Preferably into the EU. I speak some Spanish and I’m set to graduate with an Associates this semester. Hoping to get CompTIA certs sometime soonish and would like to continue schooling to get a bachelor’s in Compsci. Most notable work experience is 2 years in an office setting making collection calls and processing payments. What resources are available to me? Who or what agency/department can I contact to get more information? What’s the pipeline look like?
I know I could look most of this up, but there’s a lot of information out there and some(a lot) of it I find somewhat confusing. Plus, I don’t really even know where to start.
EU is not a single country, as the US. Each country has its own rules and regulations.
Some countries, as mentioned, offer a digital nomad visa (Croatia is one of them) others do not.
There’s also something called the Shengen area, which allows for free movement between countries. Not all EU counties participate (yet) and even some non-EU countries are part of it. This allows you to have a citizenship in one country and live / work in another.
As for the language, your mileage can vary. Most countries will require at least a basic language knowleget to pass the citizenship test. For day-to-day communication, work and study, you can find options where English would be sufficient. Lots of universities offer English-language programs and lost of companies are international with English being the primary language. Most Europeans speak English quite well.
As others have mentioned, a student visa for one of these would be your best bet. Explore which country would make most sense based on your needs.
If student visa is not an option, then getting a job (in the target country) first would be a way in. Get a working visa and start applying for citizenship.
You should also understand that literary everybody ion Europe (not just EU) has an ID and is registered as a citizen. It’s therefore practically impossible to be undocumented and still get salary, open a bank account or visit a doctor.
TL;DR: Explore each country individually. “Moving to EU” makes as much sense as saying “Moving to Asia”.
If Americans could stay in the US that would be great.
fantastic take from someone immortalizing a serial rapist and sex trafficker.
Americans who want to leave are clearly able to identify the problems in the US, and are therefore probably not the ones causing the problems over there.
And in general we should welcome people who want to change their life conditions. Freedom of movement is important.
No need to take the chance. They got a pass the first time. You don’t get another. You vote in a rapist please stay where you are and deal with it.
Those that want to leave are probably not the ones you want to avoid.
IMO, anyone who is awake and aware of the situation in any capacity, and can think rationally has, or is, considering leaving, or has left already.
It’s the people who agree and are happy with what is happening that you should probably avoid, and they don’t want to leave.
Those that want to leave are probably not the ones you want to avoid.
They’re probably the ones I want voting there though, would be nice if people would move around more within the US specifically to counteract the gerrymandering and electoral college 😅
There’s a small third category. Those of us that see the problems and are willing to fight and die to try and save our country.
Fair enough.
Seems xenophobic
that’s because it is.
Get a working visa in AU’s or Canada, stretch it out and in the 5th year when the concentration camps and gas chambers are in full swing, there should be a refugee visa available.
Mexico actually is a great country to live. Cheap living expenses, and the food is just ridonculously good. There are always good jobs available for educated people with good English
Out of curiosity, what is the climate/temperature like there, in the big cities? I imagine it being very warm
Depends in where you are. Mexico is (afaik, I might be wrong) the only country that has every possible climat in the world within its borders.
You can have sweaty hot, but tolerable, in Vallarta, you can have dry hot but very doable.innthe Guanajuato region, you can have a milder climate in Mexico City
Biggest swamp cooler in the world just off the west coast. The closer you get to the Pacific, the more moderate the temperature is. It’s rather cool in Tijuana, currently. (50° F/ 10.5° C)
Illegally cross the border into Canada or Mexico and try to get citizenship before they deport you back.
Why not legally cross? It’s not that hard to do so.
Because imma bad boy 😎
Badman* FTFY
Student exchange programs - > job - > permanent residence is one of the easiest ways to migrate.
This is what I would suggest.
Looking for grants and bursaries for the effort is something that should always happen. You may get lucky, or not, either way it will probably cost less than the same from an American university.
I mean, I haven’t done this, but it seems logical since OP is looking to further their education.
Use European Grants for foreign Students and be debt free when you finish. … Even that should set you in front of your peers in the materialistic USA. ( No fees for studying and cost of living in less fancy european cities is really low for students).
Do you have ancestry from a country that makes immigration easier if you can prove it?
Semi serious. Who said it is gay to marry your homies?
Not OP, where do I apply
Seconded
Step 1: Marry a EU Citizen
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Enjoy your life
(remember, same-sex marriage is legal in the EU so you got plenty of options, just saying 😉)
Same sex marriage is legal in the EU isnt true.
Basically nothing is “in the EU” There are some general laws that each country applies on their own (often treating them as suggestions and get fined if they dont respect them)
It’s legal in a lot of the EU though, especially if you stay out of eastern Europe
You still have to learn the language and take citizenship tests to become a citizen in many European countries
iirc we’re right in the middle of hiring season for college students who graduate in May.
- look for job fairs. these are events to recruit college students. sometimes they’re held online. Check out your school’s career center to see what job fairs are scheduled. if you’re at a small school, look at the schedule for nearby larger university. back when they were all onsite, you could usually sneak in, dunno about virtual.
- once you get to a job fair look for big international companies. ask about opportunities to work overseas. emphasize your CompTIA certs and ability to speak Spanish. it’d be easier with an undergrad but an associates is doable.
- consider going to Latin America, since you know Spanish.
- wait, did you say your grandfolks were Venezuelan? check out the Latino alumni club of your college. If your college is too small, check out the club of the nearest large university. If they have a “diversity lounge” with counselors go there and ask for an appointment. a lot of times companies make contact with those counselors for referrals. (I know a lot of companies are closing their DEI efforts but fam this is a cycle that happens every 5-10 years and the Latino/Black/etc people who work in those companies still make an effort to ensure fair hiring even if we have to review resumes in our spare time.)
Anyway, this is something to try alongside the schooling approach.
No one mentioned DAFT (Dutch American Friendship Tray) yet. It’s the lowest barrier of entry to EU for English speaking US citizens with no heritage path. It’s just money and grit. Other paths require some amount of chance, be it luck in finding employment willing to sponsor, or acceptance into some student program and hoping you can manage to find employment sponsorship before you graduate. DAFT is strictly having a minimum amount of money (4500 Euro), and then being a successful enough entrepreneur to sustain a life anywhere in The Netherlands.
Huh, didn’t know that. It is pretty hard to start a business, but the process itself seems pretty straightforward. I’ll keep this in mind and look into it more, thank you.
You think being an entrepreneur is more of a sure thing than finding an employer?
Being and entrepreneur in a new country with a different culture and set of laws
80% of startups fail as a benchmark. It’s pretty tricky to create a company.
*successfull company, incorporating is dead simple.
What do you mean by incorporating? I’m not super familiar with the term
Incorporating is just the legal paperwork that brings a corporation into existence. Never done it, but I bet it is just paperwork and money.
In the Netherlands it’s, no joke, 15 minutes and ~60 bucks.
Did it before, as a foreigner too, easiest shit in the world.
They even have dual language forms.
Do you have ANY Italian ancestry? Even fairly distant like 100+ years ago? Irish grandparents?
Other than that it’s gonna be tough bud.
Not EU but there’s ways to do remote work in other countries… Look into some “digital nomad” communities although they often come across as gross privileged fucks who just want to exploit lower costs of living and not try to fit in at all.
My maternal grandfather was born in Italy and moved to the States as a child. Does that open any doors for me?
It likely depends on if your great-grandparents naturalized as US citizens before your grandfather was an adult.
https://www.italiandualcitizenship.net/italian-citizenship-by-descent/
Associates degrees are non-existent and not recognized in the EU, and most if not all countries require you to be a graduate to be eligible for hire, which would make a student visa the easiest route.
Luckily many countries offer tuition completely for free; though bachelor degrees are often taught in the native language. If you’re Spanish is solid, you could of course go to Spain, else with English you’d be somewhat restricted to Ireland and Malta (English is the second official language, but the primary for tuition).
Other than that, some universities have English taught bachelor degrees, so you’d have to research them individually. Finland is very English- and Tech-friendly, for starters.
I don’t think they offer free tuition to non-EU citizens
But to be fair, the tuition is quite cheap depending on what and where you study. For myself the tuition is about 50€ per month(I just assume that the tuition is the same for non EU citizens).
50 euro tuitions are heavily subsidised, usually the price is a lot higher without subsidies.
There are countries that do, but you’ll still need to demonstrate that you have the financial means to support yourself without working or needing recourse to public services for the duration of your study, so there’s still a fairly significant financial barrier to entry for most individuals. If you have the money to put down for 3 years of rent, food, utilities, etc, while you complete a degree in Europe, I imagine you’re generally doing pretty okay for yourself in the US.
In Germany “not free” means something like 400$ per semester at the public universities, doesn’t matter the nationality.
Nordic countries do
Germany does
While most German universities are tuition-free, foreign students will still have to prove they have the means to support themselves, which means a 5-figure sum for each year.
Go as a student and find a spouse while you’re there for the easiest way to stay after you’re done with school.
