Hi all-
I will be attending Don Quijote spanish language school in Barcelona for 3 months this summer. I have heard that as an american you can stay only 90 days without the proper paperwork. I hope to stay beyond this and teach English when my course in complete. Can I do this without leaving the country? All I have is a valid passport, nothing else. I know I will have to work 'illegaly', but I heard this isn't much of a problem in Spain. Any ideas or recommendations? -Jason

Plenty of people do it without running into problems. As an illegal there are certain roadblocks you'll need to deal with but the chances of you getting "caught" I think are quite slim. It will be difficult for you to rent your own apartment so you can just rent a room from an established apartment with Spaniards or other Europeans. Phone service is another hang-up but with an established apartment it's not a problem. Certain banks will not give you an account without papers- go to Caixa Catalunya; they'll let you have a savings account and debit card. Don't go to Citibank, they charge 2000 pts. a month just to have a savings account.
The passport thing isn't too much of a problem- a lot of times they don't even stamp them anyway. If you’re concerned, you can leave the EU every three months for a piece of mind and a stamp. You won't be stopped on the street and asked for documentation although every Spaniard is supposed to carry their D.N.I. (national id).
For answers to teaching, try doing a search- I know there's info on the board.
Let me know if you have anymore questions.

thanks nevado, that's some very practical information, stuff that I wasn't really thinking about. What about having a cell phone as oppossed to getting a regular one installed. I wonder if I can bring one over from the States and get a local # in Spain, or if I should just buy one once I get to Spain. Any experiences with this?

Don't bring electronics from the EEUU, unless you have a voltage converter or batteries. Also, mobile phones are different so just pick one up at corte ingles or something.

Without wising to cast to much of a cloud on things, have you considered what the consequence of falling ill or being involved in an accident might be, when in a country illegally. I know that when we visit the USA we have to make sure we are well covered for such things.

I have blue cross insurance, so I should be covered. I heard that it makes things a little more complicated being in a different country, but it should still be OK. Any body have any recomendations about one way plane tickets vs. round trip? Just another one of many issues I am dealing with.

The problem will arise if the company you fly to Spain has a problem with a one-way ticket. I know British Airlines and Air France are on top of things. You could always purchase a one-way Spain-U.S. fully refundable ticket and cash it in at the airport or in Madrid. Or, you could wait and see and purchase one at the airport in the U.S. (if your airline has a problem). It really depends on who you happen to get at the ticket counter. Perhaps you could get a student ticket with an open return or change the return date.
Be warned, if you plan to travel to the U.K. from Spain, you may encounter problems. They will (depending on who you get at the ticket counter) force you to buy a ticket from Spain to the U.S. Just head over to the ticket counter (not the same airline you took to England) and buy a one-way fully refundable ticket. Make sure you have a credit card with enough room, the ticket will cost you!
Cell phones are very cheap in Spain if you just want to receive calls. You can buy the ones with a card and once the card has no more minutes on it, you can receive calls for 6 months or so without having to buy a new card.
Blue Cross has an emergency health plan that costs around $25/month. It has a large deductable ($2000 I think) but, in the case of an emergency, is well worth it.

Thanks again Nevado for the helpful info, Now I guess the major problem is just finding work while I'm in Spain. There seems to be a very friendly American Expatriate community out there, so that is very reassuring.
One site I did find regarding cheap airline fares to Europe was a site called skyauction.com. A lot of a choices for flights from USA to Europe. Some of the fares seem to go at a real reasonable price too. I encourage anyone looking for a flight to give it a click.

I have been with Delta and Iberia with one way tickets (to Spain) without any issues nor questions. I guess just avoid England.

I am not sure if this is true but I would say be careful with Germany as you would with England. The reason I say this is that those were the only 2 countries that made an effort with passport control -- France, Spain, Italy, barely cared about what my passport said. But in Germany I had to hand it to people at three different counters, it was inspected closely, and run through a machine. So you could get hassled about when you are returning to the US.