Benefits and moving abroad???

seven-day-weekend

Unemployment in Spain is 20% and Youth Unemployment is 40% at the moment.

Unless you speak Spanish you are very unlikely to get a job in any Spanish business.

I believe you can claim JSA from the UK for a few weeks, but you will get no benefits from Spain until you have paid in for a certain time (I think two years).

Honestly, the amount of expats I have seen return to the UK because they have no job and no money - I know ONE person who got a 'proper job' (she is fluent in Spanish) as opposed to cleaning holiday homes or swimming pools for other Brits or hanging around hoping to get paid to take someone to the airport (and risk being lynched by the official taxi drivers).

If you need a job and/or Benefits, my honest and considered advice is to stay in the UK.


http://en.mercopress.com/2010/01/06/spanish-unemployment-at-new-records-19.3-and-40-for-the-young

Oldernotwiser

I can't imagine that it can be a good time to be job hunting in Greece, especially assuming you speak no Greek!

terryw

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

I believe you can claim JSA from the UK for a few weeks, but you will get no benefits from Spain until you have paid in for a certain time (I think two years).

No. You must be in the UK to claim JSA.

Excellent advice in the rest of your post.

Magenta

As other posters have said, there is high unemployment in Spain. The only job you are likely to get is bar work or cleaning. If you are a qualified plumber or electrician you would be able to get work in ex-pat communities. When looking for jobs the Spanish prefer to employ a person who is fluent in their language.

Sound like doom and gloom I know, but that is the reality.

If you are young and fit, don't mind living rough and making a few pennies here and there, then go for it. Otherwise, better to get on a course here in the UK......

seven-day-weekend

Also bear in mind that many expats come to Spain with the idea of 'running a business' (why they think it will be easier in a foreign country where they don't know the rules or the language I have no idea). But in Spain you can't just say 'I'm a plumber' and start a plumbing business (not legally anyway). You have to jump through all sorts of bureaucratic hoops to be registered as an 'autonomo' (self-employed) and then there are various taxes you have to pay, whether you earn any money or not. National Insurance alone is 235 euros a month, as I say this has to be paid whether you earn it or not.

If your business fails then you can't just stop paying the taxes, you have to jump through more hoops to de-register and there is no unemployment benefit for autonomos, even if you have paid your dues.


And don't forget, everything has to be done in Spanish as most people you have to deal with do not speak English, unless you are in a large city like Madrid or Barcelona (and in Barcelona the language is Catalan anyway).

So given the position of employment and the difficulty of self-employment, unless you have a definite job to come to and/or other income or capital, you will be better off workwise staying in the UK.
.

Sorry to be such a prophet of doom, but that is the situation and there is no point pretending differently.

bryanb

GotNo£ wrote: »

Do you have any more specific info? I would only be doing it for several weeks at the most.

No sorry, my experience is about 10yrs ago, but it all revolves around status. ie Residencia? Permanencia?Tourista?
Being Spain it can also vary from region to region.

Worcsman

GotNo£ wrote: »

I take your advice on board, but at the end of the day I have to relate everything back to my current situation which is not great. Trapped in England, no career, studying a bit, spending more than I 'earn' (soon I'll probably have to get the credit card out again). Time is just passing by without change, and time is passing fast. Hitting the year 2010 was a big wake-up call. I know it's a terrible time to move anywhere, but then how many more years do I want to be stuck here wasting away?? Better to give something else a try, even if it fails.

Better to have tried and failed than not tried at all. Do what your heart tells you to and to hell with the consequences. We had a house in Spain but lost it because of Bankruptcy, we had the option of going there to live but there was no work, at all! Lots of the bars and cafes were and still are closing down and many of the expats are heading back home due to the Spanish recesion, especially the older ones who were hit with the double whammy of the exchange rate with the euro, recieving pensions in pounds etc.

But that doesnt mean that it wont work for you. You wont know till you try! Good luck mate.

seven-day-weekend

Yes, try it by all means, especially if you are young, single and mobile. I just think it is most important to go with your eyes open so that you can make an informed decision, especially about jobs which was what you asked about initially.

GotNo£

terryw wrote: »

No. You must be in the UK to claim JSA.

Excellent advice in the rest of your post.

Actually according to the government website you can claim contribution based JSA for up to 3 months as long as you apply before leaving the UK and you are going to Spain to look for work. However you can't claim income based JSA (which is what I'd probably be looking to do ). How can one check the level of past contributions needed for contribution based JSA? It's all so confusing.

Caz3121

Do you work or are you on JSA currently?