaching spouses, for example, Brazilian schools, where immigration is much more of a hassle than it is in some parts of the world.

If anyone has information about the specific countries you're familiar with, please post it.

Which countries' international schools make it easy and which ones make it difficult to bring a non-teaching spouse along?

I have found so far that schools in Brazil will not hire a teacher with a non-teaching spouse. The visa issue is too complicated and if a couple is not married the non-teaching one would only be able to stay for 6 months and then have to leave for 6 months before being able to enter Brazil again. Under virtually no circumstances would the spouse be allowed to work legally.

Egypt, on the other hand, makes it very easy. Tourist visas can be extended indefinitely and many of the schools will hire non-teaching spouses as assistants.

If I mention to the school heads that my fiancee will be joining me, that automatically disqualifies me in some countries. Which ones? In which countries do schools welcome non-teaching spouses and in which countries are they put off by the paperwork/complications involved with hiring teachers with them? My fiancee has a career that can be set up anywhere, so we're not worried about her finding a job, just worried about the policy.

Also if you have any advice for a teacher in my situation please share it. For example is it best not to mention her until after the contract is signed? Or should I wait until we are both in the country I'll be teaching in before I mention that we're traveling together?

I am particularly interested in Vietnam and Thailand, but please don't restrict your answers to these two countries.