Slashdot Mirror
Finding American Companies for Overseas Work?
markjrubin asks: "After reading this article I became interested in looking for Web work in Europe. I have been put in contact with numerous European companies, but am running into troubles getting companies to sponsor work permits. While my skillset is strong enough to get most of the jobs, the firms that I have talked with are all hesitant to sponsor a work permit. I've been told that the quickest solution is to find an American company to send me to Europe on contract work, but I'm not sure where to start looking, as the majority of the job boards do not offer this search feature. What does the Slashdot community think? Is the right solution to look for an American company? I'd love to hear comments from other Slashdot members."
I am having the same problem getting to the United States. It seems ridiculous to me that the migration laws between the Western industrialized nations are still so draconian. Certainly noone wants an influx of welfare recipients leeching off the system, but i don't see any reason to deny rights to anyone who has identifiable job skills and a good grasp of the local language.
Best of luck, and i'm sorry i can't be of more help!
If your FATHER was born in Germany, you can still claim citizenship. My wife looked into this recently, and was really pissed because it was her mother that was German, so she wasn't eligable. Sexist swine!
Is this the case for any other European nations? I have grandparents born in Germany, but I doubt that country is as liberal, what with its recent xenophobia.
I also can claim citizenship in Israel through one of my grandparents, but all that'll do is make it impossible for me to travel or work in any of the Gulf states...
I think not...(*poof*)
Having your employer hold your passport is standard practice in some Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia. There's not really any way around it, and it wouldn't do you much good if you did, anyway. In most cases you need need an exit permit from your employer in your passport in order to leave the country.
I suppose if one were planning on exiting the country by illegal means you would be slightly less screwed than otherwise if you still had your non-exit-validated passport, but I surmise that is a relatively rare situation...
J
I think not...(*poof*)
I work here now, but I got my visa the old-fashoned way -- I married a Japanese national.
I do meet a few Americans here, and they are nearly all coming over to work on the same thing: wireless wireless wireless.
"Reactionaries must be deprived of the right to voice their opinions; only the people have that right." - Mao
I'm an American working in Montreal, and I can attest that even in Quebec, which is viewed as one of the most anti-English places on the planet, English is still the working language of science. Still, French is useful because that's what everyone speaks in the bars and clubs!
Why bother looking for a country that will give you a work permit or an American company that will give you some job over in the EU when you can start your own company and and have your new EU employers pay your company while you pay yourself. This is what my girlfriend (a lawyer btw) and I did. Living in London is great!
Do any of these companies indicate why they are unwilling to sponsor work permits? Is it cost? Legal fees? Is it because they just don't need you that badly?
ADSL in most places, 512Kbit/128Kbit, 1 Gig per month transferred, $99 per month.
Wellington has cable modems too: Same rates as ADSL, a different 256/128 and 5 Gig plan and a cheaper ($70) 128/128 and 10 Gig plan. The city centre has citylink (100Mbit MAN), but it's a bit pricey for your flat.
There's also a wide collection of wireless and satellite broadbands.
Dave
I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
It hovers around the 2:1 mark. However, to save you some time, you'll get less money in NZ. But you need less money in NZ too. Average income is around the NZ$35k mark. It is. Really. Software engineers get paid 45k for grads, 65k+ for developers, $50hr+ for contracts.
FWIW I think my standard of living here is _way_ higher than anywhere else I've lived, but I like hills, clean air, no traffic jams, stuff like that.
Computers cost shitloads.
Dave
I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
Not Europe, I know, but nice none the less.
:)
Loads of work here, easy work permits, and employment agencies that actually seem to do their jobs. Best way is to just punt over and talk to a few people, though you can search with your skillset here.
Give me a mail if you actually want to do it and I'll get you set up.
Dave
I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
I know this isn't going to apply to everyone reading this, but maybe a few. Quite a few countries have citizenship and emigration rules that allow second generation "citizens" to emigrate "back" to the home country. Please correct me on this one, but I believe Ireland has instituted a program trying to lure Irish tech workers back from their overseas jobs. I believe this also includes, say, an American, born of Irish parents.
It is a bit of a shot in the dark, but it isn't too uncommon, citizenship wise. I do remember hearing of Americans conscripted into the Iraqi army because they were in Iraq visiting their parents as the Gulf War broke out.
I salute your courage to say what you did. I have not heard many jews expressing these thoughts. The voices of moderate and sane jews and muslims seems to be getting lost in the fury of bombs and bullets over there.
The violence has to stop! Let the civilized members of both parties begin the healing process.
War is necrophilia.
I don't know for sure, but the thought is a bit scarey so it would pay to be sure. Find out this answer first, obviously.
Would becoming a citizen also make you eligible to be drafted into that country's military service?
At least two trips. Count the first two as expensive vacations, where you are sightseeing the inside of HR offices, studying the local language, looking for a cheap apartment, meeting other ex-pats, and just getting ready for work. Don't bother waiting for some company to hire you just to pay your re-location expenses, they probably already have dozens of qualified people with years of experience who would love a perk transfer like that. Get yourself to where you want to be, and then start looking for work.
:-)
There are a ton of IT jobs here in Europe, sign up with jobserve email and filter on your favorite keywords. Contact a few of the agencies, and find out which ones will help you arrange a work permit if you were already living near the work site.
Come on over and pretend you are on vacation for a few months, its absolutely critical you tell imigration you are just here for vacation otherwise you may find yourself banned from the country for quite a while. *cough*Britian*cough* is one of the worst for tossing anyone who might try to find a precious job. Make sure you have savings to fall back on during this time. You'll have to chose a city, then find yourself a small cheap apartment to make a base out of. That can be difficult in some countries with heavy bureaucracies, but there's always a landlord who will take cash. Then take some language courses, if necessary, and get out and learn the local culture. Find the bars where ex-pats drink, make friends, and ask how they made themselves legal. Yes, going to bars is a form of job huntings, at least here it is
Once you seem settled, start contacting companies about IT work. Explain how you will be returning from the US soon, and you will need to be sponsored. Just by being physically present shows you have already made a big committment to making a career over here. If you have experience in the US, that used to be a big plus, but since the bubble burst, it slightly less so. Play it up, its something few locals can brag about.
Once you have a job lined up, return to the US and apply for whatever visas are needed, and get the paperwork over there. It will make your life much easier. When you have the papers, buy another round trip ticket and come over and start working.
After you have worked for a few months, you can then head home one last time to bring back all the things you are missing, like CD collections, copies of important papers, etc. I've found that almost every ex-pat here has to go home 1-2 times per year for dealing with bills, taxes, weddings, loans, Christmas. So just start budgeting for occasional trips back and forth. Remember, over here, we all have great benefits, like 5-7 weeks of vacation per year, use them up.
the AC
Hemos is like...sci-fi fans;he thinks technology is cool, but he hasn't bothered to understand the science it's based on
True - but US TV is also the crappiest because it has the highest ratio of commercials/content you'll ever find on earth. Dammit - when you watch a movie or serie there's as much commercials as actual content. It's just not worth it.
I have a fetish for fair-skinned red-haired Irish women, and like warm-dark beer. Does that count?
"Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
I am as much worried about the voices of conservative and insane jews over here - who benefit from being over 4000 miles away and are often in a position to financially support conservative groups "over there"
A note on the PND changes: it looks like this bill got bottled up in committee in the Dáil (and given how long it's been there, it may never make it out), so there's still time to find someone Irish to marry. See this page on the status of the bill.
Disclaimer: I am not an attorney of any sort in either the US or Ireland.
Work permit? How about citizenship? If one of your grandparents was born in Ireland, you are entitled to citizenship. See Your Right to Irish Citizenship.
This lets you live and work, without a work permit, in any member country of the European Economic Area (the EU + Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein).
A warning on the mention of "post-nuptial declaration" in these documents: apparently the law has been changed, and from 2003 will require 3 years' residence in Ireland for the PND to be valid (basically making it only a shorter term for naturalization). If you were married in 2000 or earlier you might get in under the wire if you hurry. However, as the spouse of a citizen of an EEA country, you are guaranteed a work permit anyway.
(US citizen by birth, Irish citizen by PND.)
Turkey? I think not! You forgot Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Luxembourg.
I'll do it for cheesy poofs.
Hi there
I second the poster above who mentioned Ireland as a suitable location. Germany is also good, with a caveat (will get to that in a second).
Pretty much any EU country is a good choice as many employers are willing to give people a chance without formal technical qualifications. You may have those qualifications, so you may be in a stronger position compared to those going over without them.
The most important piece of advice I could offer would be to network, network, network in your area first. While the job boards are useful to get an idea of what kind of things employers are looking for, your chances of success drop as soon as the jobs are posted in comparison to what you could find on your own in your area. Locally, there is always going to be a smaller range of candidates competing for positions in your area than over the Internet.
Do you have any European languages other than English? If not, are you willing to learn? This will also increase your employability. Don't get me wrong, I know North Americans who have been able to get jobs in Europe without those other languages, but they've faced more of an uphill climb than multilingual candidates. Just keep in mind that companies are looking for well-rounded individuals who not only have the technical nous to do well but some degree of congeniality, openness and adaptability. Other languages, while not the only factor, are strongly indicative of a person's malleability.
Good luck and keep us posted! Your experiences will help others that follow you.
========================================
Death will come, and will have your eyes
-- Pavese
If you're willing to work for a company that contracts with the federal government, you should have little trouble finding work in Europe. Particularly if the contract is for the Department of Defense, you may fall under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). If so, the first $75K of your income is exempt from US taxes and it is possible not to be taxed by the host nation either.
Specific companies I know of include Logitech, Mitre, and SAIC.
Renowned American company, with business open anywhere in the world, you might even choose to work in Moscow or Peking if you like !
"Naughty, naughty, naughty, you filthy old soomka !"
It may not be that bad in all countries. the
.co.uk) or by searching
United Kingdom has a special program for
"shortage occupations" that allows for quick,
almost guaranteed work permits with a minimum
of paperwork required and no hoops for your
employer-to-be to work through, epsecially
the dreaded "proof of no available local or
EU citizens to take the job."
To give you some idea of how much the situation
has changed in the uk recently, I was told that
if I applied for a job with a local government
agency as a plain-jane sysadmin that they would
sponsor my work permit. That's pretty amazing
in my book - local governments usually want to
hire their own residents, not some guy from
across the pond.
I don't have the link handy, but your can find
lots of info at expat essentials
(expat-essentials.com or
google for "dfee work permit scheme" or
"dfee work permit shortage occupation"
FWIW, I'm staying in the USA now. Go to
homefair.com and run the salary and relocations
calculators to figure out the cost of living:
It's perversely high in europe and IT salaries
are insanely low. You had best be prepared for
financial culture shock.
--chuck
I can't speak for Europe, but I worked in Mexico (a lovely area near the beach, south of Cancun). I just went and eventually got my work visa. It's a pain in the butt, but I would imagine it's easier to do once you're there. I think people would be more inclined to hire you, even if they have to sponsor a work visa, if you're already there.
As someone else pointed out, if you're going to a country where English isn't the native language, you should be able to speak the language, if not fluently, very conversationally. Actually, for technical work, I'd say you'll probably have to speak fluently. Remember, your co-workers are going to talk in their native tongue, and they're going to need to be able to explain fairly advanced concepts and ideas to you.
I speak Spanish well, but I don't think I would have made it as a programmer there. I definately would have had to speak it better. I could discuss regular topics with ease, but discussing programming issues with other programmers in Spanish would have been pretty tough. I would have needed a few months of working there as a programmer to get comfortable with it. (I, obviously, wasn't working as a programmer.)
If you can pull it off, though, do it. It's one of the greatest experiences of my life. I have very fond memories of my two years there and a ton of friends with whom I'm still quite close.
I'm not saying don't bother learning a language, obviously you'll get far more out of your stay if you do, but it's surprisingly easy to get by without one.
Irish citizenship allows you to live and work in any EU member nation without any restriction. If you can claim citizenship, through parents/grandparents to ANY EU country, then you can work in any other EU Country. The EU currently includes: UK (inc Scotland, Wales & Ireland), Eire, Holland , Belgium, France, Autria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, plus some others I can't recall from the top of my head.
You really can't get good quality warm beer without really looking these days. Can you get any Good, without really looking these days ? The best way to track down good real ale (beer) is through Campaign for Real Ale's Good Beer Guide. http://www.camra.org.uk/
Anyone know for sure?
Should still count because both are EU Countries.
Indeed politics aside, since Eire became independent in only 1922, most Southern Irish immigrants to the US actually left what was still Great Briton. So they could probably claim which ever they wanted (or possible both). I know that predating the the EU provisions, UK Citizens could work in Eire and vica-versa.
just open an account at a Caribbean bank with an ATM card, read up on money laundering, and you'll be set.
---
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
www.teslabox.com
So, apply for a job at consultant type of company and emphasise you don't mind to travel 100% of time. Such companies as computer associates, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and other are constantly looking for this kind of employees.
You might not end up with constant employment at once place in europe, but you might work 6-24 months per project in single place and then move to further project at some other place in Europe or at other place in the world.
If programs would be read like poetry, most programmers would be Vogons.
after all articles regarding H1B caps and laws. H1B, you know, the visa that gets _Europeans_ to work in the US.
<grub> Reading
Having done a lot of international travel back in the day, I have to say before you just go ahead and start sending out resumes you have to think about what companies are looking for. Most companies will send you over as an ex-patroit. You basically still work for the american company but are on loan. Experiences companies will take care of everything. Car, flat, taxes, shipping your ass over.
And unlike one of the previous posters stated, getting a two year stay is pretty typical in Europe.
Large companies are driven by many things. First off, Speaking a forign language is a big time plus. American companies like to have people onsite who speak both english and the host nation language well. They want someone they can talk to about technical issues. But thye also want that person to be able to relay that to the rest of the office.
Second, they want a commitment. They want you there for YEARS not MONTHS. There are a lot of costs, and they expect to make them up.
Finally, selection of a company. To many people are suggesting straight up Tech companies. In this age of cut backs in Tech you may find that US Tech companies aren't as likely to send a new hire over seas.
However, I would suggest other industries that use IT. Ag sector (i.e. Food) is huge, and not matter what the economy is doing, people still have to eat. I'd suggest ADM, or Cargill. And out of those two, I'd preference Cargill since they are a private company (in fact the largest Private firm in the US.)
Do NOT allow them (employer) to 'hold' onto your passport, be sure to have an open ended ticket for your return flight, and enjoy your time.
III.IIVIVIXIIVIVIIIVVIIIIXVIIIXIIIIIIIIVIIIIVVIII
Mmmmm warm beer and pale women, that is in england right?
"`Ford, you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.'" -THHGTTG
Let's not limit the scope of this to Europe. I'd *love* to do some Perl/PHP programming in Latin America (a Spanish speaking country) for a few months (years?). Any pointers?
I would like to do Perl/PHP programming in Latin for a couple years:
#!/usr/bin/perl -Tw
use Latin::old
$denot = alas("Quomo", "fytes");
"`Ford, you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.'" -THHGTTG
No matter how good your skills are, European companies are not likely to sponsor a work permit. The best route is to find an american company that will send you over there.
Here's some information about working in Europe. Hope you'll have some luck finding work over there.
I moved to Holland a year ago (from another EU country) and it was really easy.
Although i'm not currently looking for any new job, i keep getting work proposals (and this in a downturn/recession in IT) so i guess there is no lack of work in IT around here.
There are at least 3 americans working in my company currently (which will remain nameless), out of about 80 people, and this is a Dutch company.
Strangely enough it's easier to find IT positions in Holland by using international placement agencies/web sites than it is by using the local ones (maybe because the local ones are all in Dutch). I would recommend:
- Jobserve
- Planet Recruit
( and no, i'm not associated with any of them )Try searching with the keywords "Amsterdam" and "Web".
As for the "medicinal stuff" ... well, as long as you don't go around "medicating yourself" while at work, nobody really cares about what you do!!!
If you are part of an EU employed person's family, you are entitled to accompany the employed person and enjoy the same rights.0 107973.htm
In a practical case: if your spouse is Irish, she can work anywhere in the EU and you can accompany her enjoying the same rights.
Check this: http://www.europa.eu.int/scadplus/citizens/en/ir/
I'm in Taiwan as Fab material control software eng. I found this job through several different points of contact. One contact I obtained several years ago while over here. So, one ounce of advice when you're looking international, keep contacts of everyone you meet and you'll be able to go places cool in the future if you want. You never know what kind of strings you can pull until you have a large pool of people you can contact! :)
Also, be careful when you go overseas. Look for a medium to large company, unless you don't mind living in a kitchen with a bed apartment. Asia is expensive, Europe even more so. So, if your company can't provide a good expat package, don't even take the offer. Cause you'll be bitching so much when you get over there, everyone will hate you, your performance will suck and you'll want to go home. K, and this ain't some "American" whiny crap either, it applies to everyone. When people go overseas and live in another country they tend to whine, moan and complain. So, my advice is "shut your mouth", because that's whatever you signed for when you came over Applies to everyone!
[...steps off the soapbox]
Thanks for letting me vent.
If you look on the Irish ministry of state's homepage, I think this explains it.
I *think* that your wife would have had to have registered as a foreign-born citizen before your marraige to take advantage of it.
I'm not positive though, and they might make exceptions.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
If any of your parents or grandparents were born in Ireland, you are considered an Irish citizen, and can register for a passport at and Irish consulate or embassy.
b as sies.html
Irish citizenship allows you to live and work in any EU member nation without any restriction. The United States does not recognize this as valid and you cannot travel into or out of the United States on the passport. It does not affect your American citizenship, unless you are a military officer or hold a policy-level federal position.
Note however that you ARE fully subject to any and all European taxes (which are HIGH). Depending on circumstances, you may also be liable for US taxes. Consult a lawyer or CPA who specializes in these matters. It may be very also be difficult to move quanities of cash to and from countries.
This page should refer you to the embassay or consulate you need.
http://www.goireland.com/low/visitorsguide/irem
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
If you are canadian you are allowed to live and work for one year in The Netherlands without any working permit. After that year is over you will need sponsorship from some company. Chances are that if you worked for one year in the same company they will probably want to keep you.
Go to your local dutch embassy, because the same rule may apply to americans.
You just have to have the right skills....
In the last few years i've worked for 4-12 months at a time in the UK, Norway, Greece, Germany, and NYC.
Basically, it really helps if you have a can-do attitude, and don't come across as one of those irritating America-is-best types. (Nothing annoys a European more than 'Gee, isn't this a cute little town|car|historic building' )
Language skills, to be honest, are not that important ( as long as your English is good ). My Greek is non-existant, and my Norwegian limited to ordering food & beer. What's much more important is you willingness to embrace the various cultural and working practices of your host nation.
(BTW: If you work more than 183 days in Germany, you become liable for German taxes, which are a punitive 60%+, so make sure you factor this into any pay settlement, should you work there. Norway (and other Scandinavian countries) taxes are as high is not higher. Also dont forget the much higher rates of indirect taxation over in Europe (petrol|gas duty, VAT etc)
If you are good at what you do (and remember that there are _many_ people around that think they are good, but really aren't...), and can present yourself professionally, you should not have a problem working in Europe.
Best of luck.....
Go to O'Hare, JFK, or Hartsfield. Find the point through which all travelers departing on international flights must pass. Hold up a piece of cardboard, preferably torn crudely from a box, with the message "Will work overseas for plane ticket". Cradle dirty, sweating baby in non-sign-holding arm if possible, if available. (If none available, youthful, deceptive midget can sometimes be persuaded to act as a confederate.) Make sure dupe is heading for a first-world country, preferably with socialist leanings. When you arrive, ditch prospective employer. If this proves difficult, talk loudly about the merits of "Dubya" and how "we saved your asses twice last century". When free, hook up with band of south american indians playing quaint aboriginal music for tourist money. When enough has accumulated, go to internet cafe and submit "Ask Slashdot" question about how Americans can find work in Europe. (This question comes up every few months, but the editors don't seem to mind.)
I can sympathise with you about the hassle of finding a sponsor, been there, done that. Usually, it's because of ignorance about the visa system, or greed. So let's spell the rules out for the UK:
If you have an IT degree, or any degree with 1 years IT experience, and the job appears on the shortage occupation list (i.e. almost anything in IT), then the work permit is automatic, and takes about 2 weeks to be issued. The employer can fill out the application themselves, and it doesn't cost them anything. Check out www.workpermits.gov.uk for full details.
I've found that most UK IT recruitment consultants are ignorant of the rules and take some convincing. I even had one consultant who didn't believe me, and so she checked with the immigration consultant firm they usually used. The immigration consultant, the greedy bastard, told her I was lying, and that it was so hard to do that they needed to be involved and it would cost about a thousand pounds. Needless to say, I was no longer considered for the job.
The key, obviously, is to find a good recruitment consultant, one that knows about the rules, and is used to convincing employers to sponsor people. After too many bastards, I may have found a good one in www.abbeywood.com, time will tell, but certainly they're open to sponsoring visas. In general avoid the really small outfits, they're just cowboys out to rip people off. Some of the big internatioanl recruiters should also be used to dealing with visas.
If you are approaching companies directly, try the big international firms, they're used to dealing with permits. Otherwise, be prepared to tell them about how easy it is. I do this by emailing them a completed application form, just to show how easy it is, and give them the phone number of the work permit people to ring and ask verify.
Of course, as some people have already mentioned, if you have English or Irish grandparents, or your spouse has, then you're in like Flynn. The UK will give you a 4 year residency permit, allowing you to work there, and after 4 years, you can claim permenant residency.
The number one IT job search site in the UK is www.jobserve.com, if it's not there, it's not available.
Good luck!
Go look for big consulting companies ...) or go with the big guys (IBM, the evil Empire, HP, Sun, ...).
I am sure you will find something ...
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Accenture
KPMG
Arthur Andersen
Arthur D. Little
They all have offices in Europe. Other than that, look for European Companies with an American Presence (Brokat, Trintech, Intershop,
Travolta: Yeah, it breaks down like this: it's legal to buy it, it's legal to own it, & if you're the proprietor of a hash bar, it's legal to sell it. It's legal to carry it, which doesn't really matter 'cause--get a load of this--if the cops stop you, it's illegal for them to search you. Searching you is a right that the cops in Amsterdam don't have.
Jackson: That did it, man--I'm fuckin' goin', that's all there is to it.
However, this requires strong language skills in the country of your choice. Of course a number of my colleagues were able to work in Great Britain and Australia where language was not a problem.
Good luck! Working in Europe is a truly wonderful experience.
--brian
Monster.com is very visa-friendly, and the article should give you good tips on how to search for H-1B visas (and others) on it.
I know here in Boston monster.com is a wonderful resource -- found me my job at least.
[1] http://technology.monster.com/articles/us.
~
In the USA there is a glorious invention known as "absentee voting" which enables the concerned citizen to travel abroad without fear of losing his vote due to not being physically present at the voting booth.
I completely agree. Professional services is the way to go. Web developers would have a tough time because their work in not location dependant. Post sales enginering and other such professional services jobs are quite commonly aailable and will typically aford you the opportunity to travel to several countries in the span of a couple years. It's always an interesting ecperience; weather you end up enjoying it or hating it's always interesting...
--CTH
--
--Got Lists? | Top 95 Star Wars Line
That was all good.
The big American company I worked for then bought up a smaller American company and sent me to work there.
That was all good, too.
Then, the big American company that had bought up the smaller American company I was working for was bought up by an even bigger British company.
Still, all good.
Today, I'm a contractor in Paris for the French division of the huge British company that purchased the big American company that had purchased the little American company at which I once worked.
Peace.
(on a serious note, find a multinational, work a while in the States, and get a transfer. Easiest route to take. Further, if you want to come to France, be prepared for a 6 to 12 month tooth-and-nail grudge match to get your work papers. In French. Britian is a cake walk in comparison.)
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
I have been living and working in Dublin for the last 6 years and have never had any difficulty finding a job. There are lots of US companies here (all the big software companies are here) and the home-grown market isn't bad either. I work for an Irish startup (http://www.kadius.com) and we had a huge problem getting experienced Java developers and testers in our last round of hiring. The pay is a little lower than in the US, but the working environment and social life more than makes up for it. A friend who has recently made the move to Dublin from Canada has recorded his experiences at http://www.adamboyes.com. If you are considering a move to Dublin, have a look at http://www.stepstone.ie for jobs. It is the best jobs site here and has a lot of info. I have never heard of anyone ever being turned down for a work permit and residency if they have a job requiring any technical expertise at all. I have had a blast since making the move.
I'm not sure, but this may help.
/.ed?), so you can email me at bryan1946@yahoo.com if you'd like some info. (Don't spam me folks, please, this is a tertiary account that I will delete easily; I'm just trying to help a guy out)
I work for one of the "Big 6" consulting firms, and we have many, many international offices (actually, we have an International Team). I'm sure that other firms probably do also. I know that you specfied contract work, but maybe it's worth a look.
I'm not sure if I should give out my companies web address (can you imagine if they figured out that I got them
Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
Anyways I still recommend Canada. I never understood really why I was paying $2 per litre of petrol, but I digress...
Your pizza just the way you ought to have it.
Actually it seems that IT jobs made their way to the shortage occupations list in the UK. This changes the situation quite dramatically as the whole process of proving there are no suitable EU candidates is not necessary. I stand corrected. My info on these issues is getting a bit dated now (>3 years).
Your pizza just the way you ought to have it.
If you don't feel like going through this kind of trauma and humiliation go to another country which actually has a real immigration policy. You can apply even if you don't have a job lined up beforehand. And yes it's quite a bit different from the US of A.
Hope this helps.
Your pizza just the way you ought to have it.
You're not correct. I've been through the process and it is not nearly as easy as you project. With solid experience and an enthusiastic company I still got my work permit refused first time round. The process is long, uncertain and daunting. It was easier for a couple of years 1998, 1999 but according to many people I keep in touch with OLS is hardening up again. You could have been one of the very few lucky ones whose applications seem to have been stamped approved right away due to a clerical error but that's an exception rather than a rule. See my post below about just how tough it can get for a UK employer to hire an overseas worker.
Your pizza just the way you ought to have it.
You wouldn't be looking for work in Amsterdam, would you? :-)
I am an American developer working in france and I though I could give you some tips. First of all, the visa and work situation is nothing like the US. It is very easy to get a work permit if you are a tech person. Basically, you find a job and then you worry about the papers. The best places to find a job are in "Le Monde Informatique" and "01" published by La Figureo. Look at www.01net.com. These are glossy sunday supplement style weekly magazines that adverstise hundreds of tech jobs. People still use the newspapers here to find work. Fire your resume off to all the ads and you should get calls within a day. Your resume can be in english, but you should get a short french cover letter to go with it. There is a strong demand here and if you do not find something within a week, then you are probably doing something wrong (change your cover letter - keep it short and don't flaunt your ignorance of the language). If a company balks at paying for the visa, just tell then that you will pick up the tab. It only costs between 5000 and 10000 francs (about 7.5 franc/dollar). It takes three to four weeks to get a visa. The american consulate in paris can mail you a list of english speaking attorneys who do this work. Watch out as the cost and time estimates can vary by as much as 2000 percent. Shop around. When you have your visa, you basically have a green card. In theory, you could quit your tech job and drive a bus or work in a bar. You can do everything a french citizen can do except vote. You get the health benefits, unemployment, etc. On the whole, these are better than in the US. Pay is 250000 to 300000 francs per year. Low by US standards, but the cost of living is so much less that I feel I have more money. I live in a very nice part of paris and the cost feels like a small town in Oklahoma. Also, you don't need to have a car. Your employment is much more secure. You need to speak french to live and work here. The company will probably tell you this is not necessary - but they will be wrong. They will also regret telling you this after the first month. Everyone here knows two or three hundred english words, but very few people really speak english. You will be a lonely outcast and third rate employee until you learn the language. Don't kid yourself, it will take six to eight months of daily hard work - this assumes that you have had some highschool french and know the verbs, etc. Be prepared to eat some crow as less skilled people pass you by in the first few months - they can communicate with the co-workers and you will not yet be able to do this. It is even easier to find a job in England, but the visa is not nearly as good (only good for the job. The wages are much higher in london, but the cost of living is so high that I actually had much less money when I was there. The people were very nice and I actually felt much more confortable in my work environment. France is very microsoft oriented. England seems to have a stronger open source base.
Often, with companies like these, you will also not have a language problem because the spoken language at the company will be English (since a large fraction of the employees come from countries all over the world).
From my experience, if you have solid education background, this sort of thing is pretty easy to do for engineering positions.
Try Ireland, the tech shortage is vicious and the Government is easy with the work permits.