Married couple looking to move to Europe

10POSTS

8 years ago

Hello, everyone! I have posted here before but my situation has changed slightly.
We're a married couple. I am a language teacher (certified English teacher, but not a native speaker, I always offer Spanish tutoring which I am not certified to do, but I'm a native.) and freelance writer (in both Spanish and English, mostly travel articles and such) and EN>ES translator (mostly subtitles, but I've done some commercial stuff and one novel). I don't have any sort of college degree, only my English teaching certificate and my portfolio and experience. I make half of my income by freelancing online and the other half from face-to-face English lessons.
My husband is a Architectural drafter/CAD specialist with tons of experience. He has worked with several architects and engineers. His certificate is not really a college degree, more like vocational training.
We'd like to move to Germany or Austria, my husband speaks intermediate German and I'd like to learn (I speak very basic German). We have a lot of friends in Germany, so we're comfortable with the culture and thus would love to live in one of these two countries.
Now the things is, neither of our professions is in any "high demand" job list, so we'd have to rely in a company willing to sponsor a foreigner. Our excellent English skills and Spanish also would set up apart probably, and could give the employer an "excuse" to hire us, but is there any company willing to actually go through the hassle?
Also, our initial time there we'd have to come back to our country a couple times to complete the moving process and paperwork. Again, having to take at least some time off work.
We're focusing our efforts on small, human owned companies, and not big corporations, because it would require a lot of patience to hire any of us. We do have property in our country, which we can rent out, so even if we're slightly underemployed at the beginning, we'd have that as a backup. But we'd like to improve our life standards anyway, so we don't want to take any crazy chances. We'd be also moving with our pets, so our freedom to drop everything and come back is limited.
My reason for posting here is that maybe some of you know of any such companies that could be interested in hiring either of us. We're extremely hardworking and honest people, we have many many references and recommendation letters.
Any ideas are welcome!

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SimCityAT Expert

13660POSTS

8 years ago

Hi there vir10986

I've passed on your comment to the Germany Expert to respond too, as it's late in Germany I expect him not to answer tonight but in the coming days. I will try and answer tomorrow with an Austrian View.

SimCityAT
Expat.com Expert Team

vir10986 Member

10POSTS

8 years ago

Thank you so much!

beppi Germany/Singapore Expert

15634POSTS

8 years ago

So you married since your last post 6 months ago? Congratulations!
Did you also start learning German, as I recommended then? That still is the most important pre-condition for finding a job (any job, really) and starting a fulfilled life in Germany!
Since you are planning to freelance as language teacher (and there is no visa available for this), you'll depend on him finding employment first and you joining him on a family reunion visa.
To find a job, he should concentrate on niche skills he has which are rare in Europe, as any similarly skilled EU national must be hired first, by law.

SimCityAT Expert

13660POSTS

8 years ago

Thank you beppi,

With Austria and it being a smaller country, speaking German is a must, it's very rare to find jobs that don't require it. Only very specialised jobs you can get away with speaking English.
Even manual labour jobs when you don't deal with the public, like Post wash in a restaurant kitchen are insisting you know German.
Unemployment is quite high at the moment around 8.0% which also doesn't make anything easier.

I have many friends that are English teachers, and the profession is pretty much saturated at the moment.

As for your husband, maybe you could try some employment agencies that cater in his field of work?

I hope that is of some help to you both.

vir10986 Member

10POSTS

8 years ago

Thank you!
Yes, I've started. I'm a beginner still. My husband is intermediate but he can carry on a conversation in German with no problem, and he's still improving it.
We know that he's got the biggest chance to get a job, and I have no problem is working part time in a different job and part time freelancing online as usual.
We see there are tons of jobs for what he does, but the thing is most of this companies require you to already have a visa, not necessarily being a EU citizen, but having a valid working visa, which is a catch 22 considering that to get a work visa you need a valid job offer first!
So we're looking into companies and professionals that could be willing to go through the hassle of hiring a foreigner. We have tons of friends but most of them are students, and the few who have their own companies cannot really afford to hire a bunch of people (they have small companies where they mainly do all the work themselves).
We're willing to work in other fields of course, at least at the beginning.
Thank you!

vir10986 Member

10POSTS

8 years ago

Hello,
thank you!
Are there employment agencies so specific?
He can speak intermediate German, he's spent a year intermittently in Germany so he can carry a normal conversation with minor issues, and I'm sure he'd learn it really quickly onve we're there.
I'm having more trouble with it, so I'm looking to enroll into a German course once I move.
We're willing to work in other fields as well, at least at the beginning.

beppi Germany/Singapore Expert

15634POSTS

8 years ago

vir10986 wrote:
We're willing to work in other fields as well, at least at the beginning.

That is the wrong approach, as is complaining about companies not willing to go through the trouble of hiring a foreigner!
Instead, you shoild ask yourself "what can I offer to the company that others can't?" and then convince the hiring manager that that is worth the extra effort. With unemployment at up to 25% in some EU countries, whose nationals will also apply and must be preferentially hired, this is the only way you can secure any job. Even (grossly underpaid) harvest help and stocking supermarket shelves, which require minimal language skills, are done by scores of desperate Poles and Rumanians.

vir10986 Member

10POSTS

8 years ago

Oh no, I'm not complaining. I'm totally sympathetic! I understand what a hassle it is, so I'm wondering who would be willing to go to such lengths.
The problem with having something to offer is that who really has something that can't be replaceable? As I said, we're very hardworking and honest, we speak several languages, and we have technical skills and vast experience in our particular fields. But I'm sure the world in its entirety is full of talented hardworking people.
We're looking for companies that might be interested more in a human perspective as how we, with our experience abroad, can enrich their company, more than a big corporation that generally is most cost-efficiency oriented. That's the reason for posting here! We're looking for other people here who might know someone with a startup or a small company that might be willing to at least give us a chance at an interview, but I'm by no means judging such companies. I completely understand, and I also understand the reasoning behind it.
What I meant by being open to working in other fields is that we have tons of other skills unrelated to out work: I owned a catering business, my husband worked in construction, both as a worker and supervising, we're landlord in our home country (we own property), etc. So we could take up other jobs.
I'm sorry that my comment got misinterpreted, and thank you so much for your help.

beppi Germany/Singapore Expert

15634POSTS

8 years ago

#10

The "human perspective" is sorely lacking in the corporate world - and especially so in the German hyper-efficient mindset. In my experience small and medium-sized companies (who usually face tougher competition in the market) are much worse in this respect than big ones, who might afford the luxury of niches of social conscience. (The huge German car parts supplier Bosch, for example, is in fact a non-profit charity!)
In any case, as I said, your best chance is not asking for compassion but telling what you will do to the employer's profitability.
Good luck!

vir10986 Member

10POSTS

8 years ago

#11

So is there anything you'd recommend? Other countries or alternatives?
Our main issues is that we cannot apply for jobs because they clearly state "only EU citizens or people with valid work visas". Do you know of any companies that might be willing to consider us or even look at our CVs without this requirement?
Thank you!

beppi Germany/Singapore Expert

15634POSTS

8 years ago

#12

Well, to avoid the issues with communication and EU citizenship, you could choose a country whose language you speak and which is not in the EU.
But if you still try Germany, I gave some advice above on what to look out for. And nobody will search for suitable companies and convince them to hire you, but you yourself.

vir10986 Member

10POSTS

8 years ago

#13

I don't mind learning German. I like it. I speak it as a basic level (I can go shopping and ask for directions, talk a bit about myself, etc). But in my city there are no courses and it's not easy learning in one's own. My husband speaks it though.
I didn't mean that people here should look for companies for me, I meant that since it is an expat group, some other might have experience with companies sponsoring their own visa, so they might have some idea of the type of companies that do this.
Outside the EU there's New Zealand and Australia, both countries that won't take out pets. Then the US, which we all know is impossible to get in, and Canada which we're taking a look at as well. We prefer Germany because of the 50+ friends and relationship we've made there. We have a bond with the country. We like Europe in general. We've spend a huge amount of time there. Over 2 years total, in three month trips.
Can you recommend a recruitment company that can workd directly with companies? There are some, at least in Canada, targeted towards immigrants directly, especially non-skilled ones, and they work through the hassle and paperwork for a fee (which the immigrant pays of course). IS there such a thing in Germany?

Gsto1101 Member

1POSTS

8 years ago

#14

Which country are you both natives of? If you are Spanish then, of course, you don't need a visa! If not, then if you have the necessary entrance requirements then you should consider applying for a University degree in Germany which is taught in English. That way you are (both - I think!) able to live in Germany whilst learning a new marketable skill, which in addition will then enable you both to apply for jobs in Germany or Austria. The catch is that nearly all the English language taught degree courses are in science, business or technology. Perhaps your husband could do a post graduate course in an subject connected to CAD - software development? - which would enable him to increase his chances of getting a well paid job and at the same time offer networking opportunities!

vir10986 Member

10POSTS

8 years ago

#15

We're from Uruguay, it's a former Spanish colony and if we live two years legally in Spain we're entitled to Spanish nationality (it's a law made to compensate for the colonization), so we're open to the idea of Spain as well, particularly the Basque country.
We thought Germany first because we literally have dozens of extremely close friends there. So your suggestion is great, thank you!
Is there any website where we can have a look at the possible courses we could take in English?
Thank you so much!