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Working Legally in Madird

February 15th, 2010 | Posted by swidner in Stephanie | Work and Employment - (1 Comments)

In a previous post, entitled Obtaining a Student Visa for Spain (from the US), I discuss the difficulties we had with this process, and had thought the worst was behind us, now I can try to find a job here in Madrid.  It turns out, however, that what the Spanish Consulate told me in my interview for the Student Visa was true, that finding a job in Spain is almost impossible as a US citizen.  In Spain, unlike the US, you are allowed to enter the country and look for work with a Student Visa.  The catch, though, is that most companies want you to already have a NIE number in order to apply, especially if you are non EU.   Unfortunately, as I found out, this NIE number can take months to obtain, and you can only apply for one after you  have received your Visa, another daunting task.

If finding a job in Madrid becomes an impossible task there are some alternatives.   Some people who own their own businesses are licensed in the US, while living in Madrid, but they get paid in US dollars.  Another option is  to have your US based company transfer you to their Madrid office.  A friend of mine tried this, but found the pay was lower over here, and her position wasn’t exactly what she was doing in the US.  There are also a lot of English schools looking for native English speakers, but they want teachers with experience, legal working papers and/or NIE numbers.  The other thing to remember is that as a US citizen you are competing with native English speakers who are from the EU, and thus don’t need to be sponsored by a company or go through the headache of obtaining an NIE number.

I found that the Spanish don’t use craigslist.com like in the US to post job listings.   Instead, I see most job listings in local newspapers like El Pais or sites like www.spainexpat.com, which also has good information about labor laws.  Good luck, and if you do end up working in Madrid, then tell us about your work experiences.

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Public transit in Madrid

February 11th, 2010 | Posted by swidner in Stephanie | Transit and Transport - (5 Comments)

Just before we left Hawaii, I was about ready to drive our cars into the ocean.  I was tired of owning a car (I know so very unAmerican) with all of the repairs that come with it, and worse, the gas.  So, when I realized that you could actually get around in Madrid without a car, just like in New York, I was elated.

I personally like the Metro.  For someone who knows very little Spanish, I still find it easier to navigate than most metros in the States.  For example, you don’t have to figure out which side of the street you need to be on in order to enter the metro, either side with take you to either direction.  In Boston or New York you need to know whether you are going downtown or uptown, but in Madrid you just need to know what your final destination will be.  Also, on most lines they actually announce the stops, and you don’t have to pay extra to change lines.  You can go to their website www. metromadrid.es and put in the stations you will begin and end at, and it will calculate the shortest route depending on the time of day and day of the week you plan to travel.  I have tested this feature out many times, and they are spot on as far as the amount of time it will take you to ride from point A to B.  Plus, it is one of the cleanest and cheapest metros, I have come across.  One downside, which I discussed in my Studentphone post, is the pickpocketing.  The abuelos (grandparents) on the metro will point to their eye and say mira, mira tus las bolsas to you, or watch your bags.  Recently, though, I have seen more security guards catching pickpocketers in the act, and escorting them away. (last week I saw two being apprehended within hours of each other)

My second most favorite mode of transit in Madrid is the bus.  The bus to me is a little more confusing because you have to know the exact street address of where you want to go to determine which line to take, and  sometimes you have to walk a ways to change from the metro to the bus, unless you arrive in an Intercambiadores (bus, metro, train all in one place) such as Plaza de Castilla.  (please see their website www.emtmadrid.es) Also, if you ride during the non peak hours after 9:00pm or before 6:00 am you may have to wait 10 mins or more for the next bus to come, or wait until the driver has finished his smoke break.  Madrid in notorious for horrible rush hour traffic, so this could double your trip easily on the bus as well.  However if you are going against traffic or, according to my friends, going to the outskirts of Madrid, sometimes its faster to take the bus.  For example, my husband will ride the metro to school in the morning and in the evening take the bus back home.  The bright side is is that you get to see Madrid above ground, and for a euro per leg, it makes for a cheap tour bus.

Each trip or leg costs 1 euro, and you can’t automatically transfer from the metro to the bus for free.  You can buy 10 trips or viajes at a time for the bus and the metro at most stations for 9 euros.  There is also a monthly pass you can buy for $46 euros a month.  I admit, though, I have had a tough time using my American debit card or credit card in the automated ticket purchasing machines, so you might have to pay cash at the ticket window.

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A Trip to the Police Station

February 7th, 2010 | Posted by swidner in Police | Stephanie - (1 Comments)

About two weeks after we acquired our phones, (please see previous post on Studentsphones) my husband was texting a friend as we got on the metro near our place.  It was a Saturday night and as usual the linea (line) one was packed with teenagers going clubbing and abuelos (grandparents) coming home from the theater.  My husband quickly slips his phone into his outside pocket of his jacket and grabs the handlebar above him.  Two stops or five minutes later, we changed lines at the Sol metro station.  My husband immediately reached into his pocket on the platform to text his friend again, only to find he had been pickpocketed.  I couldn’t believe it, so to prove it he had me call his phone, which went right to voicemail. (he always has the phone on)  Another lesson learned, really take it to heart when people tell you that Madrid has a lot of pickpocketers and that you shouldn’t carry anything in your front coat pockets.  I realized this a week earlier, when I caught two different people trying to reach into my small clutch purse while I was riding the metro alone carry two grocery bags.  After this I quickly changed bags, or just didn’t carry one unless I had to.

In order to get another phone through Studentsphone we had to show them a police report.   We walked down to our nearby police department on Huertas, and my husband explained to the officer that there had been a robo (robbery).  They immediately brought us a stolen property report (in Spainish and English).  They asked where it had happened, and when we told them the metro they responded with por supuesto or of course.

My husband goes to pick up his phone from Studentsphone.  After paying half of what the phone orginally cost, he was back in business, but not before someone at Studentsphone said that this was their eighth phone they had been reported to them stolen in the past month.

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Studentsphone one of the few options..

February 3rd, 2010 | Posted by swidner in Communications | Stephanie - (6 Comments)

My husband and I arrived in Madrid, and thought we could “survive” with just our iTouch that has Skype to communicate with our families in the states.   We get to Madrid only to find that there are very few free wifi hotspots near us in which to use our little newly acquired Apple gadget.  So, another American friend of my husband’s here in Madrid introduced us to Studentsphone.

Alejandro at cell number 34 607 909 706 is one of the founders for the subsidiary of Studentsphone in Madrid.  He explained the three phones they had at the time, which were two types of Blackberries and a flip phone.  They all have 3G capability, and you can download google maps (a life saver for me), Facebook, and Skype on the Blackberry .  We chose the latest Blackberry® model he had which was the Blackberry® Curve ™ 8520. (they were just introducing it in St. Louis when we went back last Christmas, and we got ours a couple weeks before that)

The only catch is this, you have to pay for the phone and the plan up front which includes a certain amount that you can download per month, which I think its one gig.   So, unless you’re downloading huge file attachments or a lot of extra applications, then you should be able to stay within the limit. (according to Studentphone)  The grand total for two phones and the 15 month contract that comes with the Blackberry® was just about 900 euros.  Then, you have to pay 6 euros a month per phone to keep the plan.

At first we didn’t like the fact that we had to pay so much up front, but now we realize that 1.) cell phones are not cheap in Europe since you usually pay per call or text, and 2) its one of the few options we had coming from the US without an NIE number.   We’re happy that we have the phones, because we are able to blackberry message anyone for free in the world who also has a Blackberry®.  Also, another plus was that Alejandro was nice enough to sit down with us and give us a quick tutorial on the features of the phone, which saved us from having to take the time to read the manual.   He also told us what to do if you get your phone pickpocketed and the steps you would need to take to getting another phone from them.  (more on that later, unfortunately)

Details: Studentphone Calle Maria de Molina, 16, first floor (opposite instituto de empresa)
Madrid, 28006, 607 909 706

Obtaining a Student Visa for Spain (from US)

January 28th, 2010 | Posted by swidner in Stephanie | Visas - (19 Comments)

If you read my previous post, Landing in Madrid, you will remember that I mentioned how is was more difficult for us to obtain our student visas than to sell our house or all of our possessions.  Part of the difficulty was being located in Hawaii and having to contact the Spanish Consulate in San Francisco during their narrow window when they take calls.  If you look at the Spanish consulate site at www.maec.es, it will direct you to your nearest Consulate in the US.  Then, on the specific city’s website it will tell you the necessary documentation you will need to bring with you for your in person interview.  One such document is a certified police record from the local police.  I guess this was an unusual request for the Honolulu Police Department, because what should have taken a couple of days to complete took almost a month to have returned to us.   Then, we had to get an Apostille from our Lieutenant Governor to certify our police record.  After no response from the their office, my husband and I went down to his office and waited till it was signed.  We even ended up getting fingerprints to send to the FBI to verify that we didn’t have a criminal record, which was a recommendation from the school because they had a student that went to the Consulate in Los Angeles, and discovered that they request this.  Also, you can apply for your visa no more than 90 days in advance of when you plan to enter Spain, and you must have the Visa in hand 30 days prior to entering Spain.  Plus, once you submit the paperwork it could take 4 to 6 weeks, especially if you are applying for a visa in the summer months. (ours arrived in 4 wks)

Here’s a list of the required documents that we presented to the Consulate’s office:

  • Three application forms downloaded from www.maec.es
  • Original and copy of passport (make sure it hasn’t expired or won’t expire while in Spain)
  • Three passport size photos (we got ours at Costco, or you can go to any AAA office if you’re a member)
  • Acceptance letter (this is from your school usually in Spanish)
  • Planned Itinerary (we reserved our tickets online and printed out the itinerary, also they don’t recommend purchasing the tickets until you have received your visa in the mail)
  • Evidence of funds (we printed out our bank statements, and included a letter from the school regarding my husband’s fellowship, and a letter from our parents saying that they supported us as well)
  • Health insurance (this we didn’t have prior to entering Spain, but in the acceptance letter from the school they explained that we would obtain health insurance from Sanitas, a private insurer)
  • Visa fee $100 USD for US passport holders
  • Self addressed USPS and $18.30 in stamps (as a couple you only need one envelope so they send you your Visa and original paperwork back to you)
  • Absence of Police criminal records (ever state is different for obtaining a local police report in Hawaii it was the Attorney General’s office)
  • Medical Certificate (our doctor’s wrote a letter saying we were in good health on their clinic’s letterhead)
  • Letter of authorization (if under 18)
  • Additional documents-I would highly recommend getting a certified copy of your marriage license, and submit fingerprints to the FBI, the fingerprints we obtained from a local copy who fingerprints everyone who works in the financial sector in Hawaii and then sent them to FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Divison in Clarksburg, W.V 26306)

After this, we finally made our appointment and flew over to meet someone in the Consulate’s office.  After waiting an hour past our appointment we sat down with them, only to learn that we needed to provide a certified copy of our marriage certificate, which they hadn’t mentioned on their website.  I ended up calling by parents in Missouri, where we got married, immediately so that they could overnight the document to the Consulate.

So, we learned a couple of things through this process, always be prepared for anything.  We found that with our consulate that if you have everything, except for one document, then they were willing to make an exception.  Also, while we were there we asked about how difficult it was to obtain a work visa for Spain.  They said that you would need to be sponsored by a Spanish company in order to get an NIE number to work in Spain.(and as we learned later to get a cell phone contract, bank account but more on that later)  The other thing the Consulate’s office went on to tell us is that once you have entered Spain with a student visa it is almost impossible to get a work visa, and we would have to come back to interview in San Francisco.  So, their advice was if at all possible try to get the work visa prior to entering Spain.  I found this to be a catch 22 because most Spanish companies wanted to see that you were already living locally in Spain, before they would even consider giving you an interview.

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  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerio Evteriones De Asuntos y de Cooperacion)-has information about local Spanish consulates in the World, application for visas as well as Residential Certificates, Marriage Licenses, and Birth Certificates