Job Discussion Forums

[andrew murphy]

There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding, particularly amongst Americans, about the right to work in the EU. This is a matter that aspirants to the EFL game need to address at the outset. The general rule for nonEU citizens/passport holders working in the EU is NO EU PASSPORT = NO RIGHT OF WORK.

I'm not sure how this operates within the framework of the 1999 Schengen Agreement on mobility of residency and work rights between EU member states, but Italy does have a miserly quota of work permits for "extracommunitari" = nonEU citizens, but this either relates to highly specialized positions of "importance to the national economy" (which an EFL teacher is not!) or to seasonal (=fruit picking) work, and even then the latter seem to be reserved to citizens of various developing countries.

I am unsure about the possibility of undertaking limited work on a tourist visa. Even if this were the case, this would more than likely make one unattractive to EFL school employers.

I believe that Britain has its own immigration/work rights arangements which are more generous to nonEU passport holders. Australians for instance have recently had their work entitlement in the UK increased to, I think, 2 years.

However many people from outside of the EU, through parents who were born in the EU, have the right to obtain a passport/citizenship and therefore work in the EU. This is the case with many wannabe EFL teachers from Canada, New Zealand, South Africa & Australia, many of whom boast British or Irish ancestory.

To see your rights, or lack thereof, have a look at this from the Italian Polizia di Stato, which unfortunately is only in Italian and in beauracratic-speak at that: http://www.poliziadistato.it/pds/cittadino/stranieri/stranier.htm

So in a way it's not that Americans, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders etc are being refused right of work in the EU because they are citizens of these countries but because they are not citizens also of a EU country. I am unsure of American law on the holding of dual citizenship. In order to hold American citizenship does one need to renounce all other allegiances/citizenships? There has always been the possibility for dual citizenship in Australia and it has recently become even easier to obtain, especially with the liberalisation of other countries' citizenship laws.

Please note that the border of the EU is creeping ever eastward and before long will encompass great chunks of Eastern Europe thus locking out nonEU passport holders from the EFL teaching game there. Get in quick before it's too late!

[Lazlo]

Aren't there special work permits available for non-EU citizens, permits applied for by employers on the grounds that the prospective employee has a special skill or because there isn't an EU citizen available for the job?

[Paul G]

Lazlo:

"No right to work" doesn't mean impossible to work. It just means you don't have the automatic RIGHT to work.

It is possible for citizens of non-EU countries to get a visa to work in EU countries. It's just a real pain for the employer to get their visa processed; a reality that is reciprocated in the US if an employer wants to get a work visa for a non-US citizen.

Look at it from the employer's standpoint. John Yank and Tom Brit, both equally qualified, apply for the same job in an EU country. Tom Brit can be hired on the spot. To hire John Yank, on the other hand, would require hours of frustrating paperwork, dealing with beaurocratic drones and an uncertain outcome.

Which person do you think is going to get the job?

Turn the situation around and consider a US employer facing the same circumstances. Who do you think would get the job this time?

On the bright side (if you are from the US and want to work in the EU) Germany is considered fairly US-friendly when it comes to hiring, so there are possibilities of getting work there.

[Lazlo]

Ah, I see the difference now. Thanks very much.

I can fully understand why an employer would much rather hire someone who can start right away and without necessitating doing a lot of paperwork. It's a shame it is this way (on both sides of the ocean).

Oh, and thanks, too, about the tip re: Germany.

[hippocampus]

I've resurrected this thread because it's been more than nine years cold. Has anything changed? I'm not expecting good news for us non-Eurounioners. Seems to me that we could work in Poland in the past, but I suppose Poland is more strongly tied to the Euro Union than it has been. Can North Americans and Australians, Kiwis and South Africans stil work there? And more broadly, is there anywhere in Europe in or out of the Union non-euros can legally work?

[spiral78]

Non-EU citizens can still legally work in Poland, Czech Rep, Slovakia, Hungary, etc - most all of the 'new' EU member countries.

The job markets in these regions are pretty competitive and it remains of course much easier for an employer to hire a teacher from the EU. Keep in mind that there are start-up costs: employers do not normally hire from abroad (there are simply too many teachers around on the ground to need to take a chance on anyone sight-unseen). Most teachers in the job market have CELTA or equivalent, so anything less puts one at a further disadvantage. Wages are subsistence level, basically - you can earn enough to live on ok and to enjoy the place you're in, but not to save up much or pay off debts back home.

Regarding working under the table, the Schengen zone rules that went into effect Jan 2009 basically tightened this up to the point that it's become quite risky - in the past the risks were small.

Google schengen zone for the countries associated.

The rule basically limits non-EU member citizens to 90 days inside the zone, followed by 90 days out. This eliminated the old border-run option, where one could re-start his/her tourist visa by just crossing a border and getting a stamp. Now you have to leave the entire zone and stay out for 90 days before re-entering.

The risks are encountered any time one meets an official who checks your documents - obviously at airports, but also possible on international trains and busses, and of course in the case that you have any encounter with police for any reason. Penalties are deportation and up to a ten-year ban on entering the zone. I know people who have been deported and banned for up to five years.

Germany is do-able still for non-EU citizens, and it's still feasible to look towards Central/Eastern Europe. Keep start-up costs in mind, and timing: most jobs are Sept/Oct through June, so you'll want to time your arrival to give you the greatest chance of landing employment with someone who will help you get legal working papers within 90 days of your arrival.

There are country-specific boards below with loads of info on this!!

[Sashadroogie]

Thanks for this, yet again Spiral. Tireless efforts. Lenin Peace prize on its way.

Now, can somebody tell me why I can't work in the US and teach English there?

[johnslat]

Dear Sasha,

Sure - that's because we're already overstocked on Commies here:

"At a recent event, a constituent asked Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), "What percentage of the American legislature do you think are card-carrying Marxists?"

Nope, West didn't redirect the conversation to avoid having to make unfounded accusations. He enthusiastically provided an actual number.

"That's a fair question. I believe there�s about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party that are members of the Communist Party," West says in a video of the exchange.

He went on to say, "It's called the Congressional Progressive Caucus," according to a spokesman, Tim Edson, who also said in a statement this afternoon that West "stands by his words."

http://www.theroot.com/buzz/allen-west-calls-out-communists-congress



Regards,
John

[Sashadroogie]

You mean I'm being discriminated against because of my political rectitude?!!!!!

[johnslat]

Dear Sasha,

I'm afraid so - would you consider registering as a Republican?

Regards,
John

[Sashadroogie]

Communists are what you need more of, not fewer. Poor Obama can't be expected to drag the tardy US into the Socialist paradise all by his lonesome...

[Sashadroogie]

I am a Republican. I am a citizen of the greatest union of Republics of all time. History bows before our glory.

[spiral78]

Boy, this thread took a strange turn! Perhaps it's got to do with its age; maybe threads are susceptible to alzheimer's too.

[naturegirl321]

There are exceptions
1. Spain's Ministry of Ed has a special programme
2. France's Ministry of Ed has a special programme
3. Germany has a freelance visa
4. Marriage visas allow you to work
5. Student visas allow you to work PT.

Getting citizenship, some places are easier than others. I've been trying since 1999 and am not much closer than where I began. Other than thinking there must be a hidden camera becuase it shouldn't be this difficult!

[Sashadroogie]

How hard would it be for me to become a citizen of the US? Do you think Johnslat is right and my political background might be working against me?