Hi all, my wife and i have been thinking about moving to Valencia. I really dont care about becoming an EU citizen, however we'd like to buy and apartment or house or something. anyways, is there some sort of way one can become a resident alien of the EU or an EU country? kinda like having a green card here in the US but you cant vote. can anyone recommend a site that has some details on this?

thanks,

KC

I may be wrong here, but i believe you must eithe A) have a prewritten contract with an employer in Spain, as to have a work Visa or B) be married to a person whose country is part of EU such as Spain, Portugal etc. OR some people just go and try to find work getting paid "under the table". Out of Curiosity, what kind of work do you do, or are you looking for?

well, like everyone else i'm in IT, speak fluent spanish as well (i'm mexican), but definately willing to change careers to move, plus i have a lot of experience in a lot of things, (manufacturing/engineering), so i'm pretty hopefull. anyways, i'm 27 and my wife and i are not planning on having any kids so this allows us some freedom. we were thinkin of buying a house out there or something, so if anyone has any experience with this please feel free to let me know. it seems like its much easier to find a job once you're over there, at least it seemed like that the last time i was there.
i figure once you're there and working for a few years and if you got a house or something, there's gotta be some kind or resident alien status, kinda like a green card, lol.

one last note, basically, i'm lookin to put down roots. this isnt a temporary move.

kc

I would suggest, first, going to a Spanish consulate or searching on the Web for the appropriate Spanish government site. Then, keep browsing different parts of this site and others, such as The Expatriate Cafe . I have found them invaluable for all my purposes.

Hello Kriot, I am new on the board but I think that I can help you a bit with your question, yes there is aquivalente to the Green Card is call Permiso De Residencia ( with or without work), You have to get previus work contract with somebody in Spain ( they will look for people whith some special skill, for example if you are an account and is a big offert of accounts at that moment the EU citizen will allways have preference) also make sure that when you get there all you papers are in order becouse you will not be allow to do it one time in the country, your have to go ready to work, also make sure that your Residencia has permiso de trabajo( some of them allow you to live there but not to work). To make sure that this still correct go to the neares Spanis Consulate and get inform. If you get there without the right paper work can be a real problem.

Good luck.

Cassie

k riot,
Getting a Spanish work visa can be long and complicated. It is VERY difficult to get. In Spain most people can only concieve of immigrants as people who come over from africa who have no skills, and so Spain's immigration policy isn't designed to let in well educated professionals. You mentioned that you are Mexican, if you have mexican citizenship that might be an asset in the process because I think that they give preference to people from some latin american countries. Look into doing it but just be warned, it is a VERY diffucult and long process without any guarantees.

I am sorry to desapointe you Roe but having a Mexican citizenship is not going to be any help to get the residency in Spain, they give preference to those country which Embasy will take care of its Citizens like The American Embasy, Canada, Japon etc. this is not the case of the South American Countries or Mexico, my husband is NorthAmerican and this was told to us by a Police Comisary in Spain.