MOVING TO AND WORKING IN SPAIN

MOVING TO AND WORKING IN SPAIN

 

Property and black money

Self-sufficiency in Spain in organic or eco-friendly smallholdings is the goal for many expatriates. Generally speaking, property prices have dropped much less here. It gets cheaper as you move west in Northern Spain, Galicia being the cheapest. You can still get a habitable house or flat for £60,000. If you can afford something larger, you might run a B and B quietly. It's black money of course, but many do it. And there are still people looking for property - mainly from the north of Europe.

Moving to Spain

For expatriates the pace of life in Spain is slower. It's like Britain fifty years ago. And there's lots of red tape. Many lawyers don't speak English, but you shouldn't try to buy or live here without one, and you should choose one only by recommendation. But be aware that legal procedures take time. It almost always takes months to complete a property purchase, though it can be done much faster. Total fees for this generally run around 10 percent. The lawyer will also help with getting your expatriates number (NIE) and with health registration, and later with residence. He won't help with taxes - your local financial adviser does that. You need local support as an expatriate in Spain. You can find that by renting here for a while.

Working in Spain

Working in Spain legally is different from a UK job. In UK you can set up as anything you like, within reason. Here, the Spanish train for a specific type of job, then stick to it because that's what they are qualified to do. Here you need certificates and qualifications. If you have British ones, they are fully equivalent, at least in theory. For example, in UK a teacher may be hired because he's a teacher; in Spain he'll be hired only as a teacher of his particular subject. If you lack a teaching qualification, you won't be hired at a state school. There are lots of private schools - particularly those teaching English. You may get a job there, though speaking English is no recommendation that you know anything about teaching English. You may work there legally, in which case you'll pay the usual insurance contributions.
If you are taken on 'on the black,' it will be cash in hand. Work in bars and restaurants will only be found on the Costas with large British populations. Language schools may be anywhere. If you intend working in Spain and are not retired, you really need to have legal employment, which will entitle you to a pension and health care, schooling etc. If you're retired, you get these things anyway.
A few years ago, young families came over for a better life. The man found a job of some kind - usually in construction. It's more difficult now. Towns are littered with half-built blocks of flats - construction is dead. You can, of course, work on your own house, but you won't find outside work to support it. And when you sell your house in Spain,  you'll have to pay capital gains.

Expatriates

Most expatriates live on the coast, and don't therefore need Spanish lessons to speak much Spanish to the other Brits. Most are retired and don't have a job. Some expatriates have returned to UK, unless they have self-sufficiency, because their pension value has slid so much. Others would like to, but property prices have slumped on the costas and they can't sell. Even so, the quality of life for expatriates is better than UK. But working in and moving to Spain needs planning!

 

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