alliekat

Hello all!

I'm an American, qualified ESL/EFL teacher. I recently married a British citizen. We have to wait quite some time before we can do the spousal visa, so we are looking into ways to be nearer one another to make commuting a more viable option than me in the States and him there. (VERY expensive!)

Can I work in Spain as the spouse of an EU citizen, if that spouse will not be joining me there? He is a small business owner, has a house and two young boys so moving to be with me is simply not feasible.

Thanks in advance!

lynnxa

the short answer is no, I'm afraid not - you would only be able to live & work in Spain if you were exercising treaty rights as the spouse of an EU citizen -who actually lives here as a resident

alliekat

I suspected as much.

The UK really has their heads up their bums. I may not be able to actually live with my husband for a year or two (if our application is even successful), and see him but once a year with their new rules. A good portion of our incomes are disqualified under the new rules. Was really hoping I could at least get closer to him. Skype only goes so far.

Thanks for your reply.

Domino

Assuming your spouse is in the UK, can't you find work there ?
With the high number of immigrants there is a continuing need for EFL/ESL teachers, especially if they can bring a fresh experience to the teaching, as many just do it on the the way to other things.

hth

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lynnxa

it's the issue of getting permission to live there in the first place - it's not a case of 'get married & have the right to move in' - it can be a long process


I have heard of cases only taking a few weeks though

alliekat

They just changed all the immigration laws in July. When they did, they disqualified a large portion of our incomes. Applicant (my) income can no longer count unless it's derived from investments, property income or other highbrow sources. No employment income permitted from applicant (even self-employment). Only his income (and about 60% of it at that) are set out as acceptable under the new scheme.

His home equity cannot count and there are no 3rd party sponsorships permitted any longer. Basically, we can't even apply for me to join him unless he closes his business, finds a new (high) paying job and stays in that employ for at least 12 months. Alternatively, he can sell his house and bank the equity. The funds have to be there for at least 6 months prior to submitting your spousal visa application, and have to stay for the 5 years while you are on "probation" to gain indefinite leave to remain.

Finding sponsored employment is next to impossible, as UK employers have to prove that nobody in the UK and nobody in all of the EU is qualified for the job they would be sponsoring an American for.

So, no. I can't work there.

School may be an option, but I'd have to get scholarships. And we'd still be separated for almost a year before I could even begin to study there.

Hopeless to fall in love with and marry a UK citizen unless you've loads of money or a very specific type of job.

Domino

I will reserve all I want to say other than a very loud GGGRRRHHHH

Any other comment would be taken as my being racist.............

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alliekat

Yeah. I'm not sure how keeping families apart is supposed to be beneficial to anyone. But who am I to talk about what does/doesn't make sense....

lynnxa

I'm pretty sure that under the new rules the income requirement is 18,600 GBP PA - not so very high really

rspltd

So let me get this right alliekat - you have married a British citizen but you want to go to Spain to work and teach without him which you are not allowed to do and because you can't do this "The UK really has their heads up their bums". i wonder what the situation would be if I married a US citizen and wanted to go to Honolulu without him to work. Piece of cake??

Dorothy

The difference is that Honolulu is in the US. Spain is not in the UK. You should have used Mexico or St Thomas or someplace instead.

amideislas

It's not simple anywhere.

I don't think the yanks would let your husband work in the states that easily. AFAIK, it's actually quite a bit easier for a US citizen married to a European citizen to obtain permission to work in Europe, although nothing is easy.

The other problem you have is that autonomous regions in Spain often ignore EU rules at the local level, so whatever you've been led to believe may not actually work in reality.

It could be quite different than what the EU says it is - possibly (but not likely) much easier if you should happen to show up on the right day, talk to the right person who's in a good mood (or is stressed out and wants to go have a fag) so they stamp your docs and tell you to go away.

In any case, knowing in advance how it will go, and being fully prepared to deal with it is golden. Better to pay someone local who knows the ropes...

rspltd

But in the same way that Hawaii is in the US, Spain is in Europe (as is the UK).

Domino

but surely Hawaii has far fewer language problems with the rest of the US, unlike the EU

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lynnxa

no- not in the same way at all

each individual country within the EU has its own immigration policies & requirements - most are fairly similar, but 'right to to reside & work' in one, doesn't give you 'right to to reside & work' in any of the others

in fact, even for an EU citizen, there isn't automatic 'right to to reside' in another EU country - now, if a UK or any other EU citizen wishes to reside in Spain, they need to prove that thay have healthcare provision & can financially support themselves

& other EU countries have had the same requirements for some considerable time

afaik - if you have a resident & work visa for the US, that counts for all 50 states & you can move from one to the other to live & work as you please, providing the visa isn't for a specific job with a specific company