I’m a 26 year-old American who has lived in Barcelona for the last 2 years as a graduate student at the Universitat de Barcelona (escribo “Universitat” en Catalan porque he hecho este error antes y quiero vivir en paz con mis compañeros de piso, son de Terragona y Mallorca).

The Master’s program officially ends in September, and I’m trying desperately to find a solution to the infamous “Catch 22” of non-EU immigration…. as all of you already know: the employers demand that you already have a work permit/visa before applying for the position, and the government demands that you have a job offer before you apply for the work permit/visa.

Part of my problem is that I don’t know any Americans in Spain…you can always see a bunch of study abroad students from California roaming the streets of Barcelona, but I’ve never met an American who is there on a work visa.

In October, I’m almost definitely going to move from Barcelona to Madrid to do the search over there, because I’ve heard from many immigrants (and españoles) that finding a job in Barcelona can even be more complicated than the normal visa problems because in many cases one needs to be fluent in Catalan…y “no parlo català”, perdóname mucho.

My Bachelor’s in the U.S. and post-graduate stuff in Spain was along the lines of Political Science / International Relations and Development….but I’m looking for ANYTHING.  I understand that a job willing to sponsor you for a work permit is a needle in a haystack, so I really would jump at just about anything.

I’ve asked so many people about this, but nobody has had the same experience.  I understand completely: I wouldn’t know the first thing to advise a person wanting to immigrate to the U.S.  I usually get one of the following responses from my Spanish friends, in this order:

1. The humor version:
“Jajaja, Jim, tienes que casarte con una española.”

2. The overly optimistic version:
“Ay, Jim, te preocupas demasaido / todo va a pasar bien / no te preocupes / tranquilo”

3. The “surprised at how difficult it is” response:
“Bueno, eres americano, puedes marchar al consulado americano aquí y trabajar para ellos, ¿no?”

4. The overly pessimistic version:
“joooooooo, guiri, estás jodido”

5. The “what was once humor is now a real suggestion” version:
“En serio, Jim, tienes que castarte con una española.”

One more thing: is it true that there is no way to get around applying for a work visa in person at a Spanish consulate in the U.S.?  It just seems like a nail in the coffin: you have to be in Spain to find the job, but then convince the job to wait for you while you return to the U.S. and apply and wait for your visa.

It’s very frustrating, because this is a permanent move for me, and it seems that even if by a miracle I’m able to pull it off and find a work permit I have the feeling that I’ll have to be dealing with this every year or so.  Didn’t have this problem in Indiana, I’ll tell ya…

Thanks for reading my mess of a post, and a huge thanks for any advice that you can give.  I’m trying to find a way without enlisting myself into a foreign army.

REGARDS

TEMPORAL CUENTA AJENA
ANALISTA SISTEMAS INFORMATICOS
NACIONAL

I will appreciate if someone can tell whether I can work in any part of Spain? (this is my first card and I was employed by a Navarra based company)

Thanks

From EU Blue Card, here are the main features of the European Blue Card system:

  * The Blue Card will offer candidates speedier work permits and make it easier for migrants’ families to join them, find public housing and acquire long-term resident status.

  * After 18 months of working with a Blue Card in one EU state, an immigrant may move with his/her family to work in another EU state, but must apply for a new Blue Card there within a month of arrival.

  * To be eligible for a Blue Card, migrants must be offered a job with a gross annual salary of at least 1.5 times the average wage in the EU state concerned — falling to 1.2 times average earnings in areas with strong labour gaps.

  * Migrants must have the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree, or at least five years of professional experience of a comparable level, to apply for a Blue Card.

  * Governments may refuse to issue the Blue Card citing labour market problems or if national quotas are exceeded.

  * Each EU state will decide how long a Blue Card will be valid, with a maximum of four years. It remains valid for at least three months if the migrant loses his or her job.

  * High-skilled foreign workers make up 1.7 percent of migrant workers in the EU, compared with a share of 9.9 percent in Australia, 7.3 percent in Canada and 3.2 percent in the United States, EU data show.

  * The scheme enters into force 30 months after EU governments endorse it in the coming weeks, an EU official said.

UPDATE: THERE’S A HAPPY ENDING TO THIS, SO READ THIS POST AND UNLESS YOU WANT TO READ A LOT OF REPLIES ABOUT TAX, SKIP TO BOTTOM FOR HOW IT WAS RESOLVED

I need some good ideas people, thinking caps on….

I’ve lived in Granada, Spain for 3 years, I’m English, I’m non-resident and have a extranjero number just in case it’s needed. I do webdesign freelance and am registered self-employed in the UK. My Canadian girlfriend is moving to be with me, we’re serious and got together in 2004, we’ve been aching to be together and finally her studies and work is over and it can happen. If we finally get to live together and then she has to leave because of bureaucracy on VISAs etc I will just deflate like a balloon!

So, brainstorming time… here’s what I have so far as possibilities, I’d LOVE to hear constructive thoughts on these or (and even better) more ideas:

1. Marry her and apply for an English passport for her (assuming she can live in Spain because an English passport covers the EU, doesn’t it?). Downside is I want to marry for the right reasons and not to have others assume it’s for a VISA.
2. Become autonomo in Spain, employ her as my housekeeper (because that is the lowest form of social security needed and I don’t have to prove she’s the best person for the job). Downside is she wants a “real job” and life here, of course. Also that she’d have to be back in Canada waiting for the VISA. She has two degrees and wants to do something with them!
3. Find a “real” job here and get the employer to get her a VISA, same downside of having to go back to Canada to wait for it - very unlikely, there’s not nearly enough jobs for Spanish in Granada, why would they employ outsiders?
4. Every 90 days get a plane to England or Morroco or somewhere outside the EU (the EU passport wise - I believe it’s fine going to England and returning to refresh another 90 days no-visa stay, does anyone know)? Then get her a job that’s pay under the table. Downside is the stress of it all and of course it won’t be a “real job”.

I think that’s all I can think of as possibilities.

I’ve seen so many unanswered questions in this forum, I really hope some of you can help - I’m 100% dedicated to making this work and just don’t know what to do. Many thanks for taking the time to read this and if you post, many more thanks for caring!

Tobz

I did have a good look around the forum to find the answer to my question just in case it had already been posted but I think mine is a little unique.

I am an American citizen but I also have permanent residency in the UK (a Home Office stamp in my US passport).

I have been offered a sales job in Marbella which is with a UK company but technically I will be self employed.  I will also be banking ‘offshore’ with an Isle Of Man bank account.

From looking around the forum, I know I will need and NIE number and can work for up to 90 days without a visa.

I am keen to get out to Spain as soon as possible.  Would anyone suggest that I get out there asap and apply for my work permit once in Spain?  If not, what would be the quickest way?

I would like to work in spain for a long term. I know the list of documents to be submittied for work visa. But want to know the exact process for applying a visa and whether the company will apply for Visa or shld the individual take the onus.

typically what is the processing time for the visa?

rgds.
prakash raja

Because I work in the computer technology field, I am able to work from home until my work visa is processed. This job in Madrid for a reputable organization, their HR department is promising to secure me a work visa over the next 4-5 months if all goes well, and continued freelance employment from the US if there is a delay. I know they have had their job search open long enough, and are in process of proving no EU citizen has filled the role.

Concerns:
My girlfriend of 3+ years is a Russian Citizen, however she has already attained permanent residence status in the US because she has lived here for 7 years now. She would have to legally be allowed to move to Spain with me no later than October. She will also need to find a way to earn income as well, either as a freelancer or by finding job in Madrid. (She is web developer/designer as well). Before I can accept this employment offer, I need to know a few things about our situation and options.

1. As Russian citizen with permanent US status, what is the likelihood of her securing a residence visa in Spain independent of me? What does this process require?

Because we love each other very much, and understand the laws to some extent, the following questions assume we get married.

1. Does my work visa application need to declare her as a dependent now? Since the work VISA process is 4-5 months, would we have to marry immediately?

2. If I begin a work visa application now, and we get married sometime over the next 4-5 months, how long will it take for her to be able to live with me as a dependent. Assume she can also get tourist visa for a few months.

3. Let’s assume we got married, she is a dependent and we are both living in Spain. Can she get work in the EU legally?

4. Can she take freelance work in the EU legally, if her residence becomes Spain? Where would she pay taxes on her freelance work?

5. After we both live in Madrid legally, can she take work on-site in Madrid at a company, or does she have to go through a 4-5 month work visa process?

6. I know little of the Blue Card, is this something I should be asking for? Would it help our situation any?

Anything else I am missing? Please, any advice no matter how insignificant is very important, as I have an immediate decision to make.

Thank you very much for you help!!!!!!

-Tom & Yulka