Job Discussion Forums

[naturegirl321]

Last year I travelled the EU and Switzerland by rail. I am an American and I noticed that at the border crossings, my passport was never stamped, but only examined.
According to the Italian rules, Americans can stay up to 90 days without a visa. Since I’ve been told it’s practically impossible to get work legally, I want to try to work while being there as a “tourist.” If I were to travel from an EU country, such as France into Italy by rail, then my passport wouldn’t be stamped.
Upon arriving in Italy, I could get work and when leaving the border control wouldn’t know how long I would have been in the country.
This seems like a rather large loophole to me....anyone else have an opinion about this?

[rogan]

Internal borders within the EU have lost a great deal of their 'officiousness' and are generally very 'soft'

The controls are more rigourous when you arrive from outside the EU or when you are leaving from the EU

[jud]

It's not much of a loophole. It's true that, thanks to the Shengen agreement, there are no controls between certain EU countries (Switzerland is not EU, and you were lucky: I know many Italians who've been checked). It's also true that they tend not to harass Americans, Canadians, and Australians passport holders both in the EU and in countries like Switzerland. However, while they can't prove how long you've been here, they could theoretically give you a hard time, especially if there's any kind of international crisis going on at that time.

Also, do you really want to work here so much? Experience in black won't help you for the future in Italy as you can't put it on your resume. Also, you can't even apply for a job here and then ask for permission. You need to do it from your country of origin.

Furthermore, you're setting yourself up to be taken advantage of by either employers or private students (who can be very unreliable).

[naturegirl321]

Thanks for the info. I never thought about not putting jobs on my CV. Italy simply seems like an interesting place and I would like to learn the language as well. But maybe it would be better just to go there and study.

[jud]

Hi naturegirl, wanted to just clarify about jobs on your CV (saw your post in General Discussion forum).

If you put your Italian experience on your CV to get work later OUTSIDE of Italy, and, as John said, they're willing to vouch for you, no problem.

But IN Italy, employers get very touchy about black workers. Also, there are some schools that have been controlled by the authorities and they would be too nervous to vouch for you.

OK! Don't want to discourage you. It's just really difficult for us Americans to get permission here.

[scot47]

I am surprised at the number of people who seem to think nothing of working illegally. I am one of the sixties generation now getting old, but I would never think about working illegally in a foreign country.

Do you really want go and work as a wetback - with no right to health care or anything else that is taken for gramnted by most people ?

[Munchen]

Enjoy this forum and have to say that my experience in good ol' Italia predates the EU. I was in Perugia at the Universita Italiana per Stranieri on the GI bill in '69 to '70 as were a few others. A friend of mine also going to the "Stranieri," also on the GI bill, had been in the Army in Vicenza and came to Perugia after his discharge. He went on after that to procure a TEFL job in Verona. I stopped by to visit him after I left Perugia myself.

He thought the job was fun but was no permanent deal by any means. Thought the people in Verona were sort of peculiar and the pay was about zilch. I remember him making some remarks about his female boss.

Like Naturegirl said, a great place to study but has questions about working there. Yes, unless you have a Ph.D. as a friend of mine has here in the U.S., he did procure a marvellous job with the University of Bologna teaching English years ago. Great. But the laid back cafe life also helped turn him into an alcoholic and many years later, at present, is in a condition of serious deterioration to the point of no return.

After visiting my friend in Verona, I journed on northward and the train crossed into Switzerland nonstop. Back in the late '60s, Italy did not stamp passports even then. Some friends thought I would run into some difficulties at the border, but not a problem. The train just sailed right on through at Lake Lugano or Como. One was supposed to register with the local carabinieri (police) while staying in Italy, but of course, no one ever did!!

I'm with Scot47 here, in the older league now, but, no, with present restrictions against non-EU citizens, I wouldn't even think about working as a wetback/illegally in Italy or anywhere in Europe.

I did later do TEFL in Spain in the early '70s but still had GI bill eligibility in attending the Hispanic Studies program at University of Valencia. Believe me, I would have never survived otherwise without the Uncle Sam backup.

Yes, just go to places like Spain or Italy and savor the culture, study the language, but a TEFL language school job with no other financial backup, forget it. Even back then, I saw too many struggling young people, married couples, some single young women looking for their Spanish and Italian guys, but most of the time, these broke up or they were just miserable, struggling people. It was during the Vietnam and civil rights era and some just did not want to be in the US at that time!

In light of what I've read, thought I'd share a few of those thoughts and observations for what they're worth, even though it's dated. To those of you who do have suitable and satisfying jobs in the TEFL industry in the EU today, more power to you and enjoy!

[PeterParvo]

beep beep

[spiral78]

Why in heck have you resurrected a thread from 2003?
As the Schengen zone laws changed substantially in 2009, the info in this is not by any meand entirely relevant any longer.