6 Months in Europe...How does a Canadian go about making this happen?
 

Hi everyone,

I will be graduating University in 2008, I I will be 25....I am a few years behind :)
I am contemplating going away for approx 6 months before I start working full time. I am not quite sure how to go about making this happen. I know that I have to map out where I want to go, and all the "big" stuff but there are some things that are still unfamilar to me. I wouldn't mind picking up odd jobs here and there while I am away, but I don't know how realistic it is. I know that I need a long stay visa for any visit over 90 days.......I have read the requirements on line in terms of paperwork, but do they refuse people often or are my chances of being accepted pretty good? I have read all these posts about people spending 5,6,7,8.......months abroad so I am guessing that this is common.
Can I get "under the table" jobs at local stores and stuff without too much trouble? When I was in Greece, I went to Ios and 75% or more of the bar employees were foreign, and students, I am assuming they were getting paid cash.
If anyone has any tips or experiences that would help me I would love to hear it. I know it's early, but this will be costly so I need to start saving/planning early.

Thanks....sorry it was such a long post.

Layla :)

Are you fluent in a foreign language? Without that, I think finding illegal work i.e., under the table, will be much more difficult.

Also to research various countries. I know Switzerland has a longer allowance for visits than France, for example.

Hi Suze,

thanks for the replies....I am very very very comfortable (I find that it is rare for a non-native speaker of a language to be fluent) in french and italian, and I am at a conversational level in German, I think I would be able to get by. I wouldn't need to work the entire time, but some odds and ends stuff would be helpful.

I will look into Switzerland also. However, I would ideally like to have about 3wks-1mth in each country, and the countries that interest me most are France, Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Czech Rep., Germany, Greece. I am very flexible, my only "musts" are France, Italy and Hungary.
Lets say I got really adventurous (lol) and decided to head to Egypt from Greece or something like that....would I need to re-apply for a visa to get back in the EU once I have left?

Thanks!

layla :)

Well I'm no expert but perhaps you can check which countries are part of the EU and have the 90-day tourist limitation as a place to start planning.

For language, I have no worries for you as a tourist, it was about trying to find gainful employment along the way that I wondered if language skills might not be necessary.

Hopefully others with real life experience similar to what you want to do will chime in.

For extended travel you can also read & post over on Lonely Planet's forum called The Thorn Tree.

Wow that was fast Suze lol :) thank you so much!!

I will look into the thorn tree....

I am pretty sure that all EU countries have a 90day max visit, from what I can tell....maybe I am wrong though. I'll have to do more through research obviously but I was hoping I would get some good pointers here!!

Thanks again!!!

Layla ;)

I think you are correct but Switzerland (as an example) is not part of the EU so has different allowances.

Why I recommend The Thorn Tree is because (very generally speaking) people there are younger and more of them travel for longer stretches at a time.

Of the countries you mention, France, Italy, Germany and Greece are "Schengen" countries, which limit stays within any combination of Schengen countries to 90 days in any 180 day period. The others are outside the agreement and will have their own limits. It would be odd for them not to permit a thirty day stay. You can find out for sure at your foreign office website, or the websites of the individual country's embassies to Canada. It looks like you're good for at least three Schengen countries.

Work is illegal without special visas, very hard to get. There are some exceptions -- you now know where to look.

Non-schengen countries (like the UK, Switzerland etc) will have different requirements.

You can stay longer in the UK - but that isn't the mediteranian region like it seems you want . . . .

There are a number of misconceptions floating round this post and its answers,

1. Europe isn't a country. It's several dozen independent nations, each with its own rules about immigration. Most EU member countries allow nationals of most other EU countries free access to their labour markets - which is why most foreigners working in Greece are doing so legally, though you might not be able to.

2. A few EU countries (the so-called Schengen group) have a common set of rules for short-stay tourists. Non-Europeans can stay anywhere in this group of countries, without a visa, for a maximum of 90 days in any 180. You CANNOT, legally, leave the Schengen zone on day 90 and re-enter on day 91. You must wait till day 181. Many European countries aren't in the EU: most EU countries aren't in the Schengen zone.

3. But Switzerland probably will be in Schengen by 2008, though in practice this depends on common computer systems being developed, so no-one knows for sure when that will happen. Hell will probably freeze over before the UK joins such a damnfool, xenophobic, racket, and Hell most certainly WILL freeze before the Irish Republic joins a free movement zone that doesn't include Northern Ireland or that discriminates against Americans.

4. The most sensible options for a Canadian who wants six months in and round Europe are:
- get a working holiday visa (WHV). Canada is a lot more insular about this than civilised countries like Australia or New Zealand, and won't provide the reciprocal privileges to young foreigners the world's outward-looking countries do. But it's a paragon of openness compared to its introspective southern neighbour, so there are some countries offering WHVs to young Canadians, especially before or straight after graduation. Put out a query on the Western Europe and UK/Ireland sections of the Thorntree site.
- get a passport from an EU nation. If you've got an Irish or Italian grandparent, you probably qualify for citizenship, with the consequential right to work in most of the EU.
- get a UK ancestry visa. If you're a Canadian (or any other Commonwealth) citizen, and have a UK grandparent, you probably qualify for a visa that gives you full working rights in the UK (but nowhere else). With flights from the UK to almost anywhere costing less a round of drinks, and with Britain seriously short of practically every kind of worker you can think of, this is often the simplest legal option for many Canadians. Again the two sections of the Thorntree site are full of real experts on this.

5. Without the right (EU nation)passport or visa, legal short-term working in Europe is virtually impossible, Illegal working may be possible, but you're competing with seriously desperate people who aren't coming here as a lifestyle choice but because illegal working here is a lot better than the alternative back home in Africa or Asia. If caught, you risk deportation, and a central record being kept on a European computer which may well rebound on you for the rest of your life.

A sister of mine who worked (legally) as an au pair in France points out that working it most certainly was; working holiday, it wasn't. So, be sure you have your expectations clear before setting out on this venture. Also keep in mind that if you go the illegal route, you will have no rights to protect you. Getting work might be one thing, getting paid, another.

But, as you say, it is done. Whether it is more effective a means of financing a trip than working at home first, and then going traveling with what one has saved, would be interesting to know.

Check out the Thorn Tree Forum at Lonely Planet where these questions are asked and answered in great detail all the time (no disrespect to all the knowledgable posters above me intended)

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/

As above, nothing against the great information here on Fodor's, just that more LP/Thorn Tree posters are more likely your age, your budget, and travel for longer stretches of time.

By-the-way, I don't know if anyone has mentioned it, but while there is great information to be had here, you might find the Thorn Tree forums over at Lonely Planet helpful.

:-) pausanias

thank you all so much for your help....i will look into a WHV....that sounds interesting! Thanks again....I will be sure to let you know what i discover along the way!

Layla

Try checking out BUNAC online. I believe as a just- graduated student you might still qualify- I can't remember if there is an upper age limit for college students. Good luck!