US citizen wants to work in SPAIN - derivative citizenship for the EU
QUESTION: HI, I AM A AMERICAN CITIZEN..CAME TO SPAIN TO WORK ,LIVE, AND PERHAPS EVEN RAISE A FAMILY HERE...I THOUGHT THINGS WERE GOING TO BE SIMPLE FOR THE FACT THAT I DID NOT COME HERE ILLEGALLY.BUT, WHILE HERE I FOUND OUT THAT I CAN NOT LEGALLY WORK HERE BECAUSE I AM NOT A RESIDENT , OR CITIZEN OF SPAIN ...HOW AND WHERE CAN I APPLY?? I NEED TO KNOW STEP BY STEP AS WHAT TO DO...HOW LONG WILL THE PROCESS TAKE???AND DO I HAVE TO GIVE UP MY AMERICAN PASSPORT SOMETIME IN THE PROCESS??? OR CAN I HAVE DUAL CITIZENSHIPS...
You cannot come to Canada or go to Mexico, Spain, England, Australia, France, Costa Rica or New Zealand and work without a working or residential visa.
I have no personal knowledge of immigration or work visas for Spain.
However, it is too bad that your father was not born in Italy or England as mine was. (maybe yours was as well). If married, your spouse might be the key. If single, find a nice spanish lady to marry and have her sponsor you.
With my father born in Liverpool, I can apply for British or UK citizenship and that would give me the right to work in Spain and another 24 EU countries under the rules of the European Union..
In some cases, even a grandfather born in one of the EU countries might give you the right to that countries citizenship.
If for instance, your grandfather was born in Italy, your father was likely an Italian citizen and you can likley claim Italian citizenship depending upon some dates. see http://www.italiandualcitizenship.com/
If you can't find some sneaky EU citizenship, find a Spanish employer who will do the paperwork for you. Of courese this implies a major employer since it is highly unlikely that a corner store would go to that trouble.
If a Spanish citizen wants to work in the US, with the exception of an E5 or E2 visa (which require major capital investment) and an 'O' visa which requires superior international regognition, an individual can NOT just get a visa to work in the USA. The company has to apply for the visa and the visa is issued for the benefit of the company (and US commerce) NOT for the benefit of the individual.
And, of course, if you are a fourth generation American on both sides, find that compamy to hire you and sponsor you and bone up on your Spanish.
If you do manage to find a European grandparent or parent who can pass citizenship, you do NOT lose your US citizenship.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------david ingram replies:
You cannot come to Canada or go to Mexico, Spain, England, Australia, France, Costa Rica or New Zealand and work without a working or residential visa.
I have no personal knowledge of immigration or work visas for Spain.
However, it is too bad that your father was not born in Italy or England as mine was. (maybe yours was as well). If married, your spouse might be the key. If single, find a nice spanish lady to marry and have her sponsor you.
With my father born in Liverpool, I can apply for British or UK citizenship and that would give me the right to work in Spain and another 24 EU countries under the rules of the European Union..
In some cases, even a grandfather born in one of the EU countries might give you the right to that countries citizenship.
If for instance, your grandfather was born in Italy, your father was likely an Italian citizen and you can likley claim Italian citizenship depending upon some dates. see http://www.italiandualcitizenship.com/
If you can't find some sneaky EU citizenship, find a Spanish employer who will do the paperwork for you. Of courese this implies a major employer since it is highly unlikely that a corner store would go to that trouble.
If a Spanish citizen wants to work in the US, with the exception of an E5 or E2 visa (which require major capital investment) and an 'O' visa which requires superior international regognition, an individual can NOT just get a visa to work in the USA. The company has to apply for the visa and the visa is issued for the benefit of the company (and US commerce) NOT for the benefit of the individual.
And, of course, if you are a fourth generation American on both sides, find that compamy to hire you and sponsor you and bone up on your Spanish.
If you do manage to find a European grandparent or parent who can pass citizenship, you do NOT lose your US citizenship.
What's Related