I have somewhat of a dilemma/catch-22…I need to overstay my tourist visa by one month to attend an important client in order to keep my job here with the company that would like to sponsor me for a work visa. Then I will be returning to the U.S. in order to start the work visa process, and I am wondering if anyone knows if my having overstayed will affect my ability to get a work visa? Everything else is taken care of (i.e. proving that no one else in Spain can do the job I will be doing, etc.). My company has the ability to offer me the job…I just don’t know if the government will allow it…any thoughts?

get in touch with your Embassy and fill you in .... think you braken the law . and would come agaisnt you again

jurdy

Again No advise can be given

Please See this post…

http://www.spainexpat.com/spain/forum/viewthread/5196/

Contact your embassy.

Having been in a similar situation before, I can tell you that when you apply for your work visa you must submit a PHOTOCOPY of your entire passport. If it is evident from this photocopy that you have overstayed your visa - stamp dates etc, then your application will be denied.

Most important then is to make the application, whilst the PHOTOCOPY of your passport shows that you?re still legally permitted to be in Spain as of the date of application.

Thanks binspain! So then if I ‘lose’ my passport and get a new one with no stamps…do you think that would work? (Because it’s already too late for me otherwise)

It’s “too late”? Well.. this might not apply. But if you hadn’t already overstayed it you could have requested a tourist visa extension.

Also.. if you hadn’t overstayed it I think you might have been able to go to Morroco or another non schengen country and come back for another 90 days, although I’m not sure if I’m right about that.  (I read somewhere that you can do this, but not for a total of more than 180 days in one year—is this correct? Does anyone know?)

Also.. you haven’t left the country yet have you? In that case you haven’t gotten the stamp yet, right? In that case i would contact the US embassy for advice about whether there’s anything you can do at this point. Maybe you could just pay a fine and it wouldn’t scar you. But, I definitely wouldn’t try to trick the system. Play by the rules and you’ll be better off!

Don’t believe anything I say because my knowledge is only based on other posts and things that I’ve read. I would get advice from the US embassy, and then take the appropriate steps with the Spanish government.

Do you have an older photocopy of your passport with no entry stamps in there yet? I don?t recommend “losing” your passport while here in Spain, and then asking for a new one here? I haven?t been through this process but i?d be weary of dealing with any authorities while having an illegal status.

Another option could be to use a bit of photoshop to delete said stamp. It sounds horribly illegal - and is, but if you think about it you are only infact representing a position that at some stage in the past was correct. ie if you had made a photocopy of your passport previous to your arrival… this would infact be what it looked like.

No, I meant ‘losing’ my passport once I have already returned to the U.S. I don’t think I feel comfortable with photoshopping it…if I were in the U.S., I would get a new passport, then start filing for my visa at that time. Thoughts?

passport only show who you are , it keep on the elec file off you .... lossing you passport wont help

Yes Nomad, I agree with you that would work.