Hi there
you said

I dont speak any languages or have any travel and torism qualifications

But you speak English!!! Maybe you should consider doing a TEFL course some of them only take 6 weeks to do. This way you could teach English abroad. Though some countries don t even demand that you have this course as long as you are a native English speaker!! I don t know specifically about Tunisia but maybe this could be an option for you!!!!

You know thats a very good idea thank you i am looking into it. x

Hi,

A TEFL would definitely be a good option as this sort of work would almost certainly be better paid than most other work you'd find out there. I looked into this myself a while back (plans on hold at the moment!), and if you're living in Hammamet you might have to travel to work, but Tunis isn't that far.

Also - not having travel or tourism qualifications wouldn't stop you getting a job as a rep or as office staff for a tour operator. I work in admin in banking at the moment and when I applied for these jobs last year, all 3 companies I applied to gave me interviews. Mytravel offered me a job, but not in Tunisia so I didn't take it. You can apply directly in resort though. I know a couple of people who get quite a bit of work doing this (also in Hammamet). The money is bad, but if you're a rep you can get commission and most reps I've spoken to there seem to be able to live off this without touching their basic pay.

As for starting your own business, be careful with this as there are all sorts of laws about foreigners investing and owning businesses there. Anything that involves exporting goods out of the country is looked on more favourably as this is seen to create extra jobs / money etc for Tunisia. Anything viewed as 'muscling in' on Tunisian territory (for want of a better phrase!), would mean going into partnership with a Tunisian. This would then be a 49/51% split in ownership in favour of the Tunisian.

Hope this is of some help.

A.x

If your Tunisian husband was your business partner then presumably the 49/51% split would not be a problem.

Regarding TEFL, I think there is a college in Tunis which teaches English and would therefore be likely to employ native English speakers, so it may be worth investigating this. I'm sure someone else has mentioned this on here and perhaps they will be able to point you in the right direction.

Hi there
I was just wondering what the rules are for when a Tunisian man brings back his foreign wife to his country. I have a friend in France who is married to a Tunisian but she has never been to his country but would like to. I have another friend who is Algerian needs her husbands permission to leave her own country even though she is Algerian herself I was wondering is it the same in Tunisia? And do the children belong to the father? As I have heard many sad stories of women being separted from their children in Egypt, Algeria and Saudi because their law supports the fathers. But I know Tunisia is different as it has a more liberal approach. But can a foreign woman leave Tunisia without her husbands permission and if she has them take the children with her? Is his permission obligatory? I just want to know for my friend !!
Thanks

Hi, I've lived in Tunisia for 18 months end didn't work for the first six months. When I started looking for jobs I asked around local bars and restaurants but because I didn't have a residency visa a lot of the employers were reluctant to employ me. The ones that did offer me work offered really poor money.

I found a job working for a Tunisian travel company last Summer and this was good money and good hours. Unfortunately, the company has been taken over and had their own employees so I am at the moment jobless.

I am going to get in touch with the English travel companies and see if they heve any jobs available. Hopefully I will soon have some good news!

i am a single mother who has just come back from tunisa from a holiday paid for by my parents....what a lovely place....i met a man there and i would love him to come over here for a weeks to show him around london and all the other tourist sites.... he is currently a student studying law and he is very intelligent and fluent in many languages ...after reading all the other posts on this site i need advice as i am not currently working and on benefits... can i still show all the requirements on my income and expenditure and savings as a working person can??? would it be valid????...or do you have to be employed???...i am sorry if it sounds confusing but hopefully some one will get the gist..........x

If you are currently not earning yourself then I think that it's extremely unlikely that you will be able to meet the requirements for getting him a visa. You will have to prove that you can support him for the duration of his stay etc and unless you have a reasonable level of savings in the bank then you're not going tob e able to do this if your only income and source of cash for yourself is your benefit. The only way round this is possibly for another family member to agree to act as sponsor - would your parents be willing to do this?

SM

Hi Everyone
Just wanted everyone to know that my husband was granted his settlement visa last friday(25/05/06) and is now in the uk with me!! its wonderful news.. but boy oh boy was it difficult..it felt as if it was our lives were on hold because believe me you cant plan anything when someone else is making a decision on your future..
We were very lucky because my husband is Tunisian but was resident in Italy (as explained in my earlier posts) we married on 29/03/06 and can now start our married life together in the UK. He had to travel to Rome and be interviewed for almost 2 hours as to the validity of his request for settlement in the uk.. we had to produce all documents.. birth certs, marriage cert, my work contract, both our payslips, both our bank statements, mortgage documents, coucil tax bill, telehpone bills, photos of us together, my flight tickets to see him (difficult because the airlines are now ticketless so be warned keep e-mails) copies of e-mails, (again difficult if you communicate like we did via webacm and e-mails) cards to each other, well almost everything apart from the kitchen sink.. so please if your thinking of things long term DONT throw anything away that can prove you know each other.. And to say that my husband was already resident in Italy and its links in the commonwealth please believe me its very difficult to gain a visa but never give up hope if you truly love each other like we do..
If anyone wants any help please let me know im only too happy to help..
And believe me to be together now is the most wonderful thing in the whole world, we truly love each other and are both so very very happy.
Good luck everyone
Love
Susie x

Hi Susie - wonderful news and sincere congratulations from us both. Put all the stress behind you now and enjoy your new life together. All best wishes - Jenny

Hi I am meeting my Tunisian Boyfriends parents in August when i go back to see him, I really don't know what to expect or how different their family life is compared to English family life, and i am a little worried about the language barrier.... can any ease my nerves!!!

purchase a language book learn a lot before you go.

I would recommend taking a small gift for them eg. box of chocolates, as it shows you are making an effort. It is difficult with the language barrier. My in-laws don't speak any english but I get by with the little arabic I've learned. And your boyfriend could always translate.

I've been to a few Tunisian families houses and I always watch to see if they remove their shoes before stepping on carpet, and follow their lead.

Smiling a lot helps too!

dont worry about it i remember when i first met my tunisian fiance parents it was scarey as they dont speak english but im sure your boyfriend wil translate just be confident and be yourself and im sure you will all get on like a house on fire everytime i go i cant wait to see my fiance parents again and i always take them something even a little thing you will be fine promise

thanks!! I didnt even think of taking a gift, i will definitley do that and lots of smiling!!

gey just woundering if anyone can help me or give me any advice i have been with my fiance now for just over a year we are really happy and are looking at getting married we really wanted to try to marry in england and i wounder if anyone has any information on this. i have had alot of infomation from people who ahve married in tunisia but we want to try and look at the option of marrying in england so if anyone can help please private message me or get back to me via here thanks x

Hi Spursgirl,

Have sent you a pm - or at least I think I have! Had some problems getting it to submit and I can't find it in my sentbox... Let me know if you didn't get it.

A.

Hi there, I have recently come back from a trip to Tunisia to see my boyfriend and we have decided to get married. We are hoping to do it in September of this year - does anyone have any advice for me?
I am confused as to what exactly it is I need to do. He has applied for all his papers etc over there and now apparently I need to get mine sorted to take with me when I go back in September - but I have no idea what it is I need!!!
Anyone with any info can you please message me - I will be very greatful!!

Hello! Congratulations (Mabrouk!) on deciding to get married! I got married in January this year to my lovely Tunisian husband. It was all very exciting but a bit of a blur now! All I took with me as far as I can remember is a full birth certificate, my passport and my certificate of no impediment to marriage (from local registry office - just shows that you are free to get married - you still have to get your banns read in this country even if you aren't getting married here). You will have to get a copy of your birth certificate just before you go, as depending on which area of Tunisia you are getting married, they may request that your birth certificate only be a month old! Its very easy to do - just contact your registry office in the area which you were born and they will tell you what you need to do. Actually if you go on the British Embassy in Tunis website they will tell you EXACTLY what you need to take with you - http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1022256797639 - this webpage will give you all the info you need and is where I got all my information from! You have to take your Certificate of no impediment and your birth certificate to the British Embassy in Tunis to have it translated into French (takes 24hours). You can get it done locally in whatever area of Tunisia you are staying in but the translators often make mistakes so I just thought it best to go the the Embassy to save time and much 'to-ing and fro-ing' and that turned out the best choice! You (and your fiance) also have to have a medical certificate showing you have no transmittable diseases (you have to have a blood test) from a local Tunisian doctor. Then you can get get married! Phew!
My husband got his visa to come and live here 2 weeks ago and is coming next Friday - inshallah. We know we have been extremely lucky as had no problems at all unlike many others I have heard of. We couldn't believe it. We took all the relevant docs to the Embassy and they just interviewed him for 10mins - that was it! Didn't even want to see me! I was worried sick beforehand especially as I am 7 months pregnant (honeymoon baby!) and I knew if he didn't get it I wouldn't see him for ages and not allowed to fly after 32 weeks. But, hurrah, he did. Just to give anyone else who is about to apply some HOPE - they can be straightforward sometimes and not every application is turned down as I really has started to believe. We are living proof it happens even though we still cannot believe it!! So I wish you loads of LUCK and hope this info helps you.