We are excited to extend the opportunity to obtain a work visa for the 2024/25 school year to all eligible teachers at La Casita de Inglés!

In order to be eligible, you must:

  • Have had a student visa for at least one full year
  • Have worked for La Casita for at least one school year (open to less time depending on performance)
  • Have a positive recommendation from your Casita manager(s)
  • Plan to work in a Casita location you have already had experience working in
  • Be willing to commit to the full schedule:
    • Monday-Saturday Home Circle
    • Camps/workshops: teachers on the work visa are not required to work every camp/workshop, but have first priority over other teachers and are strongly encouraged to do so in order to fulfill the minimum salary requirement (see more information below)
  • Have patience and trust in the process

It should be noted that, in order to have a work visa in Spain, you are required to meet a minimum annual threshold of hours requirement for the first full year of approval. Working the full schedule listed above will meet that requirement, but it is important to remember that La Casita utilizes an Annual Payments scheme.

We understand that working Monday through Saturday and potentially all holiday camps is a huge commitment. Depending on the success of the new online adult program, we may be able to balance some of your hours working teaching online in the morning or other evenings instead of Home Circle, but we have not been able to implement this opportunity in the 2023/24 school year, so it is not something you should rely on.

We all know how tedious and impractical working with the Spanish bureaucracy can be for certain things. Therefore, anyone who is interested in this opportunity, should start gathering all of the required information and documents now, to be turned in after the holidays in February for the next school year. You will not be able to officially submit the application more than 60 days before your current visa/TIE expires, but it’s always good to get ahead of the game.

If you don’t already have the Cl@ve and certificado digital, we strongly suggest that you get them ASAP, as they will make requesting some documents and checking their status much easier. See page 12 of the handbook for more information.

We have compiled a list of documents that others have had requested in their experiences to help guide you. You may be asked for others, but this is a great start, especially for those you will need appointments/citas for. Please remember that many documents only have a three month validity period.

Documents needed:

  • Contract from La Casita- your manager will provide you with this and ask for your signature as it will come from the “Empresa” you will be working in (see page 14 in the handbook). Please note that some of the information may be incorrect because we put the necessary minimum requirement on the contract. Once you are approved, we will update the contract to reflect the accurate information.
  • Carta de aprovechamiento (An official certification from the university or institution of higher education, indicating that you have regularly attended classes or research tutorials and that the research/coursework is progressing adequately. It can be issued by the academic coordinator, the director of the department of the university where you had been or the thesis or dissertation director.)
    • For every single year
    • You will need the carta for the current academic year once you have it. This can be added to your application later, but should be done so as soon as possible.
  • Padrón actualizado (current certificate of residence “Empadronado/

Empadronamiento”). You will need to provide another, new copy of this once you receive your approval, too. Both times the certificate must be less than three months old.

  • Certificado de estar al día con la SS y Hacienda (we provide)
  • SSN document. You can obtain proof of your Spanish Social Security number using different methods seen here.
  • Spanish phone number (we recommend that you keep the same phone number throughout your entire time in Spain, at the very least throughout this entire process)
  • Copies of all previous TIEs (front and back)
  • If you do not have a current TIE because your NIE application is in process (“en tramite”), you should submit any paperwork regarding the application, including communications about resultos and resguardos.
  • Copies of the page in your passport with your most recent Visa
  • Copies of all previous letters and approvals of intention to extend Visas
  • Documentation proving that you have not received a scholarship or subsidy from public or private organizations within Spanish cooperation or development programs or from the country of origin. To this end, you must submit:
    • Certificate from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), certifying that the interested party has not been awarded a scholarship or subsidized by public or private organizations within Spanish cooperation or development programs
      • Draft template
        • Include copies of your valid passport and NIE
        • See example of final document here.
  • Delitos Sexuales, less than one year old
  • Background checks from your home country and Spain
    • An old copy, from original visa application, depending on time spent out of Spain
    • Spanish background check, only 3€. Make appointment for “Certificado de Antecedentes Penales”
  • A certificate stating that the applicant does not suffer from any disease that could have a

severe impact on public health according to International Health Regulations. See example here. You probably have a similar certificate from a previous visa application, but you need to have an updated version from Spain.

  • Copy of every page of your passport
    • You may have to turn in your physical passport to the embassy
  • Three passport sized photographs
  • Job offer with the labor conditions (we will provide)
  • Full description of the job and the company’s activity (we will provide)
  • Application form. You can fill out section 1 with your information, but it will be your manager who signs this as the “Empleador/a”. The option for section 5 is “Titular de autorización de estancia por estudios, investigación o prácticas que cesa en tal condición (art. 199)”
  • Visa fee paid at the time of submission: 214,78€ for 2023/24 school year, should be

around the same amount

  • Information relaying that you have studied in an education-related field. You can submit a TEFL certificate for this, or something similar

Once you finally receive your approval (in our past experience, it takes about 6 months), you will need to make a “Toma de huellas” (fingerprinting) appointment for within 30 days of the approval date. This means that you should start looking for these appointments around the 6 month mark- the appointment SHOULD actually happen within 30 days, not just be booked within 30 days. For this appointment you will need:

  • Your approval notice, “Resolución de concesión”
  • TIE application form, Modelo EX17. In section 4 you will choose the option “RENOVACIÓN DE TARJETA”
  • Passport (physical and copy of)
  • Three passport sized photographs
  • “Volante de empadronamiento” within the last 3 months. You can go to any Oficinas de Atención a la Ciudadanía (OAC) to get a copy of this without an appointment, as long as you haven’t moved since submitting the original visa application.
  • Paid tasa/fee using this form. You will choose the option “TIE que documenta la primera concesión de la autorización de residencia temporal, de estancia o para trabajadores transfronterizos.”

One of the very first steps that your manager needs to do once you have received your approval notice is to give you “Alta de Seguridad Social” and email extranjería with it. This is a fast process, but should be done one week from your fingerprinting appointment. This document is not required for the appointment, but we always recommend bringing anything and everything- better to be safe than sorry!

Your work visa will be valid for one year from the date of approval. Throughout this year, you must maintain employment with La Casita to adhere to the legal requirements of the visa. If you opt to renew your visa, you will need to continue working with La Casita for another school year. Upon successfully completing the second school year, you will then receive a four-year validity period during which you can work elsewhere in Spain. However, we hope that you decide to remain connected with us in some capacity! Remember, per Artículo 17 of the “Convenio colectivo de enseñanza y formación no reglada” (Collective agreement for non-regulated education and training), teachers must give at least 25 days notice.

Anyone who is interested in this opportunity should email Joe ([email protected]) directly as soon as possible with the subject “(Your Name) Work Visa”. From there, we will communicate with your Casita manager(s) and talk about the next steps, but you are free to start gathering all of the documents you will need immediately.

This will be an ongoing and lengthy process. As long as you are patient, diligent and responsible, you will be granted the ever-so-coveted work visa!

We hope that this will be a great chance for a lot of you to stay in Spain and continue growing with La Casita!