# Non-EU Worker in Canaries hoping to get residencia w/o Visa. Is this possible?



## Andyinspain (Dec 15, 2010)

Hi all, 

I am an American who has just been offered a job with an English newspaper in the Canary Islands. I have been here in Lanzarote for about one month already on a tourist visa. 

I'd like to ask you all for your advice. I will submit an application for a Visa back home immediately, but given the unemployment here and stories I've been hearing I'm not hopeful this will work. Two questions: 

1) Is it advisable, if I cannot get a visa, to live here without one? I understand it is possible to exit and reenter the region every few months and be fine on a renewed tourist visa. I would like to hear from anyone if this is actually the case. 

2) Can I get a residencia and NIE number w/o a visa? 

Thank you so much. I have had a very difficult time getting information about all this, so any suggestions you may have will be very helpful. 

Best, 
Andy 

PS - Anyone know any banks which operate in the Canaries and in the US?


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## Guest (Dec 15, 2010)

Andyinspain said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I am an American who has just been offered a job with an English newspaper in the Canary Islands. I have been here in Lanzarote for about one month already on a tourist visa.
> 
> ...


Andy, you'd be working illegally. Undocumented immigrant, without permission to work. It's going to be your choice, but I'd advise against it. I'm surprised that, being on an American passport, you were offered a job. It's now up to the employer to help/apply for your work visa. This could be a long process. 

You can't get residencia or a NIE without a visa. You need a visa to even think about applying for a NIE. 

I have been told that it's no longer possible to enter/exit the EU every three months because they've been cracking down on this sort of fraud. 

Good luck.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

There is a person who posts on the British thread called Joppa, he seems to know all the ins and outs of visas, I would try him,

Hepa


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## Andyinspain (Dec 15, 2010)

halydia said:


> Andy, you'd be working illegally. Undocumented immigrant, without permission to work. It's going to be your choice, but I'd advise against it. I'm surprised that, being on an American passport, you were offered a job. It's now up to the employer to help/apply for your work visa. This could be a long process.
> 
> You can't get residencia or a NIE without a visa. You need a visa to even think about applying for a NIE.
> 
> ...


Hi Hepa, 

Thank you for your suggestion. I'd like to ask something of you: Would you mind PM'ing Joppa a link to this thread? Since my account is new, I think as a spam prevention mechanism I still do not have PM privileges, and I'm not sure how else to bring this to Joppa's attention. 

Thank you, 
Andy


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Andy,

Message sent. Just a thought, have you parents that are European or grandparents,

Hepa


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Andyinspain said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I am an American who has just been offered a job with an English newspaper in the Canary Islands. I have been here in Lanzarote for about one month already on a tourist visa.
> 
> ...


I'm not an expert on Spanish system of visa, residence and so on, but basically, it will be very difficult to do what you propose. Spanish employer cannot just offer a job to a non-EU national as they will be responsible for sponsoring you for your visa, and very few media jobs will qualify because of high unemployment in the sector. Your employer has to demonstrate the job requires such highly specialised skills that they have no choice but employ you out of all the local applicants they've had.
You cannot step out of Spain every few months to reset your visa clock - the Canaries come under Schengen rule for visa purposes and you can only stay (but not work) for 90 days in 180. 
As stated, authorities are clamping down on illegal work and offenders can expect stiff penalties, a big fine, deportation and ban from returning to Schengen (pretty much the whole of Continental Western Europe) for 5 years.


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