teaching in south america - visas?

[wafi]

Hello!
Has anyone ever taught english in south america? I want to do it myself but am just wondering about visas, when i was there about 18 months ago i met people who worked on tourist visas but i'm thinking this might be a bit dodgy.
Is it possible to enter a country and then upgrade the tourist visa to a work visa once you get a job. I'm interested in anything anyone has to say on the matter in any of the countries in south america, i'm still deciding where to go and teach (i looked at colombia but the visa stuff looks complicated!).

Thanks

[juanka]

Hi:
It's possible but complicated to get a visa because institutes don't want to give you a work certificate for the few months you will be working there...
But in Buenos Aires there are many institutes who can take foreigners without visa. I run a small guesthouse for foreigners and I help many of my guest to find a job without visa.

The other question is : how long you want to stay? after 3 months (tourist visa) you can cross to Uruguay in a one day excursion, and when you come back they stamp to you for 3 more months. You can do this legally 2 times.
After this nine months, the only problem is: when you leave the country with expired visa, you must pay a 50 bugs fine. No jail! :-)

If you need extra info, go to my profile, see my website, and there is a note about teaching. Or email me.

regards
Juan Carlos
your travelhelper in BA