Oksie

Hello,

I have recently moved to Spain with a view to working as an English Teacher. I am planning to be here for 6 months in the first instance, but if everything goes well, I might stay here for longer.
I am registered as self-employed in the UK and I still expect to do some occasional work for some companies in the UK (around £1500 per year). Does anybody know if it's ok to keep my self employment in the UK and work for an employer in Spain in the long term?

Thanks,

Oksana.

jojojojojo

If you're in Spain for under 6 months then I guess its ok to stay self employed in the UK and declare any earnings there, but if you are here for longer (more than 183 days) then you must become an Autonomo (self employed) in Spain. To this you would need to use the services of a Gestoria/accountant who will sort the paperwork out for you. But in Spain you must pay approx 260€ a month (depending on circumstances) but regardless of whether you earn anything at all.

Jo xx

steviedeluxe

A lot of established teachers in Madrid often choose to become Autonomo because most of the lucrative company classes have this as a requirement. It's quite common for English teachers to go back to the UK in July/August and do some work for the language schools there (as the big cities tend to shut down peak summer in Spain). I don't know if the majority declare their earnings to the Spanish authorities though.
Maybe worth asking this question on a teachers' forum

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewforum.php?f=21

andreavarga

Hi. I'm in a similar situation. When I started here as self-employed teacher, I wanted to use my UK invoices but the real good reliable Spanish language schools don't accept the UK invoice, although all admit that in theory it is ok but they don't want to complicate their lives. So finally I had to register as autonomo.

The registration is very simple, I hardly speak Spanish but I could do it all myself. I paid exactly 1 euro for the form! no help was needed as the ladies in the 2 offices (SS and autonomo) were really helpful and told me how to fill out the various forms. You just need to get your NIE number first (which is also simple to do, cost about 6-7 euros if you do it yourself).

In Madrid you can get work with contracts but it is better to be autonomo, you get a higher hourly rate and all in all, you are left with more in the end. I only pay 185 eur SS for 15 months. It depends on your age.

Oksie

Ok, thanks a lot !