Oh, the bountiful benefits that internationally hired teachers get! You are treated like royalty in comparison to teachers who get hired locally. But these “royal” benefits often don’t last forever. International schools across the globe have policies in place that say once you pass a certain number of years working there (e.g., let’s say five years is the average), your international benefits are over.
Now there is no need to worry if you leave before this change happens. But if you like the school and the city/country you are living in, you might find yourself getting nervous about this transition into locally hired status.
Eight Reasons International Hires Get Nervous When Turning Into a Local Hire
1. Goodbye to your annual or biennial flight benefit
The best part of going back home for a visit is not paying for that flight! Some schools just give you a set amount, others will buy your flight for you (in economy class, of course). Either way, you are not paying what could be upwards of EUR 1500 just to get back to your homeland every year. But the longer you stay in your host country, the more likely the school you are working at might think that your current country is your new home. If that is the belief, then that might be the reason international schools eventually take away this benefit.
2. No more extra payment each month that internationally hires get
Some international schools give an extra payment to all internationally hired staff each month. It is meant to be a marketing tool that schools use to attract quality internationally hired teachers. You can get very used to receiving this extra payment in your salary each month. This extra money can be used as your rent money or your travel money. If you are clever, you will use this extra payment and put it into some type of investment (see Top 10 Tips to Build a Solid Retirement). After some time, though, say goodbye to seeing this extra payment in your monthly pay-slip.
3. Now you need to move out of school housing and start paying your own rent
It is not always ideal to be living in school housing, but it is definitely ideal when your school is paying for your rent and part or all of your utilities. But as you gain more seniority at your school, the more and more new teachers arrive. Some schools will limit the number of years you can receive their housing allowance benefits (e.g., the new teachers require your school housing unit). As you near the end of this wonderful benefit, it’s best to make a plan for whether you are to continue renting somewhere else or maybe even buy some local property.
4. Leaving benefits go away or are diminished
It is nice to know that when you ultimately leave a school, they will help you with moving some of your things and buy your flight back to your home country. Locally hired staff often don’t get this benefit when they finally decide to move on, maybe to another international school, for example. At some international schools, if you give enough notice before you decide to leave, they will let you continue to receive the leaving benefits. But at others, you will be on your own when you finally decide to leave after you become a local hire.
5. You slowly turn into the locally hired teachers that you maybe scoffed at when you first arrived
You probably said to yourself, I’ll never be like them. Internationally hired teachers often get too comfortable in their status as internationally hired and think they’re on top of the world. They look at locally hired teachers and think, “Why would anyone ever want to be locally hired!?” Meaning that if you are locally hired, you don’t get all those extra benefits. But after some time, finternationally hired teachers slowly are turning into one of them. It is not all that bad being on a local contract, and many, if not all, teachers will survive that transition.
6. You start to take part in some low staff morale thoughts
When you are losing some benefits, even though you have put in years and years of effort to do the best at your job, it doesn’t feel good inside. It is confusing to be losing money as you gain seniority at your school, a bit disheartening. Your professionalism will be tested during this transition, but typically it won’t be that damaging. Nice, though, to talk with other teachers at your school who have recently gone through that same transition into locally hired status to get their advice. The loss in benefits might not be as dramatic as you are obsessing about.
7. Am I going to stay here forever (like 30+ years)!?
You never know when you will move on to another international school. Many SISTs (see Top 10 Character Traits of a Seasoned International School Teachers) will change schools every 2-5 years. Once you get to six years of working at a school, you are definitely turning into more of a local hire. Other teachers with locally hired status at your school have been there maybe 10, 20, or even 30+ years! It can be a bit nerve-wracking to think that you will never work at another international school in the world. There are so many countries to live in and schools to work at!
8. Will I have to pay full tuition to have my children attend my school?
One of the best benefits for teachers with children is that you typically don’t have to pay for tuition (if you want your children to attend the international school you are currently working at). Often this benefit is that the school will pay for 90-100% of your children’s tuition. At some international schools, tuition costs parents and companies 10s of 1000s of EUR a year. Locally hired teachers don’t regularly receive this same benefit for their children. They might receive a reduced rate of 50% if they are lucky, but many do not receive any financial support for their children’s tuition.
Of course, many say that international schools should just give equal benefits and equal pay for all teachers at their school, regardless of whether they were internationally hired or not. It doesn’t create the best school climate anyway. But this concern of wanting to save money wherever possible, the “tradition” of having this disparity will continue in many international schools all over the world.
This Journey to School article was submitted to us by a guest author and International School Community member. If you would like to submit an article as a guest author, email us here. All guest authors receive one year of premium membership to our website!
Exciting Staff Outings for New Teacher Orientation
Of course, new teachers can try to organize some staff outings themselves, but it is nice when your new international school organizes some of them. The returning teachers and administration know the city better, and they can help facilitate some really fun parties and/or outings.
Most new teachers will not know so much of their new city/country, so the school could organize some day trips to nearby nature areas or special towns of interest. If the school doesn’t want to take you too far away, they can easily host some events in popular local restaurants or fun places of interest.
Even if you don’t like the places the school takes you to so much, it will definitely be an opportunity for you to bond with the returning staff members as well as the other new teachers. Bonding with new teachers is important. Typically, new teachers tend to bond most with each other, and they become lifelong friends (even after one or both of them move away). If you are lucky, there will be several new teachers that you will be able to connect with.
Excellent international schools will definitely have a plan of events for all new teachers at the very beginning of the school year before the students arrive. A carefully planned week full of different events will definitely pay off as the new teachers will start their integration process on the right foot, thus making them enjoy their new surroundings and most likely do their best working in their new school.
Luckily, International School Community has a comment topic on our school profile pages related to this topic of new teacher orientation plans/events. Our members can share what current international schools are doing in this matter. There are a total of 312 comments (July 2026) that have been submitted by our veteran international school teachers in one of the 73 comment topics called – “Where did the school take you in the city when you first arrived? What were some staff outings/party locations?”
Here are a few of those submitted comments:
“We often hang out around campus or downtown on the weekends, but many people like to use the Arex to go to some of the cool spots in Seoul. Many of us go for picnics in Lake Park or down to the Canal Area for visiting noraebang (singing room) or bars. There really is quite a lot to do in Cheongna and new places are going in all the time. Several faculty members like to go play screen baseball and screen golf.” – Cheongna Dalton School (Incheon, South Korea) – 114 Total Comments
“Most of the staff parties and gatherings each year, when not on campus, are held at the high-end hotels in the area. There are a few Indian restaurants that also seem to be popular among the teachers, so the parties often end up going back there after a year or two of somewhere else.” – NIST International School (Bangkok, Thailand) – 333 Comments
“New faculty were invited to dinner in town one night and to the directors’ home another night, which was intimate and nice. There was another faculty gathering at the director’s house soon after school began, and a holiday party in December.” – International School of Stavanger (Stavanger, Norway) – 53 Total Comments
“In the first week, we were taken to Taygaytay to Lake Taal for lunch. As well as this we were taken to one of the school’s service partners, which is an orphanage. Trips to a cash and carry store and markets are also arranged in the first week. The divisional principals will have a social gathering at their homes for new staff and the superintendent hosts a welcome back BBQ.” – International School Manila (Manila, Philippines) – 115 Comments
“No city tour. It’s all administrative and logistical arrangements; a meeting with the principal, on campus, where you will be told when you need to submit your Scheme of Work @ curriculum planning. Next, you will be taken on an apartment hunting adventure by an HR personnel.” – Raffles International Christian School (Jakarta, Indonesia) – 42 Comments
“They had a get-to-know-you party. Old members of staff came, and you got to know people. They also took us to Carrefour and Ikea when we first got there with a coach. This is helpful when you’ve just arrived, and you’re trying to figure your life out. They also take you to get a bank account set up and take you to the required medical.” – Western International School of Shanghai (Shanghai, China) – 567 Comments