EU work permits?

[idris]

Hello,

Previously, I had opportunities in the Asian countries for work(that unfortunately fell through). Their permits could only be obtained once you got an offer. I've been looking around at European jobs, and it seems that it would be better to have the permit beforehand. I had a school from Italy contact me saying that I would be an ideal candidate, but it would take 6 months for the paperwork to go through.
Everything I've read has been very vague as far as how to get them.
Anyone have any idea where to start?

Thank you!

[clogged]

Do we have EU work permits? I was thinkng every country is on it's own. I know to work here (Netherlands) you need a Dutch visa and work permit, unless you carry a EU country passport. You got me curious!

It's about 7 pm GMT. It'll get busy on Monday morning business hours. Hang in there for answers!

[clogged]

Wow, something does exist. I learned something today....

www.apply.eu/

It looks like you still need a job in a specific country to get your foot in the door though.

[Deleted]

It makes sense that you would have to have an offer or contract before obtaining a work permit from the government. I was under the impression that it worked this way everywhere. As far as I understand it, in order for a foreign country to grant you a working visa, they need to know who wants to hire you, for how long, what your qualifications are, how much you'll be paid etc. The two things (your sponsor/employer and your government issued visa) are co-dependent. At least that's the case here in the USA for me. First I was "hired" and offered a contract, then a petition for a non-immigrant work permit was initiated and finally granted after 6 months of wait period.

I'm from Italy so I don't know what the iter would be paperwork-wise. Six months sounds pretty reasonable, especially for a country where everything is bloody complicated.

The school that contacted you will probably take care of filing your visa application so all you need to do is discuss and sign your contract.

I hope this made sense.

[clickerish]

It really depends. I'm going to guess you're not EU? You almost always need to get a permit (sometimes just residency in the case of EU citizens). Some countries, such as Spain, offer the option of a sort of freelance permit, but I've heard it's super hard to get those unless you have a skill that the country wants.

The most efficient way to start is in getting a contract from somewhere. But, unless, once again, you have a special skill they are dying for, 6 months is probably a normal wait time. If you have a firm offer from this place, you might consider taking them up on it and jumping through hoops for 6 months. Once you have a foot in the door, it probably gets easier to keep going with it. The EU is not a particularly easy establishment to get into given the dearth of jobs in certain sectors--and this is even for those of us who are part of it!

[idris]

Thanks so much! I was wondering about all of that because there were a few applications that asked if you have an EU work permit. One that I did apply to said they couldn't take me unless I had one. The other jobs I had dealt with would file the paperwork once the offer was given.
I'll have to see what needs to be done for next year. I am going to have to stay where I am for this year. We are going to try again for the next school year. I got into it a little late.

[mrsukyankee]

idris - if you want to work in the EU in a school, I would definitely suggest that you work with Search Associates. You won't be able to get a work permit on it's own in many of the countries...in England, there used to be a permit you could get if you had a masters and earned a high salary, but it's now closed. The private international schools though can get you a work permit if they hire you...usually it takes about 2-3 months and you are tied to that school with the work permit.

[idris]

I am working with Search Associates. They've done a whole lot of nothing so far. The advisor did say it would be difficult since I have 3 kids.
That's too bad about the UK. I have two masters degrees. That would have been cool. =]
Thanks again for all of the info. I am really hoping to go to a recruiting fair this year. As I said, I got into it a bit late to be able to do that for this school year.

[mrsukyankee]

They should be able to help you more in the next year...things will start up in November and really more so in Jan. I bet you'll find a job overseas for the next year.