work permit confusion

[jeanette]

I am totally confused.  How does a U.S. citizen get a work permit visa for Spain if a contract is required first, but nobody will give you a contract if you don\'t have a work permit? Are most people getting paid under the table?  And is it really true that I can\'t get a self-employment permit unless I can make mega bucks?[addsig]

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[Sibsie]

It\'s just the same when us EU citizens want to move to the US.  I live in Spain and my boyfriend is American.  We\'re getting married my applying for a fiance visa so I can live there fulltime is a nightmare.[addsig]

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[maddy123]

The work permit thing is a completely backward process.  You need to apply from the US, but you already have to have a job offer from Spain.  Hello?? what is that all about? I lived in Valencia with my boyfrined who I met there.  Luckily, or not, he happens to be a spanish citizen, but that really does not help me for anyhting because we aren\'t married.  I\'m going back on June 22 and i have all my paperwork ready except the job offer..... crossing my fingers and waiting to see what happens.  If this doesn\'t work out, i might have to get married which means then going back to the us and applying for a reunification visa.  why can\'t this be more simple.  Don\'t they understand that people can\'t just rush into marriage when we don\'t  even have work to make sure we can survive and keep the relationship going .  AAAAHHHH.  good luck people, and keep in touch [addsig]

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[FordhamMike]

Hey all,



I understand your pain.  My girlfriend is Spanish and lives in Madrid.  I tried countless ways to find a job there and nothing worked.  Not to mention that if I had found one, the visa process would probably put the kabash on it anyway.  So instead I am going to do my masters there this fall.  Unfortunately, we all want to go to a country with a very high unemployment rate.  They will make it as difficult as can be for foreigners to get a job.  Besides that, in my experience Spain has a pretty low/bad aptitude for administrative things.  So if you want to know why it\'s so backwards...pues porque lo es...that\'s pretty much the general answer you\'d get.  I would recommend everyone to just pursue the student visa route.  If you can\'t find work to get a work visa in aboot 3 months, then switch to securing a student visa.



P.S.  If you apply to B-school like me, the school guarantees job placement for the graduates.  Many of them are from North America and non EU countries but get jobs in Europe after.  That was my loophole.



Laters folks



 [IMG SRC=\"modules/phpBB_14/images/smiles/icon_beer.gif\"] [addsig]

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