Any suggestions?

I'm thinking of applying for a tourist visa to go to Spain (I live in Southeast Asia - The Philippines) with the intention of finding a job when I get there, and look for someone who could help me fix my papers, so I can stay there legally. I still have to figure out how I'm going to go about in doing this. Chances are I'm going to just get a SINGLE ENTRY on my visa which will be valid for 3 months which means I won't be able to go to other Schengen countries bec of that single entry. Lawyers cost a lot I know, so I thought of a Gestoria (I've emailed several already but haven't gotten a response yet). I'd also like to know if Filipinos in general, have a good standing in Spain. And which part of Spain would you suggest I go to 1st where I can easily find work and have someone help me with my status. Thanks a lot!

Hi Net, I think you can try it. Probably it is less dangerous than working under the table elsewhere in Europe or the US.

Spain is quite easy to access as a tourist and once there in all the central & southern mediterranean area have a large tourist market and there is easy to get jobs in sectors like construction, bars, hotels, farming etc.also is surrounded by many tourist resorts, plus the main large cities have good opportunities.

Once inside Spain, you have really to get in trouble or drive a car and cmmit some infraction so the police stops and asks for ID. Even then you can argue that you are just a tourist or just passing on your way to other place etc. Also you can go to your embassy or the police in Spain and declare that you are a tourist and you been robbed your ID (passport or whatever) and they will give you a paper with no photo, staing the facts and this will be enough good ID for the police.

So if you do not get in trouble it is quite easy to stay there for years without any questions asked.

Only getting in gets slightly tighter if you are coming from Africa or some Asian countries, but still, as a tourist you should not have a problem to get in and then it is quite easy to stay and also find a job in a bar, looking after children, in hotels etc.....

Also there are different types of visas that are harder or easier to change.
Hi venerable son of the noble land of the Golden Horde. What type of visa? This would help. Put it next time please in question. I will list some visas and possibilities:

1) Tourist visa, if you have a tourist visa probably it expires in 3 months after arriving in Spain. So to update it and get a prolongation you need to leave Spain for 90 days I believe. Just Andorra since is not a shencge country and there is no customs between spain and Andorra. There you can ask for an extension. Also travelling once inside the EU is not difficult , no borders.

2) Student visa. This is easy. Just get good grades and ask for a visa exrtension to complete your studies. You can alos change from Visitor to Student visa, once accepted by a University /School /Whatever just need to ask for a visa status change presnting the documents of admission.

Maybe they will ask you to present the documents outside Spain. So again go to the nearest large city in Andorra with a Spanish consulate or embassy and present your papers there. This might cost you something since travelling and staying some days for new visa costs money.

3) Work Visa
If you are already working just apply for an extension due to working demands. That is quite easy. You can also change from Visitor to Working visa by getting a job and presenting papers of visa status change. If you have friends they can even give you a "job" so you can apply for the Visa cha nge. Again maybe they make you leave the country temporarily to presnt papers outside spain, do the same as in 2 but working documentation.

4) Permanet Visa.
You marry a Spanish girl /guy or a Philipino girl/guy which already lives there and has a permanet or solid visa and first they give you a temporary visa then they give you a 5 year visa then permanent visa. There are people who will do it for different reason, marrying I mean, money being one of them. If you get a job during that time better.

5) Nationality or Citizenship
Either you fullfill 2, 3, or 4 you can only get this definitive solution if you are a Politica refugee and hence are granted Political refugee status or Permission. Obvious and self exoplanatory you need to demonstrate that if you go back to mongolia they will kill you or inprisson you or whatever really bad. This is not easy.

However once in Spain you can take your documents and hire the services of a Gestoria. It is not that they will do something impossible but they have the resources so that you do not have to go in person to perform many bureaucratic matters. In general do not try to email gestorias they are too busy and your question to complex.

Also they have the legal resources to inform you well about whatever you need and provide you the forms/applications required you need to fill. Just make sure you choose a good one, however I have been now away from my country some time so dont know which one to recommend. Find a good one in Madrid, since there is where they cut the cheese.

Also there are some areas of Spain like in mountain areas like Orense, Lugo, Old Castille maybe Aragon where they have lost so much population that the governments are trying to repopulate the areas and therefore offer many incentives and all types of Jobs. This are old villages often partially m,or completelly abandoned now being repopulated so someone makes sure the countryside does not degenrate. You can try and see ifyou find repopulation sites or similar searches in the different autonomic regions. I know for a fact that in Orense they where doing that and they where offering free housing etc...Check for "repoblaci贸n" in galicia, castilla la vieja, arag贸n etc

PS: In Spain till recently there where quite many Filipino descendants, I have two cousins whose family comes from there and generally they were well of and hence well acepted, yet today because of a larger demand in certain jobs there came many filipino women to work as maids and hence the picture changed a little bit. Still no problem in general with Filipinos in Spain. Also the last possibility is that you ignore the visa extinction and stay in Spain. You would not be the first one to do that. This is quite easy and do not need to worry since in general, Philipinos and other asians are well tolerated in Spain since they are generally well educated and unconspicuous. It is quite rare that you get a cop to ask you for your papers if you do not do something really unfortunate. So that will give you time to prepare for one of the above. When you present the new papers you can always say that you did leave Spain to Andorra when visa expired and were 90 days but since but no-one stamped your passport in the border.....

If you want to go try it I think you do not have to worry much about it, unless you are unlucky enough to work for a s.o.b.
Best regards
S