Dear Teach Away,
“My fiance and I are both teachers and want to make the move to teach in the UAE in 2023. We will be married by the end of the year. How do we go about applying to schools together? What are the requirements?”
Hi there,
First off, congratulations on your engagement!
The UAE is a great choice for married couples. Schools in many countries prefer solo travelers, but schools in the Middle East are much more accommodating to families who would like to move abroad together in pursuit of teaching opportunities.
To start with, both you and your partner should create separate profiles on Teach Away and apply to the same school/organization. You don’t need to apply for the same job, unless you’d like to, as long as there are multiple vacancies within that one job title (as there often are).
Of course, your applications will be considered individually to ensure you are both qualified for the roles you are applying for.
We recommend communicating early with the school regarding your intentions to teach together.
You can do so in 3 ways:
- Write it into the introduction statement of your profile
- Add your spouse as a dependent on your profile
- Mention it in your uploaded CV
If you are contacted by the school to conduct an interview or attend one of our online job fairs where you can meet directly with school hiring representatives, you should also state your wish to teach with your spouse. They will make a note in your application regarding this request.
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Completing all these steps is the best way to secure teaching positions in the same school as your spouse – but there is no guarantee. Education organizations in the UAE have schools in regions throughout the UAE and they have the final say on where you will teach because they place teachers in schools based on the needs of that school. Keep this in mind, as both you and your spouse could be hired by the organization but may be placed in different schools.
However, we find that they do their best to keep married couples together at the same school. They will also help you with finding accommodations where you will both live together.
As for the requirements, please review job postings in the UAE for information on what schools are looking for as requirements will vary from school to school.
Best of luck!
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