Job Discussion Forums

[mozsmith]

Now before I get my head bitten off. I know, as a Non EU citizen how difficult it is to get a work permit in Spain. I live here on a student visa.

I am thinking about my options for next year. I work at a good school, but they are not likely to sponsor me so- has anyone suceeded in getting a residence permit?

What about as self employed?

[spiral78]

Residence permits aren't easier than work permite.
Have you considered marraige?

[mozsmith]

Marriage is a bit beyond my league at this stage for oh so many reasons. Maybe I will be back to study again next year...

*sighs and buries head back in Cutting Edge*




The boy with a thorn in his side, behind the hatred there lies, a murderous desire for la la la love...

[jr1965]

Moz

I'm sure you know this, but asking how to get a residence permit in Spain is analogous to asking how to get a green card or H-1/H-2 visa in the U.S. In other words, it's not something the govt is just handing out. The two basic ways for Americans to be able to get a residence/work permit in Spain are 1) being sponsored by your employer or 2) being related to a Spaniard (parents, spouse).

Have you tried speaking to your employer about sponsorship? It's a long shot, but you never know� Of course, the other option, as you said, is for you to return on a student visa and to continue working as you are now.

Good luck.

[kronos]

There are some academies that are willing to sponsor people for permits, though chances are it won't be as an "English teacher". Whether it's your academy or a personal friend, one of the easiest ways to get approved for a work permit in Spain is to have someone request to hire you for one of the jobs that shows up in the Cat�lago de Ocupaciones de Dif�cil Cobertura. Most of these jobs are things like cleaning lady, dishwasher, etc. (jobs Spaniards and other EU citizens don't want). If a job shows up on the list for a certain province, employers or private individuals can request permission to hire a foreigner to cover one of those jobs.

So, for example, if you have a Spanish friend with decent income, they could request to hire you as their cleaning lady/man. It's a lot easier to get approval from the government for these types of jobs. It's a long process and not 100% guaranteed to work, but I know several people who have gotten their papers this way. Basically you continue working for one year as an English teacher, getting paid in cash, while your "employer" pays your taxes to hacienda. (You reimburse your employer for the taxes.) After one year, you can apply to renew your permit, which would then give you permission to continue working in the same province but in any line of work.

More info here if you want: www.allthingsspain.net/legal_work%20permits.htm

[Moore]

Academies will sponsor non-EU teachers, but usually only after the teacher has been here for 3 years working illegally (oddly enough): if that teacher can provide evidence of continuous residency during that time (utility bills, phone bills, even metro passes), and of course no criminal record, then the sponsorship process is massively easier for the academy. They just offered it to a friend of mine at my academy, so it definitely happens. That said, the lad has been working there for 4 years and so the academy are a lot more disposed to doing the extra paperwork as a thank you for his loyalty.



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