Can an American teach EFL in Greece?

Travel Info
I am currently looking for my next post. I have taught in Ecuador and Korea. I have a TESL cert and 7+ years experience. What is the employment process, and how are the jobs for Americans?

Travel Tips

I think it is difficult but not impossible.

Firstly there are a lot of qualified teachers in Greece for English either educated in Greece or abroad.
Secondly if your competition is English native speakers then employer will probably prefer someone from the UK because of the EU. (no paperwork no nothing).
Thirdly I do not know what EFL is exactly. Other diplomas and certificates are more popular in Greece.

Neverthelless there are many US citizens in Greece working here and many of them teach English.

In any case you should find first an employer, then apply for a work visa. Then come to Greece and apply for a work and residence permit. All these I think it will take about 3-4 months. Moreover in Greece to be able to teach English you must have a University or College degree, there are some cases that you do not need to but you should ask if these cases apply to you.
If a degree is required and if you have a degree, because it is not an EU degree you will have to file more paperwork for your degree to be certified here. There is a case that they may ask you to take some exams.

Please also note that your employer will have to prove that he/she was searching for employee for a certain period, both in Greece and the EU, and was not able to find someone suitable. To help him/her that you are the most suitable you must have high qualifications. It would be ideal if you have a University degree (not college because in Europe college degrees are considered inferior) preferably an MSc and the wroking experience you have. Greece has a realy high precentage of the population with Uni degreess and more than 50% of them have postgraduate studies.

For EU citizens none of the above apply.

Others
www.eslcafe.com is a great site. If you have taught in Ecuador and Korea, you probably already know the site. It has postings from all over the world.

Just so you know, I've heard it is difficult for non-EU passport holders to get jobs in Europe. Good luck to you. I'd love to hear what happens....
An English teacher in Japan.
I am not sure about the bureaucracy,the embassy of your country in Athens will definitely know.Be ready for competition..Many Greeks have the qualifications to teach English.We are the second largest learners of foreign languages in Europe-after the Dutch.Good luck any how!
You can teach in Greece, but be aware that there are a gazillion
teachers in Greece which hold teaching certificates from the
U of Cambridge, and the U of Michigan. If no one hires you, you
can always teach "underground", but then again you will have
a lot of competition. Everyone in Greece either speaks or wants
to speak English. English is the official language of the EU.
I Corinthians 13;8a, Love never fails!!!
When I lived in Greece, I taught at Anatolia College. It is the "American" school of Greece, so they prefer to hire Americans. They also paid a regular salary and had a regular benefits package. However, most ESL schools, or frontesteria find it much easier to higher EU citizens. Plus, they don't pay that well.

My sister, who was living with her Greek fiance (now married and not working), taught at a frontesteria for about a year. They never got her a work visa, though they kept saying they would. She got paid what everyone else was paid, but they kept the taxes they didn't have to pay on her because she wasn't really working legally.