Hi everyone,

I am an Australian ESL teacher who is planning to arrive in Spain in July and stay for about 6 months. I’m hoping to find work in a language school but I’m wondering whether this will be very hard without an EU passport. I have already applied for a couple of Summer Camp roles but I would prefer to find work in a language school.

Are there any Australian ESL teachers who use this forum or do you know of any Australian teachers who were able to find work in Spain?

In terms of language schools, is it better to apply for jobs in advance from Australia or wait until I arrive in Spain? Is it possible to find work (besides Summer Camp roles) from July - September?

Many thanks for your help!
Nicole

Hi,

I recommend waiting till you’re in Spain to go jobhunting for English teaching positions. Except for summer camp stuff (which, according to a couple English teacher friends of mine, they’re already recruiting for), it seems to be pretty much first come, first serve. Schools want to see you in person and often want you to start right away. 

Also, language school work should be very scarce in July. You might consider waiting till September or October.

That’s my two cents.

Is there anyway you can apply for a Brit passport? Do you have a Brit parent? Brit passport = EU passport.
Australians can get a Brit driving licence if they have an address to use in the UK. Brit driving license allows you to drive in EU.

Hi Nicole,

I am in the same predicament. I really want to teach in Spain (Madrid), but find that all jobs listed / all agencies say you need EU passport and or UK teaching experience. I too am Australian and have obviously got the qualifications (I am fully-registered secondary school teacher of English and HUmanities), but don’t know how to go about getting a job in Spain! I would need to tee something up before I make the commitment to heading over, and so am trying to look into it all now. Anyone know best way to go about this?? I initially had thought employment in an International School would be ideal, although again, I think that is very hard to get… especially for me with no EU passport

Hoping someone (Australian?) out there can give me some tips too.

Monique.

Hi guys,

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but your chances of finding a job teaching english in Spain are very low due to the fact that there are already many qualified english teachers in Spain who are unemployed therefore you do not fit into a specialised category where the Spanish government would give you a working visa.

NZ signed an agreement with Spain for working holiday visas in June this year but as yet the discussions between Spain and Australia are ongoing and have been for a number of years without a agreement in sight.

It looks like your best bet is as mentioned above by other posters, apply for a UK or Irish passport if you have the relevent family links otherwise there is the illegal route of holiday visa and working illegally but i wouldn?t advise this as you have no security and not many schools will be prepared to break the law for you.

Wish i had better news for you, good luck.

I can help Australians and North Americans get TEFL certs to teach English in Spain with a 12 month student visa that allows you to work 20 hours a week at around 15 euros an hour.  I can also give you references of the academies that hire exclusively from our graduates.  If you are not approved for the visa, you get your money back.  All of our graduates are very happy and we want to maintain our high reputation.  I?ll give you the information in order to make an informed decision and then you decide.  I can also give you references.  I doubt you will find a better program. We are approved by the Spanish government and accredited.  All graduates meet with an independent moderator (TEFL auditor) for evaluation of the program.  Our ranking is among the highest.

For more information contact me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Best of luck!