Experience or education?

Well, happy holidays everyone. I've been busy working on the next edition of the DIY Expat book, and you'll find a bunch of changes (more on that in a few days).

Before the holidays, I had a couple of questions about university degrees, work experience and how they relate to needing a work permit if you're a non-EU national.

European countries differ on the point, with some saying that they'll only take a degree, while others may accept, under certain conditions, work experience at an advanced technical level. This is specially true in areas where people may get ahead or learn on a less time-intensive basis. Bill Gates, for example, never finished university, but was arguably a genius when building Microsoft.

If your qualifications (education, work experience, or some combination thereof) are what authorities in a given country are looking for, then you may be allowed to take up work without a work visa or with a permit under significantly better and easier conditions attached.

For example, if you are an IT programmer, certain European countries maybe happy to have you if you've got skills that are in high demand (such as database building or you're a specialist in some kind of high-end software). At the same time, being an architect, engineer or brain surgeon are jobs where local authorities may not only want to see that you finished school, but that you got your certification as well. (You can always fix a line of code, but knocking down a bridge is an entirely different matter.)

If you're thinking of getting a job in Europe and you have advanced experience, skills or education, think of looking at these eased work permits. Countries which have these kinds of visas include Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Denmark and other European Union members.

New Feature!

The last post I did seems to have been popular. So, I'm going to start posting answers to other questions that I get about moving to Europe, work permits, residency permits and so on. (Remember, your best bet is always to get a local legal professional to help you... so do!) You never know what they'll be, but they're real questions that affect real people.

You may not need a work permit...

I recently received the following question on my website:

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Dear Joe,

Next year, I will be working in Warsaw permanently. Currently I have a passport and living in Sweden as a permanent resident.

Can you tell me about work permits in Poland?

Thanks, Vince

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It was interesting, since Vince may be able to qualify for a special permit that he didn't even know about... The permanent EU residency permit. (here's a few more details) In fact, very few people know about it!

I told Vince that Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 says that if you qualify, you can move between any EU member state (except Ireland, Denmark or the United Kingdom) with nearly the same rights as European nationals.

Sweden and Poland are signed up to this Directive, and he may (emphasis on may) be able to use it to move to Poland, without having to get a work permit. Now, I know that Sweden is giving out these EU-level permanent residency permits (if you meet the right conditions, and it sounds like you do). The trick is, though to find out if Poland is allowing those permits holders to actually work without permits or not. It's up to individual countries to decide how they want to implement the Directive.

The Netherlands, for example, tells people that they not only need a work permit, but have to pay Euro 880 for a residency permit. (For a country that says that it wants talented expats, you have to wonder...) Other countries want you to have a work contract and housing (among other things), but don't impose such conditions. (The next edition of the DIY Expat Guide will highlight individual countries and how they see the EU permanent residency permit.)

One of the things to keep in mind if that some countries have a local permanent residency card an the EU one as well.

Guerre civile en Belgique...

New edition out!

The third edition of the DIY Expat Guide is out, with a significant number of updates on laws that have changed over the past couple of months. We'll be putting out another update at the end of December with details on how various European countries are implementing the EU's Permanent Residency Directive. In practical terms, this is the legislation which allows permit holders to move around most of the European Union with a minimum of paperwork and hassle.