Indian passport, NZ residence want to work in France, Spain.

[custodian]

Hi people,

I am (27, single) an Indian national residing in New Zealand for 5 years working in the Information Technology sector.

I want to explore Europe by working and living in a country for a year. I am keen to travel to France and Spain hopefully to find a job in the IT sector.

English (and Hindi) is the only language that I know.

What sort of permits and funds I would need to land myself in France or Spain and then find a job?

Thanks
- Custodian

[RobinLondon]

If you don't mind losing your Indian citizenship and exchanging it for Overseas Citizenship of India, I would apply for NZ citizenship before you left Kiwiland.

Have you been there long enough in a sufficient capacity to attain permanent residence/citizenship? I only ask, because a NZ passport is nice to have and offers visa-free entry to tons of more countries than your Indian one does. And it will also allow you to live/work in Australia if you so desire in the future. That all sounds like a good deal to me.

Also if you are a NZ citizen and are under certain age limits, you can do working holiday/temporary work stints at several countries throughout the world. More so than just with your Indian passport. See this chart for more information.

Good luck!

[sakura]

If you don't speak French or Spanish, how do you expect to get a job/live in the country?

Although there might be some English-only offices...

[gani999]

Hi people,

I am (27, single) an Indian national residing in New Zealand for 5 years working in the Information Technology sector.

I want to explore Europe by working and living in a country for a year. I am keen to travel to France and Spain hopefully to find a job in the IT sector.

English (and Hindi) is the only language that I know.

What sort of permits and funds I would need to land myself in France or Spain and then find a job?

Thanks
- Custodian

You cannot land up in France/Spain to look for a job. You'll need to find a job before you can get in here on a work visa. It works the same way in all EU countries except the UK.

You could, however, come on a tourist visa just to find a job. But if you succeed in finding one, you'll need to go back to India or NZ before you can apply for a job visa (I'm assuming you have an Indian citizenship). A tourist visa is valid for 90 days, and can be got from any Schenegan Consulate.

[gani999]

If you don't speak French or Spanish, how do you expect to get a job/live in the country?

Although there might be some English-only offices...

While speaking Spanish in Spain or French in France is quite mandatory if you want to avoid headaches in life, it is by no means necessary in most big international companies that operate in these places.

[sakura]

If you don't speak French or Spanish, how do you expect to get a job/live in the country?

Although there might be some English-only offices...

While speaking Spanish in Spain or French in France is quite mandatory if you want to avoid headaches in life, it is by no means necessary in most big international companies that operate in these places.

Which is what I wrote at the end of my post...have you done a general search to see if there is a market for English-speaking IT jobs?

[Wanderer]

If you don't speak French or Spanish, how do you expect to get a job/live in the country?

Although there might be some English-only offices...

While speaking Spanish in Spain or French in France is quite mandatory if you want to avoid headaches in life, it is by no means necessary in most big international companies that operate in these places.

Which is what I wrote at the end of my post...have you done a general search to see if there is a market for English-speaking IT jobs?

Loads in Germany, Belgium and Holland. None in France I bet, them being so stuck-up about their language. Spain not many either I bet.

[custodian]

Thank you all for your valuable input.

@RobinLondon
I have an indefinite returning residence visa for New Zealand. For me to get a NZ passport/citizenship I will need to spend 3 more years in NZ, which my current personal situation does not permit me to. Hence, I want to leave NZ for some place in Europe.
I know HSMP to the UK is the safest option but I also want to explore other options as HSMP and UK I believe is getting to crowded (more heads than vacancies at least in IT)
If France/Spain don't work out I'll get an HSMP (work in UK for a year or two) and then work my way into Europe (as I'll be paying less air-fare to travel to France/Spain from UK than NZ)
Your links and comments provided are very informational and I thank you for that.

@sakura
I have a Brazilian mate who learnt English within 3 months enough to be able to land himself in an IT job in NZ. I don't believe language is very important in a work environment which is typically systems. In my leisure time I can definitely use a phrase book

@gani999
Point noted - I cannot land myself in France/Spain and then find a job.
I will land myself in the UK with HSMP, work for a year or two and then visit France/Spain as a tourist for a job hunt. Once successful, I will return to UK and the re-apply to enter France/Spain on a work permit

@Wanderer
Germany, Belgium and Holland are good options too... I will definitely explore them when the time comes. I believe I cannot land myself in any of these three countries and then look for a job. If not, then HSMP to the UK is my safest option as yet.