Getting work permits for British people is not a problem because
Europe is one big happy family now, but for Americans they are
very difficult to get. That is, unless you have lots of resources
and money and you can do it on your own.
I have heard that there are two immigration departments in
Spain, for example, one for Beckham and Ronaldo types (Big-time
“Real Madrid soccer players” for you yanks. These are something
like Michael Jordan for locals.) and the other for us common
folk. Even though these people already come with a job, if you
are a big shot, you get big red-carpet treatment, but if you
are not, expect long lines (or queues) and anywhere up to a
two year’s wait for certain types of paperwork (i.e. co-validating
your degree to a Spanish equivalent, for example.) Familiarity
with the Spanish system will help, but it will still take them
a long time to process your papers through.
Spain is still a bit anachronistic. Depending on the particular
ministry or government office, you might run into anything from
incredibly efficient, fast and helpful office workers to dull,
uncooperative and frustratingly slow bureaucrats (remains from
General Franco’s Spain that still believes that one’s main objective
in life is to pass a state exam to get a lifelong job where
no-one ever does anything except sit passively and lifelessly
until they go home everyday, although right wing locals tell
me that the "Generalisimo" didn't have anything to with that
particular philosophy.)
The regulations and red-tape do not favour making it easy for
American to find work because of this and because there are
plenty of others to do the job, including plenty of British
nationals and very many well-qualified non-native Spaniards.
The Spanish government and a lot of people would prefer that
others get the jobs that you are looking for.
Academy
Requires English Teachers
That is not to say that you cannot achieve something like getting
working pagers done if you are an American because schools are
quite able to manage it. I think that it is just very rare and,
if I were you, I would not spend too long on any strategy that
includes trying to find a job in Spain before you come over
so that you can have your working papers before you even come
over. I think that the schools have plenty of people to choose
from and that it is only the very top teachers that stand a
chance at getting that sort of big-boy treatment.
The only schools I have seen hire from abroad are the British
curriculum schools and perhaps we could include one or another
top American school, but I doubt they do so without a face-to-face
job interview. The British curriculum elementary and high schools,
for example, hire teachers with the PGCE (their certification)
with experience directly from England. Also, perhaps the top-notch
“British Council” and other multi-national “McDonald-style”
chains, even prefer to have their professional teachers shuffling
around from country to country every other year. Maybe it helps
with the Union busting, I don’t know for sure, but I intuit
it.
If and when you do come over, you may well get a job with a
contract and a work permit, but it had better be a good deal
for the academy for them to even consider it. If they have to
choose between two different CVs with similar characteristics
and the other guy is asking for the same amount as you with
your work permit, you can count yourself out. I recently heard
of an American lady with a work permit who is getting about
10 euros an hour for probably about 20 to 25 hours of work per
week. That is about between 800 to 1,100 euros per month before
taxes and social security gets their fingers in the pie. That
might be ok for a starter position if you have got plenty saved
up before you come over.
There are very few top schools and if you are like the great
majority of us, you do not stand a chance of working for them
unless you are, for example, a British subject of the Commonwealth
for the “British Council” or have the PGCE for the British Curriculum
Schools. And until you prove otherwise through your extremely
good looks, years of experience and / or professional qualifications,
you will have to put up with the market situation as it stands,
which means having to work the process in the same way as anyone
else.
To begin with, a school does not like to hire a teacher sight
unseen as personality is everything in teaching. On at least
two separate occasions, I have witnessed a person with a Doctorate
and another with a Masters bomb in the classroom and lose their
jobs while, on the other hand, I have seen people succeed that
care little for their students and prepare next to nothing for
their classes.
Then, even if you come over first to talk to schools and get
interviews, a lot of schools will not want to hire you until
the last minute, if possible, because they frequently simply
do not know if they will really have classes for you or not.
The trick is to dangle carrots long enough to keep you interested
just in case they need you or just in case they find someone
they think is better. They know that most even minimally experienced
teachers will be doing the same thing and they will have been
dropped or abandoned at the last minute themselves at one time
or another and they will not want to spend loads of time and
effort on you only to lose it all when you decide to work for
the school across the street that offers you a euro more per
hour.
Taking this into consideration and the fact that the government
makes it really super-difficult for a school to hire you, you
would have to be some sort of superstar to get a teaching job
at a distance. I think that just about the only way to do so
would be through one of the multi-nationals I mentioned earlier,
though I think that in a lot of cases they would help you get
your foot in the door once you are here, but little more.
If you insist on coming and getting your working papers with
a school anyway, probably the best way to do so is to come as
a tourist in August or early September, get settled in, start
looking for work in early to late September and try to find
a school that will handle all of this paperwork for you: good
luck. Count on having to go back to the Spanish consulate or
embassy stateside as part of the process, which will mean that
you will have to spend a bit of money. Another way might include
hiring an agency or lawyer to help you work through the process.
Something new that I've heard from an academy that does hire
Americans, etc. is that they used to be able to get work-permits
through but, that lately it’s getting a lot more difficult.
One teacher got rejected 3 times and they ended up giving up.
They said that the government has recently changed the legislation
and, for example, they’re asking for degrees to be co-validated
(“convalidado”), which is a bureaucratic process that can take
two years, before they will process the permit. They
also usually require the academy or agency trying to employ
a particular teacher to first interview any European teachers
that are currently unemployed and on the rosters as such, and
to demonstrate why they aren’t up to par if they aren’t hired.
This can be difficult if the job looks like a European could
easily do it. The kicker is that the bureaucratic forms used
to request interviews with these unemployed teachers don’t allow
academies to require even perfectly rational things such as
a the CELTA making the whole process a bit absurd. Also,
there is a chance that the academy/agency in question could
draw an inspection down on them if they don't do things the
government way. Fines can reach 18,000 euros.
By the way, if you're thinking about working without a work-permit, read Illegal Americans
These sites also include information for other types of professionals
and businessmen. Another one is at: Work
Permits.
Good luck with the job hunt! by Steven Harold Starry,
Updated Oct. 1, 2006
<= Victoria Fontana has written many of the texts below.
There is no easy way ... PATIENCE is your
only friend
I don’t mean to burst anyone’s bubble, but I think it is important
to understand that if you are hoping to just pop into Spain and get
a work permit without any hassle, you probably need a reality check,
unless you have relatives at the Moncloa. Patience is a virtue. Hang
in there, be strong and DO NOT forget to bring your newspaper or book
and walkman to the "Extranjería" line... :lol: and a smile helps to
keep positive. I would be glad to help anyone with any questions about
work permits. I don’t know all the answers, I can only speak from
my own experience, but I may be able to help clarify a few things.
Victoria. Post recovered from hacked forum March 26, 2005.
Scrupulous or not ... Whether you care or not about
doing things the right way - you still should know that if you are
not registered here, ehem, not legal, ehem, then the company you are
working for should not be retaining 15% of anything. Who are they
reporting your taxes to - your IRPF - if you aren´t even registered?
YOU DON´T EXIST HERE! Your tax dollars are going into the Mr. Pocket
fund of your employer most likely... just so you know.... So if your
going to go the unscrupulous way ... at least do it all the way and
not halfsies! And tell them that you will give them a "recibi" for
their files but that they should be paying you in full. Other than
that - it is well worth it to "pass go, pay the 200 euros" and be
legal .... why? well, if you are making just under 1000 with this
company, but as an autonomo can work for more per hour and in more
places - making a possible 2000 euros or more ... hmmm .... let´s
see ... 2000 minus 225 for social security .... that´s 1775 .....
sounds like more than you are making at this company ...... GO AND
GET YOUR PERMIT!' Post recovered from hacked forum. Author: Dunno
Qualifications for work permit:
I am a newbie, thinking of venturing into Spain. I have a B.Ed
(TESL) and 3 years teaching ESL / EFL. My concern is; 1) What
qualifies you to get a legal work permit to teach English? Do
you need to be from USA, British etc (Native Speakers) Thanks
Sherry. It takes mostly time. You may be able to get
a permit to work as an English teacher with an official job
offer and your degree approved here, what they call "homologado".
There is an American school here, for example that does hire
Americans and helps you with your permission. I was going to
work there when I first got here, but they could only offer
me part time, and in order to get your permit it must be a full
time job. I would have had no problem there because since they
recognize the American Certification and diploma, I qualified
perfectly for the job.
It’s the first permit that’s difficult, because, at least when
I got here and as far as I understand, it is difficult to get
the first one as a self-employed worker. They want you to be
contracted by a company. When I got my renewal and changed from
contracted to self employed, I had to present proof of my qualifications.
Even if a company would hire you without really having an officially
translated transcript, the government does require it.
It may be worth it for you to get your transcript translated
with a sworn translation and approved by the Spanish authority.
I’m not sure, but maybe they’ll do that for you at the Spanish
consulate near you, and I think it would be easier to do it
there. They wouldn’t approve my undergraduate work here in Spanish
and Italian because I didn’t have Latin on my transcript. It’s
silly - I graduated with two languages and they wouldn’t approve
mine because I didn’t have a Latin course. So, you never know
what you may come across here.
Impossible? no, it’s not impossible, but it’s good to come prepared
for anything. Anyways, to answer your question, what qualifies
you under Spanish Law is your certification or school transcripts
translated and "homologados" or approved by the Spanish Authority.
If you are lucky enough to get a contract offer, that may be
enough to get your permit, but I’m not sure.
I got my first permit with an offer from a communications company
- nothing to do with teaching - and all I had to turn in was
proof of my experience in communications. It all depends really
on what type of job you apply for. I wouldn’t rule out trying
to get a contract offer in something other than teaching just
to get you started. After you get your permit, it is easier
to change fields. I hope I’ve helped you and good luck! (Recovered
from hacked forum. March 26, 2005)
