Job Discussion Forums

[Jaime1]

I want to teach English in Spain and all the job listings say EU citizenshup required which makes it nearly impossible to get a job. Spain was my first choice to teach abroad but instead I am now in Korea teaching which isn't bad but it's no Spain. Is there any good sites that have jobs (school, government) to teach in Spain that don't require EU citizenship? I have looked hard but have found none. I am American.

[spiral78]

It is nearly impossible to get a work permit for an American. There is no hidden set of opportunities open to US citizens who want to teach there. Particularly not in regular schools or in the government sector!

Maybe you're not aware that there are national laws in the country that mandate hiring from within the EU. These laws are more or less strict, depending on the numbers of EU member citizens available to do that particular job. This means that engineers, for example, may be in short supply and therefore non-EU staff can be legally hired.

English teachers are abundant in the EU - and many, many qualified British citizens target Spain for obvious reasons. There is not considered to be any shortage of EU citizen English teachers, and so the law is quite strict in limiting legal positions to candidates from within the EU.

Many North Americans work illegally in Spain. I am sure that there will be posts on your thread VERY soon telling you to come on over, no problem, you'll easily find work.

It's true, you can find work, but only if you're willing to take the risks of being illegal. If you have no bad luck, it can work for a while, but working illegally is not for the long-term and there are risks, even short-term, obviously.

Finally, the jobs that would be open to you will not be found from abroad. Because there are many teachers in the region, schools have no incentive to hire someone they haven't yet met in person. You would need to just come to Spain to seek a job in person.

[jonniboy]

As ever I can only echo most of what Spiral says. If you search through previous posts here there is a North American Language Assistant programme which would allow you to work legally but places on that are limited and presumably competitive.

Your chances of finding illegal work are actually significantly higher than that of finding a job from abroad. Another issue with online vacancies in more competitive countries like Spain is that they can frequently be for jobs in academies so dodgy that no local teacher will work there. In any event, unless you have a firm date for arriving in Spain which you can use to arrange interviews, I wouldn't waste your time applying from abroad.

[mdk]

It depends. How badly do you want to do this?

I have wanted to teach in Spain for a long time. Used to sit at my cubicle in the US and when things got rough I would think about running away and teaching in Madrid.,

It wasn't on at the time - largely for the reasons the EU people will "helpfully" tell you all about.

However times change, I came into some money and now I can when I wish to ... or not. That makes it a lot more pleasant. I suggest you save your nickels and go to Spain and check it out. Walk around - away from where the "helpful" types tend to hang out in Madrid and Barcelona...I mean out in the sticks... and talk to people. They want English teachers out there and you want a job. See what happens and if nothing turns up, you still have had a pleasant trip in Spain.

Good luck

[sheikh radlinrol]

[Jaime1]

[jonniboy]

[kronos]

Jaime,

I taught "under the table" in Spain for more than three years. In Madrid, there are tons of Americans teaching English without working papers. ALL of the academies say they won't hire people without EU papers, but it's a lie. They have to put that in writing, but what they do in practice is another story. However, the government is tightening control on immigration, so it's possible that could change.

Also, as some of the others have said, there are risks associated with working in Spain illegally, and it's not an easy life. If you just want to do it for one school year to have a year abroad, it could be okay. But if you stay for several years, it starts to really weigh on you -- constantly worrying about getting caught and deported, realizing you're blowing through your savings because the pay is crap and you end up not working for at least 2 months each year (so many holidays), and realizing that you are not putting any money towards retirement (because you're not paying taxes).

There are always exceptions and you may find a way to get legal once you're there, but it's tough. Like I said, for one year, it can be a great experience... But I don't recommend going beyond that if you want to maintain your sanity and financial health!