Hi
I am an Australian hoping to travel to Spain in January to be an Au pair. I have found a great family in Las Rozas near Madrid, and I have my plane ticket all ready to go. My problem now - a visa. Alot of countries have aupair programmes making it quite easy for people to get there. Spain doesn't, so for me to do this 'legally' i would need a student visa. This means getting letters from families, police, language schools etc and i have to prove that I have a heap of money to live off of. Not a chance. I really don't have time for this, as the family wants me to start in January, and to get the visa I have to commit to 20 hours of study per week. Time i canot afford with my commitments to the family, and i would not be able to afford it monwy wise either. So, anyone out there who can offer me some advice. I am very keen to go on a tourist visa, fly to London for the weekend to renew it once my 90 days is up, then fly back and continue au pairing. Do the majority of Au pairs in Spain go on tourist visas. And are they normally payed cash in hand anyway. I will only be with the family for 4 to 6 months so i just don't think it is worth the hassle, time and money to get a student visa. Also, when i am there I will be looking to find a little extra work in my spare time for a few extra dollars to go travelling with. Is it considered really dodgey approaching people for work with no legal leg to stand on? What about putting my name on a few notice boards at schools, universities etc to get a little extra money tutoring English? Is there anyone out there who has done that and found it a great way to make a little extra coin? Any hints, tips or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Neets

I'm not sure about the Visa for an aupair, but I will say that I've been to spain twice on student visas and its a pain to get, and thats with being registered as a student at a spanish university, and I believe it took be about 2 months, both times, to get it from the embassy in chicago. im not sure going to england for the weekend would do it though, because i believe that you only have 90 days in a certain time period, so youd have to go to england for a lot longer than just a weekend... but im not sure on that so check.
As far as your 2nd question, tutoring or offering private english is often possible and a great way to earn some extra cash (at least in my experiences in granada, university of granada area). It wasnt students i ended up working with though, a family contacted me and i went to their apartment 3 times a week to play with the kids in English, very basic stuff since the kids were little, but it was a great deal!