Illegal Americans in Spain

It's not advisable, it's illegal, but people are doing it. What can I say? Below, are several texts about the situation.

By the way, it's very difficult to get papers if you're not European to work legally in Spain. There's even a signature "movement" to get one-year English Teacher Visas at ExpatriateCafe.com. More on this at: Seeds are being sown . . .

  

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Hi. I just wanted to respond to the "gazpachera". Thank you for your interesting information. It is the first time I have ever heard of a case like this. I didn't mean to say that North Americans wouldn't have any problem at all, just that before reading this, I had not heard of any case - and from what I had heard, the authorities don't give North Americans too many problems. But I guess that's not necessarily true.

I just wanted to set the record straight, that I do not advise or encourage anyone to stay here illegally. And, I thought that I had made it clear that anyone who is here illegally runs the risk of having problems, no matter where they are from.I apologise if I gave off any other impression. Thanks again for your interesting information! Victoria

I just wanted to respond to something I saw on Victoria's page about working on the sly in Madrid. She implies that deportation is not a problem for Americans and that one could just leave Spain and return with a new tourist visa... NOT SO! I know this because my husband was deported last year on his way back to Spain after a brief visit back home in the U.S. He had been in Spain almost a year on his tourist visa before he left.

Note: It shouldn't matter that my husband is Mexican-American, but I know it does. Unfortunately, although he's an American citizen, immigration check-points are always scary for him.

Anyway, the deportation lawyer they provided him during his detention explained the way the tourist visa works. These days, when you enter the EU, you automatically get a 3 month tourist visa. That's for the entire EU, not just Spain, as I understand it, but it hardly matters, because if you try to leave after 3 months and come right back, here's how they get you: An American is only allowed to spend 3 out of every 6 months in Spain on a tourist visa. So, technically you would have to stay out another 3 months before you could re-enter with a new, valid tourist visa. This has changed a lot in the past 10 years--when I went to school in Greece my academy gave us time off so we could just take a long weekend in Italy or Turkey before resuming our studies with a fresh visa.

Anyway, that's how it goes. Granted, pretty, white American girls can often breeze through the immigration line with a smile, but if they want to, they can send you packing pretty quick!

regards, La Gazpachera

Working on the sly

In my experience, there are plenty of Americans and others working on the sly in Madrid, Spain. There are also quite a few expatriate yanks that came over from the States even 20 and 30 years ago to teach English, study Spanish or whatever and stayed. People ask me if it is possible to come over and teach English while perhaps on a tourist visa and I answer that it is, in fact, possible because I have seen it more than once, but I do not advise it at all. Life is not especially rosy for those of us here legally (though, in my opinion, life is much better here than in the U.S.), so imagine what it must be like for those of us here illegally

On the positive side, individual Americans are considered to be good people and workers by the Spanish in general and are not generally included in their complaints about all of the current problems on immigration here. They will be well received most everywhere they go and should not have any problems with having to show documents to police officers most places they go if they are white and well-behaved. (Other races will likely suffer more requests for documents because of the high incidence of illegal immigration from Africa, North Africa and South America, but I myself have never once been asked for my papers.).

Also, I think that at least half of the top executives in the big corporations have a private language teacher and probably a lot of top politicians too. I cannot prove it at the moment, but I intuit that an awful lot of them have American teachers of English and as most of us are decent people, I think that we English teachers function as a sort of cultural ambassador to the elite in Spain. In many companies that I have taught English in, the top executives had mostly Americans as teachers. Let’s face it, American English is the dominant “accent” worldwide in corporations even if it is true that the “BBC English” accent is much prettier.

Also, a lot of academies and agencies I have had experience with, have Americans working on the staff. I can assure you that not many of the fresh arrivals had working papers. Still, I do not know exactly how many Americans are working here illegally. But, I can say how many there are working here legally based on Ministry of Labour statistics. In 1999 there were 2,180 new North American (Canadian and American) workers in Spain of which 85% had contracts with other companies and 15% were self-employed. In the year 2000, there were 1,594 Americans and 175 Canadians working on a contract and 354 Americans and 57 Canadians working as self-employed. At the moment, I cannot say just how many of those people were here working as English teachers or in other occupations but, there are, in fact, other ways of coming to work in Spain, though probably companies are much more demanding with regards to qualifications and they quite possibly search for most of these candidates in their countries of origin. Moreover, a manager in a company that wants to hire a non-native has to not only show the government that he cannot find that worker in Spain, but he has to prove it to his company as well.

The actual numbers tell the truth: around 5,044 active American and Canadian workers were on the books in Spain, of which 1,125 were “autónomos” or “self-employed,” while locally in Madrid, there were 1,820 legal North American workers. Compared to the 2.5 million workers on the books in Madrid, it comes up way short.

Then too, if I am reading the statistics right, 40% of requests for work permits every year are not for renewals and are completely new requests. However, this high percentage is likely to be very similar to the reality of the high-turnover rate in the English Language Teaching (ELT) business in general. In other words, most “legal” English teachers probably do not stay for very long. The truth is that I have had to take over classes for many teachers, Americans among them, who had left suddenly (ostensibly because of a family illness in many cases).

I have known teachers to be here for years on a tourist visa and also work, but I am still not sure just exactly how they did it nor how recent changes in immigration legislation has affected this “loophole.” In the past, they just renewed their visas now and then and kept on coming back. I think this was more prevalent in the anonymous urban centers, but it was also possible in the provinces and small towns depending on the local reactions and feelings about this type of immigrants and, of course, the teacher’s behaviour.

I think that Spaniards tolerate immigration because, as is true in the U.S., immigrants take the less appetizing work or otherwise do something that is beneficial for the Spanish people. “Less appetizing” mostly means “less pay” and / or “a greater need for this type of person to fulfil a certain position to do a certain task.” Basically, the need English teachers and the more they have, the lower the rates, which benefits individual Spaniards. They are better off when they have more English teachers.

The average income per capita in Madrid is about 20,350 euros per year. Top executives in Spain make far less than their counterparts in the U.S. so an off the cuff estimate of a “real” adjusted-for-middle-class average income is more likely to be around 15,000 to 18,000, which wasn’t bad for working couples before house prices doubled or tripled a few years ago. As a real-life example, a public school teacher or “Official School of Languages” teacher can make 14,000 -16,000 euros per year before private and academy classes teaching a 16 hour per week class schedule. On the other hand, the vast majority of teachers working in academies and agencies probably rarely get paid much over 10,000 euros per year for far more work and travel hours and, even if an American or Canadian is working here legally, he will probably have to find private classes to make ends meet.

The truth is that the English teaching sector is a high supply area on the low-quality end of the language school or institution spectrum. It might sound a bit harsh, but some academy owners and directors must feel at times that they could or should charge their American teachers to work in their schools. In fact, there are a lot of local pilots’ instructors, for example, that have to pay to instruct because, in return they build up flight hours, which are necessary to get a very well paid job at an airline. Even with well-to-do parents, paying for your own practice can cut into even a rich boy’s allowance.

Similarly, the jungle laws of supply and demand dominate the ELT meat-market. Generally, the predominant factor in your getting work anywhere is the money. Show your (hopefully) future boss the money and he will probably give you the job. Tell him you’ll work for 6 euros an hour and I guarantee you will get a full workload before you can say “drop my pants” and if you come equipped with kneepads, expect to be employed immediately.
Of course, this is all just a gross exaggeration because, not only do schools have to provide language teachers who are at least “apparently” professional, but they have to try to get the teachers that will cause the least amount of trouble. A low level school, for example might not take a really ambitious “pro” because they predict he will disappear with the first offer that comes along that is just a bit better (which might very well be on the first or second day of class). They might instead praise the virtues of their young, dynamic and motivated American teachers to their clients (though for some strange reason lacking of longevity) and say that, “oh… isn’t it wonderful that you or your children are exposed to such a wide variety of accents,” because of the high turnover rate at their schools.

In any case, you have to decide what you are willing to put up with or pay to come live and work in Spain. It is always best to go the legal route if at all possible for a lot of reasons. Most importantly, because it is illegal and as such you will find that you will be exploited to the extent of your desperation. In other words, the more desperately you seem to need the work, the less you will be offered. But, go too low and when it comes down to decision time, academies may think you are not professional enough or that you will abandon them at the first opportunity. Private students, on the other hand, will be more than happy to pay you 6 euros an hour (consider that 15-18 euros is standard for private classes though some “autónomo” teachers charge 25 or more) because they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. by Steven Harold Starry, Updated March 26, 2004

Under the table?
I am a graduating senior from UCLA, also a Sociology major, and I have been researching different programs in Madrid for several months. I had looked at International House's site before, but there are so many other programs out there that I was just overwhelmed. I almost sure I will apply for International House's Extended Program now, but my main concern is supporting myself for 3 months with no job. I believe that the extended program holds classes three times a week. I was thinking of looking into "under the table jobs" while I am taking the classes, ie. babysitting, hostess at a restaurant, any ideas? Thanks for you help.