Job Discussion Forums

prickly_bush · Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Posts: 6 Location: China

Hello,

I'm planning to move to Barcelona in January to begin preparing to do a DELTA there in October, and I'd like some advice on how to go about it. I have several issues.

1. My wife is Chinese, and a Chinese teacher. Any ideas how easy/impossibly difficult she might find it to get work? And how about getting working papers for her (I'm British)?

2. I have a degree, CELTA, and 3 years experience, so I don't expect it to be too hard to find a job. But would you recommend finding a job before I go, or waiting until I get there?

3. Can we expect to live comfortably, or will we have to say goodbye to some of the fine wines, single malt whiskies, and goose liver pate? Evil or Very Mad

Many thanks!

CMB · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 46 Location: Barcelona

There's a growing Chinese community here in Barcelona, and I've noticed over the past couple of years that there are more and more Chinese classes on offer. I know they do Chinese for kids at "Casa Asia" so you could do a search and get in touch with them. There's also the "Escola Oficial d'Idiomes" which is subsidized by the government and offers lots of languages. I know they pay well, but at least for English teachers they require an official exam and lots of formal training - I'm not sure about teachers of other languages...
Fine wine is plentiful and cheap here, but going out is a little pricey for those of us in teaching! If both of you work full time, though, you should have enough for some nice meals.
Good luck! Where are you doing the DELTA?
Melissa

prickly_bush · Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Posts: 6 Location: China

Hi Melissa,

Thanks so much for your help...I don't suppose your knowledge of Spain would stretch to knowing whether being married to a Brit would enable a Chinese citizen to work without having to get extra papers/visas etc., would it?
I'm planning to do the DELTA at IH Barcelona, probably in October next year. At the miunte I'm planning to arrive in Barcelona in January to get used to teaching the Spaniards...

Thanks again,

Prickly Bush

CMB · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 46 Location: Barcelona

I *think* it should be fine since it's all the E.U. now, and I'm pretty sure that being married to an E.U. citizen is almost the same as being one yourself, but they change the immigration laws here constantly, so I'm not sure. If you were Spanish it would be no problem, but check with the authorities here (which is no easy feat - this will probably be your first lesson with Spanish bureaucracy!).

DainaJ · Joined: 26 Jul 2006 Posts: 62

Hi Prickly Bush,

I have been looking into the same issue and found this information:

"Council of Europe regulations forced Spain to end all restrictions on the free circulation of European Union workers, good news for EU citizens who wanted to settle and work in Spain.

It means that EU citizens can work in Spain under exactly the same conditions as Spaniards. The "tarjeta comunitaria", which is a work and residence document, is still required, but it is now much easier to obtain if you are an EU citizen.

This also applies to family members who are not EU nationals. If a Briton working in Spain is married to a US national, for example, the non-EU spouse will have full rights to residence and employment in Spain."

The URL is http://www.spainview.com/work2.html
and the book this information comes from (which I am going to check out) is http://www.spainview.com/youlaw.html
The book is definitely available on amazon.com, probably amazon.uk also.

I have citizenship from a new EU member state and was researching whether my husband, who only has a non-EU passport, could work in Spain. I have yet to confirm this with the embassy, but I have also heard this elsewhere.

prickly_bush · Joined: 18 Jul 2006 Posts: 6 Location: China

Hi DainaJ,

Thank you so much for that information, it's wonderful news for us if it's true. We also have to contact the embassy here in China, but from most of what we've heard thus far, it seems that both my wife and I will be able to work.

Thanks again, and good luck!

Peter

tabbicat · Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Posts: 12

There's quite a lot of interest in Chinese classes at the moment so your wife shouldn't have too many problems finding work. I heard in fact that International House were offering to train Chinese teachers for free in the hope that they'd work for them after doing the course. We may be looking for a part time Chinese teacher at my school in the future, so maybe your wife could get in touch. There's a fair amount of English teaching work around but also many teachers. Some schools pay as little as 10� /hr which is the same as a cleaner would get, so don't accept less than 15-20�. It's quite expensive to rent flats here now but you can eat out at lunchtimes (menu del d�a) cheaply and public transport is a lot cheaper than in the UK.
Good luck .

jr1965 · Joined: 09 Jul 2004 Posts: 175

Peter,

Do contact the Spanish embassy (where you are now) to see what needs to be done for your wife. I'm an American married to a Spanish guy and in order for me to get my residence card in Spain (which allows me to get jobs, medical care through the social security system, etc), I had to complete a bunch of paperwork. Actually, we started the process in the States before we moved and then finished it once we were settled in Madrid. In Spain, if your wife is not an EU citizen (even if she is married to one), she may need to do something like I did--if she's looking to get jobs that ask for "your papers" or is interested in other social security benefits. Of course, she doesn't have to do this, but if you are planning on being in Spain for a period of time, it's worth checking out.

Good luck to you both.