Hello,
Sorry if this is a repost, but I couldn’t find anything that addressed my particular situation.
I’m an American studying piano in Barcelona at the Liceo (a private music university) under a 1-year student visa and have been offered a job from another private school playing several concerts a month?not a huge augment to the income, but enough that I could really use it! I just got the offer for the job, and the work is supposed to start next week, but the guy really wants to do everything by the books, because he’s been inspected, and the multa for an illegal worker is something like 100.000?!! I know that I could apply for a pr?ctica through the Liceo, but since it and the school offering my work are not affiliated, it doesn’t seem like it would accomplish anything. Furthermore, the work is such a small amount, and starting so soon, that I don’t think it’s worth it to apply for “Autorizaci?n Excepcional de Trabajo,” that can take months, and I don’t think my employer would be willing to go through the hassle for the above reasons. Furthermore, after a long web search, I haven’t even found any links for “Autorizaci?n Excepcional de Trabajo!!”

Does anyone know about my situation? Does my student visa allow this kind of work since it’s so few hours??
Thanks in advance!

Kent

Working on a student visa. Hopefully that covers it.

Hi fkent,

I just arrived in Spain recently and am in exactly the same boat! I am fast running out of euros and would love to take on some work but it seems everything is pointing to “No” right now. Just wondering if you managed to sort something out? Would love to know how on earth you did it, even being a native Spanish speaker I am totally lost in all the red tape.
If anyone has actually applied for an “Autorizaci?n Excepcional de Trabajo!!” i’d love to hear from you about the process too. Does it really take 3 months??

Thanks guys, hope someone out there can help

Hello,
Well, I am actually not in Spain anymore, but I had relative success with work. No success, though, getting it legally. Your best bet for real legal work if you?re a student is doing it through your institution. That cuts through all the red tape. If that won?t work, just try to find something under the table. As a musician, that was relatively easy for me. Few contracts, payment generally in cash, etc, but it might be harder for someone in a different field. If you?re looking to live in Spain for at least 5 years, I?d recommend finding a way to renew your student visa each year until you?ve been there 3 years. At that point, you can legally apply for a work visa from Spain without all of the bureaucracy req?d in the consulates abroad. The “Autorizaci?n Excepcional de Trabajo” is some kind of mystery that most employers don?t even know about, so I wouldn?t bother with it.

Ok, but in the meantime, your key is English lessons (clases particulares.) I was in a large city, and charged 10?/hour. I always had more English students than music students. Make sure and inundate the online anuncio websites like segundamano with ads, and try to post flyers around schools. If you tap into the school market, it should give you a relatively fast source of income. Don?t worry if you don?t have “training” in English, if you?re a native speaker and fairly strong linguistically, you?ll do fine.
Good luck, and let me know if you have other questions!