Friday, September 7, 2012

The EU Blue Card in Spain

Since Spain was apparently the first European country to implement the Blue Card, I probably should have mentioned it a long time ago.  The EU Blue Card in Spain has the following requirements:
Tirando piedras
 San Felipe Neri, Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain
Photo by Sidi Guariach
  • You must have a job offer of at least €2,750 per month
  • Have a minimum of a Bachelor's degree in your field or at least five years of experience
  • Proof of health insurance
  • Not be a "threat" to the EU (no criminals or people with highly infectious and dangerous diseases, please)
The application process is done through your employer. There's a variety of simple paperwork you'll need to provide your employer with. Your employer will be notified if you were accepted into the program and they are responsible for notifying you.

Toledo, Spain
Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0
Regarding Spain, did you know that while they're a parliamentary democracy, they still have a king, Juan Carlos I? You might also be surprised that in some areas of Spain, such as Catalonia, the first language is Catalan,  not Spanish (though Spanish is widely understood. Moving to Barcelona, where Catalan is widely spoken, would be a far different experience from moving to Madrid,  where Spanish is the dominant language.

Like most European countries, Spain has a very rich culture and history, though when people are asking for advice moving abroad, it appears to be one of those countries that people don't speak to me much about. As far as I can tell, this is usually due to people simply not knowing much about it, rather than any undesirable qualities of the country.

Read the complete list of Overseas Exile European Blue Card summaries here.

5 comments:

  1. Did you also know the current unemployment rate in Spain is 25% or thereabouts? ;)

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  2. Curtis, can you comment if the Blue Card in Spain or another EU countries is a viable path for self-employed people? Could one form a corporation and then hire oneself? (or would that even be necessary?)

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    1. I don't believe that would be possible because that's generally not legal under many work permit laws (as part of the labor test, the government sometimes checks to ensure that the job hasn't been created just to get you over there).

      However, if you're keen to start a company and you're a US citizen, that might get you into the Netherlands.

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    2. thanks for the response

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