How easy is it to emigrate to Europe from the Uk?

[ruperto]

I have a friend who says she’s going to move to Europe in within the next 2 years.

Normally I would be very upset to hear this as she is a dear friend and I would miss her, but she has said this before (it was New Zealand last time), so before I go getting upset about this I’m just wondering how realistic it really is.

She doesn't work at the moment (qualified as a teacher but only ever worked as a TA- her choice) she’s looking after the children (6 and 2). Her husband is also a teacher (Art, but full time as supply at two different schools at the moment).

No other languages, not much savings.

They’re talking about going to Spain, or Portugal or Italy and living in a campervan for a while before choosing which area they want to live in.

Is this realistic? Would they need to find jobs before going? Sort proper accommodation? Is there a time limit on how long they could stay?

It will depend on the rules of each country but generally they will need a work visa and job offer. They sound very naive.

I live in Spain, unless they have EU passports its very difficult. They would have to come in on Non Lucrative Visas - so basically have the funds to support themselves for 5 years WITHOUT WORKING IN SPAIN plus take out medical insurance as they would have no recourse to public funds.
Brexit.

They'd need a job offer and a visa, they're not the easiest to get now and each country has slightly different requirements. None are as easy as just rocking up and deciding you live there now.

Otherwise, you can spend 90 days out of 180 visa free in the EU. I think (could be wrong) that's 90 days total regardless of country so you couldn't, say, go to Spain for 90 days then cross into France for the next 90 and so on. I believe it's 90 days total, then you need to leave the EU for the next 90.

Sounds like she's talking nonsense tbh. Unless one of them holds an EU passport you're not aware of.

Haven't they heard about Brexit?
You can only stay for 90 days now unless you have an EU passport and you need a visa to work.
There are some places you can get a visa if you are a well off retired person with money ( Portugal?) in the bank or you invest in a business and I believe there are digital nomad visas in some places but it's not straightforward or easy unless you have the means and good legal advice.

It’s easy to emigrate to Ireland from the UK. Not so much other EU countries.

Please tell your friend she’s in Europe. 🙄

Post brexit it is very difficult indeed. She needs to comply with the visa regulations of each country

If her husband gets a teaching job he will get a visa.

Assuming that the OP means the EU/Schengen, then while it is possible to move to an EU country from the UK, there are strict requirements that need to be met (unless one of the couple has an EU/EEA passport).

Some countries allow people to move there if they can meet certain financial rules - e.g. invest XXX thousands of Euros in a property or business. The rules vary from country to country, not all countries allow this at all, and the types of investment and property are defined and heavily regulated.

Some EU countries have special visas for skilled workers. Again, this varies from country to country - Country A might need plumbers; Country B might need nurses. Note that the person's qualifications need to be recognised (so a plumber would usually need a time-served apprenticeship plus X years of experience; a nurse would need a nursing degree and perhaps a specialist post-graduate qualification) and following Brexit, many UK qualifications are no longer recognised at all in many EU countries. In addition, some countries and jobs require good language skills (evidenced by an approved language test). Even if the potential employee meets these requirements, it is usually the employer who has to apply for the visa, having shown that they have unsuccessfully attempted to recruit locally or from the 450 million people in the EU - and even then, only a limited quota of these visas are available, and they are always only for a limited time such as 12 or 24 months.

Otherwise, as pp above. Non-EU citizens can only stay in the EU/Schengen for 90 days in a rolling180 days. The limit covers the entire EU/Schengen area (with the exception of Ireland for UK citizens), so you can't live in Spain for 90 days and then move to France for the next 90 days (although Cyprus is in the EU but not in Schengen, so it is possible to go there for 90 days to re-set the limit).

"If her husband gets a teaching job he will get a visa."
Yes, but it is the employer who needs to organise this, and it is a big "if". Even if he gets a job and a visa, although she and the family can join him, she cannot legally work (as she has no visa) and they need to understand how to ensure that the entire family is covered for medical insurance, which is almost always a requirement in EU countries.

How will they be able to work as teachers if they don't speak the language of their host country?
They will never get a work visa.

Nah. I find it funny and horrible that ex pats in Spain voted fot Brexit and now they have to come back here every three months. A bit like ginger cats with one brain cell

They are delusional.

Maybe one of them has an EU passport? Lots of people claiming them via eg an Irish parent or grandparent.

Sounds like a bit of wishful thinking on her part.

@Sarahzb

"A bit like ginger cats with one brain cell"

???

See Bored Panda
Ginger cats are often characterised as being a bit thick

Ah thank you. I have never heard that expression (but can confirm, in my experience, you are right: Cuddly but dim!)

Europe is a big place! Did you mean the EU? ( also a big place)

Not these days, unless they wanted it to be for 90 days or less.

The only things that can think of are:

Working in an English medium school in somewhere like Madrid, where English teachers are highly prized and an employer visa might be possible.

Gibraltar?

Working as a teacher on a British Forces base, perhaps in Crete.

@Sarahzb the expats in Spain voted overwhelmingly to remain; they could see what the inpact would be.

It’s very odd the way we talk about Europe as a separate continent. It has nothing to do with Brexit. British people have always talked in this odd way. I really don’t think it’s insularity or arrogance, which are the usual accusations. It’s more of an ingrained, unconscious belief. It baffles other Europeans as well.

We are Europeans. Our entire history, language and culture is intertwined with the rest of Europe. At one point (I think it was in the 12th-century, under Eleanor of Acquitaine?? Feel free to correct me) England was quite literally united with France in a single state. We have more in common with the Dutch and Germans than they do with, say, the Serbs or the Greeks.

I suppose it’s partly the legacy of empire, and partly because we speak the same language as the U.S. But I think it’s mainly to do with being an island. We still think of Europe as ‘over there’. I remember my grandfather saying that the weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation were the strangest he ever lived through. The German army had complete control of the continent, and yet people carried on as if nothing had happened - playing cricket, moaning about the weather, and so on. It wasn’t courage, it was simply the feeling that what happened ‘over there’ had nothing to do with us. Really odd. Christ, on a clear day you can literally see the French coast from southern England!

Just out of curiosity, do Irish people think and talk in the same way? Could Irish mumsnetters tell me? Ireland is an island too - and further away from the rest of Europe than we are. But do Irish people unthinkingly refer to ‘Europe’ as if it is a separate place?

The UK is in Europe

I'm Irish but live in Germany so 'on the continent' of Europe which is what Irish people usually say .I'm also baffled when British people refer what lies over the channel as 'Europe' as if Britain was not part of Europe .It is especially more noticeable since Brexit

Their only real feasible option in Italy at least would be to get a contract in a private international school, and even then lots of schools are bypassing British candidates because it’s too complicated. Also, doubt that your friend would be very competitive so can’t imagine that one teacher salary would be enough to live on here, where teaching isn’t particularly well paid.

Thanks, I did think she was probably being a bit pie in the sky about it all. They definitely don’t have EU passports.

And yes, I meant EU sorry, or Continental Europe - specifically the Western mediterranean bit.