mparker

Greetings, all! My husband and I are hoping to move to Spain permanently next year. My husband is in the middle of getting his Irish passport but the waiting time could be around 2 years, so we decide to get self employed visas while waiting. We have a few questions here listed as below,



1. Can we both teach English online as we already have been doing this and apply for autonomo visa? We both have been ESL teachers with TEFL and degrees for over five years in China n UK.

2. How much do we need to have as a deposit to apply for it? I searched a lot but couldn't find a definite answer for the amount of savings needed.

3. Can our two kids attend local schools free of charge?

4. Do we have to apply for the visa in the UK or can we apply for it while holidaying in Spain?



In the long run, we hope to set up a language school or open a supermarket. What are the options there for us?


We would be so grateful if you could help us answer the questions.



Many thanks,



The Parkers

Ronnyone

Okay . First you won't get a self employed visa as an online teacher. The self employed visas are really only for people with proven businesses or fairly well researched business plans. In other words you would need income levels that are fairly high and ( as a teacher in Spain speaking) you won't get that. Plus you would need to pay around 250 euros a month SS contributions irrespective of income. Starting a school is expensive. Most places have local private language schools and unless you speak good Spanish you will never manage the day to day running of such a business. Your only real opportunity is trying to get employment with a school before coming but that would require the school to sort out a work visa for you which itself is only for a year and then subject to renewal. If you lose your job then your visa is cancelled and you have to leave Spain. Thirdly- school. If your children are under 10 then they would probably manage a Spanish school. Older than that and they won't learn enough Spanish to really cope in secondary. Finally, after2028 if your children were wanting to return to UK to study they would categorised as international students- no access to tuition fee loans etc!!
As a father who came here as a teacher ( 20 years and Cambridge marker) with a young child my advice is don't!. Unless one- you speak good Spanish and can help your children. Two- live in a predominantly Spanish area ( to help child and yourselves fit into Spanish society. Three- have an independent income which will cover most of your costs.
As English teachers you will be lucky to reach over 1.000 euros a month plus will need to be able to come and go to work two or three times a day plus Saturday mornings. No good for a young family. Sorry if that isn't what you want to hear but believe you me Spain is not a place for a young uk family unless you have a fair amount of independent financial means. There are no family benefits like in uk and most Spanish manage as extended families- something uk expats don't normally have.

spainrico

Good source of information here

https://www.pellicerheredia.com/en/open-library/

dmu

Hi from the France forum, but this is a European issue....
1 & 2. Others will come along with advice on visas and finance.
3. How old are your children? As said, if no older than 9, they would pick up enough Spanish and make friends in Primary before going up to Secondary. 10 and older, they wouldn't cope with being thrown in at the deep end in Secondary. Speaking from experience, in France, it's a real culture shock, even for French kids, to leave their cosy Primary for the Secondary jungle. IMO, friends and parents who can help with homework, are essential in order to cope.
4. You have to apply for Visas from the UK.
Good luck with your decision, but please take our advice on board, even if's not what you want to hear....

Rosemary

Excellent post. A very honest answer using personal experience and knowledge.

Rosemary

Moses2013

Agree with Ronnyone and running any business will mean you have to look at the exact location. Have you picked Alicante and Valencia because you see the most potential?

Reality:
https://g.co/kgs/4tjWwm

We offer: • Steady job • PART-TIME job 22,50 hours/week (mornings or afternoons shifts) • Salary 827€ gross/month • Wonderful working environment • Career and development opportunities

Ronnyone

Yes this is very much reality 827 euros !!!for what is effectively in the teaching profession a full time job. 22.5 hours teaching should equate to 35 hours of a normal job as teachers will be expected to mark work, prepare classes and write reports ( 10-12 hours work). Here they are paying well below the national minimum wage . Normally I would argue that small schools do genuinely struggle to make any real profits but this is one of these larger companies that exploit the workers whilst offering below par service for clients.
Anyway...Teaching English in spain should be viewed as a short term thing for young graduates who simply want a bit of travel experience and some money to help or retired folk who are looking for something to fill their time. It is not a job for young families who need to make a living and people really need to know that before letting themselves get led away with the dream. If you want to teach as a living you need to get experience and qualifications and look to places like the middle East where universities employ professional teachers on good salaries

mparker

Hi there, thank you so much for your detailed reply. We have started to look for jobs in international schools in Spain. May I ask if you happen to know a QTS is a must? We have been teaching ESL and Social Studies in China in an International school which follows Cambridge curriculum for over three years. Here, they don't require QTS and there was no chance of getting one completed. We feel like we have gained nothing careerwise. We are quite happy to work as TAs or in other roles but like I said, we have only finished polishing the CVs. I read it from gov.uk website that UK nationals will need to live three years consistently before applying for student loans so we definitely planned to take them back there for college. So this has changed?

I know there are many obstacles and it even begins to look gloomy for us to move there as a family. We always put kids' needs first so I have to factor in everything for their benefits. Sounds like Spain is more or less for foreign retirees.

Anyway, I really appreciate your reply! All the very best!

mparker

Cheers! Will definitely check it out!

mparker

Thank you! I am open to all suggestions and of course I know it is not all rosy! Maybe even far from it. Hence i thought I definitely need to listen to the advice carefully and make a sound decision for my kids. After reading a few comments, I have now realised the education could be the biggest problem aside from visas and money. My boy is nine so I think he will not cope. An international school sounds appealing but it is costly. Looks like we have to plan really well and keep many options open, such as staying in the UK until my kids are adults

Again, thank your for your reply and all the best!.

mparker

Definitely! It is so helpful to hear from Ronnyone. Seems like ESL jobs are really not worth bothering. What do most British family do for a living in Spain? I guess this all depends on individual's circumstances. We don't have much money and we have worked for others. 800 or 1000 euros are way to low for us! Definitely need to make plan B and C etc.

Thank you.

Rosemary

Thank you reading the replies and responding. So many times in the past people have asked similar questions and then become aggressive when members tell them the truth about the difficulties that young families face by moving here. Good luck with your further research and your future.

Rosemary

mparker

We have been teaching in China for over three years and here we get around 2000 euros a month with 25 classes per week. Only if they stopped the pcr tests and lockdowns here! We are getting frustrated with the fear of hard lockdowns and daily pcr Covid tests. Here, they still treat covid like a severe disease and persist the zero covid policy. Because of this, we haven't left the country for three years to see our family members in the UK. So we plan to leave next summer without coming back as it is way too expensive to re-enter into the country. We dont really want to live in the UK for many reasons. But it seems that we may not be able to make ends meet in Spain.

mparker

I truly am grateful for all the advice. You all have taken your special time and effort in helping a stranger here, what is there to complain about? I really don't get some people's mentality sometimes. Again, thank you all for the helpful information and honest opinions. Without them, I would not be able to make further plans accordingly. Anyway, seems like there is plenty of research work to do and some money to be earned before even thinking of it. All the best to you Rosemary.. Hopefully we will be residents in Spain like you. Only God knows when it will be.

Moses2013

There will be plenty of wealthy British families in Spain, but often it is people who already have money, they work extremely hard and might have the right idea at the right time.
In cities like Madrid/Barcelona you have a lot of tech jobs and international companies, but the idea of a language school is nothing new.
The Spanish are highly educated, plenty of Europeans speak several languages and the country is full of people offering these services already.
Along the coast it's all about tourism ad you are probably right that it's easier for foreign retirees. I think you should definitely wait for your Irish passport and get the kids to start learning some Spanish.
I am in Ireland myself and have property in Spain, but even without kids I would not move to Spain right now. Although I do work from home now and could get a job in Barcelona, companies want staff to return, the salary would be a lot lower and the commute far too long. I have seen it in the past and the next recession might be on the way, so just be careful investing right now.