HI, My wife is Colombian and in Barcelona getting her master´s. I´m from the US and am here with her. we are here legally with our daughter and are getting ready to go back to Colombia so my wife can write her thesis. This is because it is way cheaper for us to live there and we are spending all our savings to livehere. Does anyone know how hard it is toget a work permit? I hear conflicting stories. If it is doable we would just stay until December, finish up her thesis and then leave. Thanks!

It is a long involved process for a non-EU citizen to get a work permit here. Two friends of mine from New York have only just managed to achieve the task after 18 months of to-ing and fro-ing from office to office. They were lukcy, because they were able to take advantage of an amnesty presently underway in which the Spanish government is trying to regularise the situation of thousands of immigrant workers who are here "illegally". When this ends in May, they havd promised a major crackdown on illegal working, so thinking of working without the relevant papers is not advised!

This information is gleaned from talking to friends that are Peruvians, in Spain, who obtained resident status.

The key is your wife. Citizens from former Spanish colonies have an advantage in getting permits.

The fact she is studying for an advance degree will work in her favor as well.

You are going to have to spend some money talking to a Spanish immagration lawyer to find out the best way to facilitate this. It will be money well spent if you are serious about living in Spain.

Your wife may have to stay in the country while the resident permit is processed.

Once she has resident status, they have to give it to you and your daughter although this too will take time.

This assumes everyone involved has no crimnal record.