OK, thanks guys.
I figured it would be tough to get work without the NIE, especially as a non spanish speaker!
This may sound a bit naive but I was thinking that as Coruna is quite a provincial town, I would have a good chance of finding work teaching English to locals, one on one. I`m thinking a few flyers in local cafes, trying to spread the word etc. Is it idealistic of me to think that there will be a good few Gallicians that want to learn English, and are happy to take one on one classes as opposed to the English school? I`m a journalist and have tought English before etc so no problems there, and I?m thinking that if this goes ok then I have an employment base and it will be worthwhile going through the whole marriage deal and staying on, maybe finding alternative work as my own language improves.
I?ve spoken to the Spanish consulate in Sweden quite a bit, and they were quite helpful. They say that marriage is the best option, although they said we have to get married in Sweden, which sounds strange. No drama though, we`d just fly back for a quickie (wedding, I mean…).
The trickiest part of the marriage deal is that you need to have a marriage certificate, translated into Spanish, that is less than 3 months old when it is presented in the application. BUT when you line up and get an appointment for coming back to apply, the appointment is apparantly 2-3 months in the future, so it will have “expired” by then. However, I`m hoping that we can make the appointment without needing to show the certificate, then get married and get the certificate translated in the 2-3 month interim.
So that`s how I intend to tackle the red tape. Waddya think? Do I have the right key to “unlock” the residency door? 😉
Gracias!