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uspech
Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 15
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 Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 1:30 am Post subject: Hey, non-EUs in Barcelona . . . |
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Where do you work?
American here.
There were a handful of agencies in Madrid that didn't mind my paper-less status, but now I'm heading to Barcelona and looking for any leads.
Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks! |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 6:20 am Post subject: |
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I guess the employers probably don't mind....but they've obviously got little incentive to treat you reasonably either, if you're gonna be working under the table.
It'll be fun getting out of the country/Schengen zone without getting caught later, as well.
Do keep up posted on how all this goes!!
To be really clear here, I'm genuinely interested in what the life is like for someone working under the table considering the current legal situation; I honestly don't mean any disrespect.
I think it would be actually very useful for people to know how likely they are to have problems doing this in Spain these days, and it's rare that people will post about it.
Some of us tend to imagine they're all spending too much time dealing with not getting paid, landlords giving them trouble, and running from the cops and border guards, but I reckon that's probably not accurate   |
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uspech
Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 15
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| Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 11:31 am Post subject: |
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no, I guess it's not accurate.
I moved to Madrid from the U.S. and lived there from March - Aug. So I overstayed my tourist visa by two months.
I wasn't too happy about living there illegally, so my boyfriend(British) and I tried to find ways to get me legal.
We first tried the "pareja de hecho", which is a Spanish civil union, but the waiting list was over a year long.
Then we figured we'd try to just get me a visa for the UK, so we tried for an EEA family permit, but we were rejected on grounds of insufficient evidence.
Anyway, living in Spain wasn't a problem. There are no random checks for ID or anything like that. I saw someone post about getting asked for a passport at metro stations - that didn't happen in Madrid ever...
I knew a handful of other Americans in the same boat as me.
The scariest part is obviously border control at the airport.
I don't know if I got lucky, but no border agents in the Madrid airport seemed to notice or care about my overstay. If they did, perhaps they didn't care since I was on the way out.
The worst bit was the border agents in the UK, where I am now.
I got into shit with them since I had been rejected for a UK visa, nevermind the overstay.
They said never to try to enter the UK without a visa again and to leave when I say I'm leaving.
TL;DR: Never had problems in Spain because of legal status, that includes border agents at airport. UK border agents are the ones to worry about. I assume American border agents as well.
I'm curious as to how they border agents in Barcelona will react when/if they notice I haven't been out of the Schengen for a full 3 months when I try to head back into Spain...
meh.
so yeah. leads on language schools in Barcelona???? |
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Sashadroogie
Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 11061
Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise
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| Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 11:42 am Post subject: |
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As far as I remember, there is no passport control when exiting through British airports - Heathrow, at least. Hasn't been any since 1990 or thereabouts.
Still, wouldn't recommend overstaying anywhere in the EU or Schengen Zone. While it is true you might never be caught, if you are, you are in *beep* street. |
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Grimace420
Joined: 24 Sep 2011
Posts: 88
Location: Madriz
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| Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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You might want to take this into account.
I understand Barcelona has a higher proportion of ESL candidates for the jobs available than Madrid, so I wish you luck.
Let us know how your search goes. Illegal teachers are a good measure of the health of the demand and supply in an area. |
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Sashadroogie
Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 11061
Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise
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| Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 12:07 pm Post subject: |
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Hi again uspech
Just noticed something from your above emails that left me puzzled: as an American you do not need tourist visas to enter either the UK nor the Schengen zone - for the first 90 days at least, as far as I know. What UK visa were you rejected for? I ask only for my own edification, admittedly, so if I am prying, I apologise in advance. I'm just not too clear on what situation you got into, or how. |
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jonniboy
Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 751
Location: Panama City, Panama
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| Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 12:37 pm Post subject: |
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| My ex had exactly the same situation. This was back in 2004/2005. She overstayed the visa in Spain by some way without problems but when she came to visit me in Belfast, UK border officials refused her entry, due to her overstaying her Spanish visa and told her she would have problems getting back to Spain. They did however give her compassionate leave to enter. Luckily for her, as the flight back was on Dia de los reyes, a Spanish public holiday, even the border officials had the day off! She got back into Spain without problems, but the moral of the story is if you are there illegally, heading for foreign holidays, especially to non-Schengen members, is a very bad idea. |
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uspech
Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 15
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| Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Sashadroogie wrote: |
Hi again uspech
Just noticed something from your above emails that left me puzzled: as an American you do not need tourist visas to enter either the UK nor the Schengen zone - for the first 90 days at least, as far as I know. What UK visa were you rejected for? I ask only for my own edification, admittedly, so if I am prying, I apologise in advance. I'm just not too clear on what situation you got into, or how. |
Yeah Americans get a 90 day tourist visa in most countries.
I know I didn't need a visa to enter the UK as a tourist.
The trouble was I was worried about overstaying in the schengen, and my boyfriend and I were trying to find an easy way to get me legal in his country/ possible settling here. We applied for the EEA family permit visa.
When I arrived in the UK, I was in trouble for having been rejected for a visa but "coming anyway", which is kind of bull, cuz I guess I still had the right to come as a tourist.
The border agents don't always even seen to know the laws. The woman kept saying the EEA family visa was the wrong visa to apply for, blahblah, but we researched it heavily and it was a perfectly fine possibility....
So far most schools want nothing to do with me considering my status, but I seem to have two-three real interview opportunities. I guess it's gonna be relying on privates mostly.
Well. I'm super frightened now about heading back to Spain, now. |
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Sashadroogie
Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 11061
Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise
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| Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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Ah, OK. With you now. I had missed a few links in the chain there.
As regards your return to Spain, can't tell you anything about what will happen at the Spanish end, but at least you won't have to deal with any officials at all at the British end. It's just check in your bags, metal detector and straight to the gates.
Anyway, hope all goes well for you, and you get your situation normalised. |
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Isla Guapa
Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1520
Location: Mexico City o sea La Gran Manzana Mexicana
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| Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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| uspech wrote: |
So far most schools want nothing to do with me considering my status, but I seem to have two-three real interview opportunities. I guess it's gonna be relying on privates mostly.
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And that's understandable since a decent school doesn't want to get into
trouble with the authorities by having illegal teachers on staff. Supporting yourself with private classes is always a possibility, though it may take some time to make the connections you'll need to find a group of serious language-learners who will stick with you for the long term. |
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Grimace420
Joined: 24 Sep 2011
Posts: 88
Location: Madriz
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| Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 7:39 pm Post subject: |
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| uspech wrote: |
Well. I'm super frightened now about heading back to Spain, now. |
Privates are the way to go anyway, even if you don't get much academy work, though I'm sure you'll find something. I consider Monday-Thursday from 3pm-9pm to be the goldrush when due to the sheer demand I can get well paying private classes and be choosy about location and type of students I take. I tried (admittedly briefly) looking for academy work last year, but they pretty much all wanted to give me hours at those times for a relative pittance when I was able to find higher paying classes on my own easily enough, so I gave up.
It might get interesting in 2013 when the Comunidad de Madrid has announced it will be Mondayizing all local public holidays. That won't be so good for private students. You'd think Fridays would have made more sense, but I guess your average Spanish pringaohates Mondays more.
Yeah, seriously screw the passport control in the UK. They piss me off sometimes.
I've been in the same situation as you, only with many entry and exit stamps in my passport rather than just one and no valid residence card for Spain at the time. It seems border officials in Spain only started asking me questions after I had more than 4. Before that they never said anything. Don't offer any information upfront. Just hand your passport over with a polite "Hola. �Qu� tal?" and, in the highly unlikely event that you're questioned about what you're doing in Spain, stick to a story about becoming a pareja de hecho with your British boyfriend. I'm pretty sure you won't have any problems.
Last edited by Grimace420 on Sun Sep 09, 2012 1:43 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Perilla
Joined: 09 Jul 2010
Posts: 792
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 12:44 am Post subject: |
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| Sashadroogie wrote: |
As regards your return to Spain, can't tell you anything about what will happen at the Spanish end, but at least you won't have to deal with any officials at all at the British end. It's just check in your bags, metal detector and straight to the gates. |
Not true - they always check passports on the way out! True that they're probably less concerned, but if you don't have a pasport you won't get out of the country. |
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uspech
Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 15
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| Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 2:26 am Post subject: |
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| Grimace420 wrote: |
| Just hand your passport over with a polite "Hola. �Qu� tal?" and, in the highly unlikely event that you're questioned about what you're doing in Spain, stick to a story about becoming a pareja de hecho with your British boyfriend. I'm pretty sure you won't have any problems. |
nice. excellent idea.
thanks |
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Sashadroogie
Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 11061
Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise
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| Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 6:48 am Post subject: |
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| Perilla wrote: |
| Sashadroogie wrote: |
As regards your return to Spain, can't tell you anything about what will happen at the Spanish end, but at least you won't have to deal with any officials at all at the British end. It's just check in your bags, metal detector and straight to the gates. |
Not true - they always check passports on the way out! True that they're probably less concerned, but if you don't have a pasport you won't get out of the country. |
No, Perilla, I can assure you that when I and my Russian partner were in London for the Olympics this summer there was no passport control desk and no exit stamp when we were leaving to return to Russia. Yes, your passports are needed at check-in, by the airline. Yes, you need to show your passport and boarding card to enter the security zone. Yes, you may be randomly stopped by profilers. But there are no queues before an unpleasant passport controller's desk or kiosk - for any nationality regardless of where they are flying. No exit stamps are given. (The only cause for concern anybody had was that I had the correct visa for entry to Russia.)
I wasn't saying that the OP wouldn't need a passport. Of course she will. That is not the issue. I said that she would at least be spared the hassles of dealing with the UK Border Agency as she processes through the airport in Britain. She won't, unless she is very, very unlucky, even see any officers concerned with her visa (if she had one) or entry dates.
This is not the case in other European countries, it is true. But it is so in the UK. When was the last time you processed through Heathrow? Did you not notice that there is no passport control when you left the UK? |
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Perilla
Joined: 09 Jul 2010
Posts: 792
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 7:48 am Post subject: |
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| I flew out from both Heathrow and Gatwick in August. To me passport control just means that someone wants to see my passport - and someone always wants to see my passport when I leave the UK. I never paid any attention to how closely they were looking, I guess because I have nothing to worry about. But yes, certainly they're less officious about it on the way out than on the way in, and there isn't the intimidating line-up. |
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