Emigrating Overseas?

Hi there: how are you? Summer seems to be receding further and further away…roll on my holiday to Morocco in October, where the weather no doubt will be lovely!

I have been chatting to a number of people recently about emigrating: many are the reason they give but one of the chief ones seems to be lack of employment here in the UK. When you hear news like social housing firm Connaught, which employs 10,000 people, going into administration on Wednesday it is food for thought indeed. But the question is: will it be any easier to find employment abroad - and how will you set about doing this?

First, the nuts and bolts. EU citizens are not required to have a work permit in order to work in the EU. However, you will need proof of residency once you do get a job. To do this you usually apply to the Immigration Department. Non-EU citizens are generally required to have a work permit and a residence permit in order to be employed abroad and can be a harder nut to crack.

There is no doubt about it: first prize is either to get a transfer abroad via your present form or to line up a job before you move. You may think of contacting the local embassy of the country you are thinking of moving to for assistance, or perhaps find yourself a blog or Internet site that deals with getting jobs in the country you are planning to move to.

If that fails, what next?

As an English speaker, the first job that springs to mind is that of teaching English – of course this only really applies in countries where the first language is not English.In most countries there is a desire to learn English, not the least as it is generally considered the business language of the world.

While still in the UK you can search for teaching jobs in publications such as the TES (Times Educational Supplement) and the Guardian EFL pages on Tuesdays. Alternatively, certain ESL (English as a Second Language) websites like ESL employment and tefl.com can be useful. Upon arrival you can try local newspapers or perhaps employment agencies or international companies. Some British Council offices are helpful too as they produce lists of local schools and can point you in the right direction.

Tourism is another promising field of employment that you could try; jobs here are mainly available in the summer. You may think that this sort of work won’t pay the bills for ever but at least you can be looking around while earning a few cents.

For business related opportunities, the bigger cities should be your focus.


How to seek out jobs:

• English periodicals. Here you will find a selection of jobs from teaching to secretarial, advertising and sales

• Job agencies, especially in the larger cities. Remember to have your CV and references to hand

• Ask around - try that friendly shop owner, or pop into an Estate Agent...if they don’t have anything, they may know someone who has. Personal contacts can be very helpful when looking for a job

• Contact working expats, either personally or through the Internet: they have been where you are and may well be able to help

• Place ads in papers, bar notice boards, at the golf course, in shops etc.

Other options:

• A large number of UK recruitment agencies have permanent bases abroad – ask large employment agencies in the UK before you move if they have an office in the country you are moving to

• Try informal methods of recruitment such as word of mouth, networking and speculative applications, especially for small and medium-sized companies.

Self-employment

If you are an EU national or a permanent resident with a residence card you can work in a EU country as a self-employed person or a sole trader. As such, you must meet certain legal requirements and register with the appropriate organisation.

Getting started in your own business

Just a few very basic points:

• If you plan to run your own business, give careful consideration to where you will be living in relation to your customers

• Make sure that you are doing something that is different, something that will benefit your potential customers and make them more inclined to deal with you

• Be sure that there is enough demand for your product or service and that there are sufficient customers to keep you in business

• There are very few businesses that are profitable from the start. It’s therefore very important that you budget for start up costs and that you have sufficient funds to keep you and your family going until the business starts to make a profit.
  

Need any help at all? The friendly team at the OCG Resource Centre chat to people moving abroad on a daily basis and may be able to help. Call them on 0207 898 0549 - there is no cost or obligation at all and you may find just the information you need.

I hope this has given you a few ideas. I’d love to hear if your plans include working abroad and, if so, what your strategy is?

In the meanwhile, I am going to get back to my job of happily tapping away on my computer in the good old UK! Take care until next week,

Carol.