stivi
Well-Known Member
Working in Ibiza
Want a summer full of sun and fun? Then get yourself ready and come down to Ibiza. But don’t do it without thinking about it. What you definitely need, is a bit of courage and a big portion of self-control and moderation when it comes to clubbing. I’ve seen so many people leaving only few weeks after they had arrived and this was only because they just went partying every night, didn’t care neither about getting a job, nor about their health and after a few weeks, they either had just run out of money or simply couldn’t deal with Ibiza anymore because they were so screwed after partying so hard.
Getting a job isn’t such a hard thing here, but if you screw it up, then you’re out on the same day. So please, get yourself together and make a good performance while you’re working, especially in the beginning of the season. The season is long enough and you’ll find enough time to have great parties, so pace yourself at the start. June and July are two great months to work and to get into it. August is a bitch where you just have to get through (many workers hardly go out at all during August) and September is beautiful again. Especially because then, everyone (all the workers and your boss as well) is partying and enjoying the end of the season.
Languages. I was SO surprised how many workers arrived here basically just speaking ONE (1!!!) language. Hey guys…you’re coming here to work with tourists that come from all over the world…so what are your plans? Yes sure, no problem, you definitely do get a job if you only speak English or german, but I can only say that every additional language you are able to speak (of course especially Spanish), opens more and more doors here. So please do yourself a favour and learn as much Spanish before you come down here, you simply cannot imagine how much it does help if you can talk to the locals in their language (ok, their official language is Eivissenc, which is very close to Catalan, but still, every Ibicenco speaks perfectly Spanish). And no, “hola, qué tal?” doesn’t mean you speak basic Spanish. If you do speak fluent English and/or one (or more) latin language (preferably Spanish, but also Italian helps, especially in August) or German, then you’re set. Of course, in the San Antonio area, you’ll need more English and in Playa d’en Bossa you get further if you speak German, but in both these places, you’ll find loads of Spanish and Italian holidaymakers all through the season.
Getting a place to live. Also a subject where you should get things going as soon as possible. What I’ve noticed is that in San Antonio it is much easier to find a place to live for the season while in Playa d’en Bossa and Figueretas you really have to look hard to find a place to stay. Prices? If you’re sharing a room with a friend (and basically just having your bed and that’s it), then this will cost you between 200-300€ a month. If you want to have your own room in an apartment, then simply double prior figure. And double again if you want your own apartment. You might be lucky and find something cheaper, but look at this prices as a main rule.
Money. The trickiest thing about this is the start of the season. The earlier you come, the bigger are your chances to easily find a place to live and a job (see above), but if you do come early (say end of April), you might not earn any money for a month or even more, because many jobs only start by the end of May or beginning of June (or even later). If you do arrive late though (say some time in June), you might struggle to find a place to stay and have to look around for work quite hard, but once you’ve found it, you earn money straight away. My advice for everyone is, whenever you plan to arrive, bring enough money with you for the first period. You will spend money from the first day on and especially when you rent an apartment for the season, you’ll pay two monthly rents straight away just to get in! (one as a deposit and one for the first month). So if you do save enough, you’ll have a comfy start here without a lot of worries.
About the wages/income. Coming here to make money? Can be done, work hard every day for 4 – 5 months (say may/june till September/October) and at the end, you have saved up a nice amount of money. But most of the people come for the fun and if so, It really depends on how many days you work and how often you go out, if you have saved anything at the end of the season of if you just got through (but had amazing summer instead).
The NIE number. (informations and experiences from summer 2007)
If you’re working the first season in spain and want to work “officially” (i.e. with working contract), you have to get an NIE number (NIE= foreigners identification number). The procedure to get this number isn’t really easy and it already begins with a tricky situation:
Without a working contract, you don’t get the NIE. Same inverse, without NIE you cannot get a working contract.
Complicated, isn’t it? Well, here are two different solutions, both lead to the NIE, but aren’t the same!
A)
If you already found a job and your employeer is willing to give you a working contract, then he has to give you a pre-contract. With this, apply for the NIE (read below). Only when you got the NIE, your employeer can provide you a real (and valid) working contract.
B)
If you don’t have work yet, but still already want to have your NIE (which is recommended), there is another possibility. You have to have an apartment with valid contract. With this and your passport, go to the town hall of the place you live and get yourself registered there. You will have to ask for the empadronamiento, which is the document that states you’re officially living there. After some days, you can pick up the document and with this, you are also able to apply for the NIE. The difference between A) and B) is the fact that, if you do the empadronamiento (à B), you also will be able to apply directly for the resident status in ibiza (or wherever in spain) and getting the NIE at the same time! it doesn’t take much more, you have to fill out one more form than if you only apply for the NIE and you will have to pay a tax of €6.80 (summer 2007) in cash at any bank before you apply, but the advantages are big, you have 50% off flight prices to spain mainland and to other spanish islands. Same goes for the ferries!
Getting the NIE – an adventure!
Basically, always bring the original and a copy (better two) of every document that is needed for the NIE.
Apart of the above listed documents (working pre-contract or empadronamiento document), bring your passport. Pictures weren’t needed in 2007 but have some ready (you will need pictures either way in the beginning of the season, but that’s another story…)
To apply for the NIE you need to go to the police station in Ibiza Town. The police station is situated on the ring road, outside the town center, very close to the McDonald’s in Figueretas and basically just next to the building of the Diario de Ibiza (the Ibiza Newspaper).
Phase 1 – forms
You will need to pick up the correct forms at the police station on any working day between 9am and 1pm. Just pass the queue, step inside and pick up enough forms. Caution – the forms for the above explained possibilities (NIE only and NIE with residencia) aren’t the same! The empty forms can be copied and if you’re lucky, one of your friends already went to the police station to get enough forms and so you can save this trip. Then fill out two forms (filling out one and copying this one is not valid!) and make sure you have all the documents ready including all copies!
Phase 2 – applying (that’s where the fun starts)
The next day (or whenever you feel like, but the earlier in the season the better) you get up REALLY early, but at latest at 5am and directly head towards the police station. If you arrive at 6am (better earlier), you will not be the only one there, asking yourself “what the heck am I doing here???”. If there are already more than 50 people at the time when you arrive, then leave and come again the next day – but much earlier. Else, stand (or sit) in the queue and wait till it’s 8am. Erm, no, they don’t start working at 8am, but they will let you inside the station area (not inside the building) at that point and you’ll get in the definite queue then. At this point, they are also giving out tickets. This summer, they gave out around 40 tickets each day. On the ticket, there’s your number and an estimated time, at what time your turn will be. If you’re amongst the first few numbers, then just stay at the police station and wait, but if you’re one of the last ones, then walk into town, have a nice breakfast and come back later (but please don’t lose your ticket). Once it’s your turn, things go quite quickly, the officiers have a look at your documents, keep the copies for themselves and give you back your originals. And then they will tell you an estimated date when your NIE will be ready. Easily add one more week to that, then the probability is much higher your NIE (or residencia) is actually ready.
Phase 3 – getting the NIE.
After the hassle of phase two, this is really a piece of cake. Come back to the police station on any working day between 9am and 1pm, pass the queue again, make your way to the entrance and tell them you only have to pick up your NIE (or residencia). Get it (if already available) and the summer can start.
If you don’t want to get through all this, you can employ a gestor to do this (for €€€), but almost everyone does it on it’s own. If you have all your documents ready, all your forms filled out correctly, then it’s really just one bloody day that you have get up feckin’ early (or maybe go to pacha first for a few hours and just leave earlier than usual?) and wait, wait, wait until they open. Take it easy, everyone has to get through it and normally, when you finally get it, you will admit it wasn’t that bad. The best thing about the whole story is the following fact: if you’re deciding to come back for another season anytime later, you will not have to do apply for the NIE again, it’s valid forever!!!
As I said, these are experiences from 2007. things might change, but I am sure, getting things going as early as possible will stay the best option in the future!
Want a summer full of sun and fun? Then get yourself ready and come down to Ibiza. But don’t do it without thinking about it. What you definitely need, is a bit of courage and a big portion of self-control and moderation when it comes to clubbing. I’ve seen so many people leaving only few weeks after they had arrived and this was only because they just went partying every night, didn’t care neither about getting a job, nor about their health and after a few weeks, they either had just run out of money or simply couldn’t deal with Ibiza anymore because they were so screwed after partying so hard.
Getting a job isn’t such a hard thing here, but if you screw it up, then you’re out on the same day. So please, get yourself together and make a good performance while you’re working, especially in the beginning of the season. The season is long enough and you’ll find enough time to have great parties, so pace yourself at the start. June and July are two great months to work and to get into it. August is a bitch where you just have to get through (many workers hardly go out at all during August) and September is beautiful again. Especially because then, everyone (all the workers and your boss as well) is partying and enjoying the end of the season.
Languages. I was SO surprised how many workers arrived here basically just speaking ONE (1!!!) language. Hey guys…you’re coming here to work with tourists that come from all over the world…so what are your plans? Yes sure, no problem, you definitely do get a job if you only speak English or german, but I can only say that every additional language you are able to speak (of course especially Spanish), opens more and more doors here. So please do yourself a favour and learn as much Spanish before you come down here, you simply cannot imagine how much it does help if you can talk to the locals in their language (ok, their official language is Eivissenc, which is very close to Catalan, but still, every Ibicenco speaks perfectly Spanish). And no, “hola, qué tal?” doesn’t mean you speak basic Spanish. If you do speak fluent English and/or one (or more) latin language (preferably Spanish, but also Italian helps, especially in August) or German, then you’re set. Of course, in the San Antonio area, you’ll need more English and in Playa d’en Bossa you get further if you speak German, but in both these places, you’ll find loads of Spanish and Italian holidaymakers all through the season.
Getting a place to live. Also a subject where you should get things going as soon as possible. What I’ve noticed is that in San Antonio it is much easier to find a place to live for the season while in Playa d’en Bossa and Figueretas you really have to look hard to find a place to stay. Prices? If you’re sharing a room with a friend (and basically just having your bed and that’s it), then this will cost you between 200-300€ a month. If you want to have your own room in an apartment, then simply double prior figure. And double again if you want your own apartment. You might be lucky and find something cheaper, but look at this prices as a main rule.
Money. The trickiest thing about this is the start of the season. The earlier you come, the bigger are your chances to easily find a place to live and a job (see above), but if you do come early (say end of April), you might not earn any money for a month or even more, because many jobs only start by the end of May or beginning of June (or even later). If you do arrive late though (say some time in June), you might struggle to find a place to stay and have to look around for work quite hard, but once you’ve found it, you earn money straight away. My advice for everyone is, whenever you plan to arrive, bring enough money with you for the first period. You will spend money from the first day on and especially when you rent an apartment for the season, you’ll pay two monthly rents straight away just to get in! (one as a deposit and one for the first month). So if you do save enough, you’ll have a comfy start here without a lot of worries.
About the wages/income. Coming here to make money? Can be done, work hard every day for 4 – 5 months (say may/june till September/October) and at the end, you have saved up a nice amount of money. But most of the people come for the fun and if so, It really depends on how many days you work and how often you go out, if you have saved anything at the end of the season of if you just got through (but had amazing summer instead).
The NIE number. (informations and experiences from summer 2007)
If you’re working the first season in spain and want to work “officially” (i.e. with working contract), you have to get an NIE number (NIE= foreigners identification number). The procedure to get this number isn’t really easy and it already begins with a tricky situation:
Without a working contract, you don’t get the NIE. Same inverse, without NIE you cannot get a working contract.
Complicated, isn’t it? Well, here are two different solutions, both lead to the NIE, but aren’t the same!
A)
If you already found a job and your employeer is willing to give you a working contract, then he has to give you a pre-contract. With this, apply for the NIE (read below). Only when you got the NIE, your employeer can provide you a real (and valid) working contract.
B)
If you don’t have work yet, but still already want to have your NIE (which is recommended), there is another possibility. You have to have an apartment with valid contract. With this and your passport, go to the town hall of the place you live and get yourself registered there. You will have to ask for the empadronamiento, which is the document that states you’re officially living there. After some days, you can pick up the document and with this, you are also able to apply for the NIE. The difference between A) and B) is the fact that, if you do the empadronamiento (à B), you also will be able to apply directly for the resident status in ibiza (or wherever in spain) and getting the NIE at the same time! it doesn’t take much more, you have to fill out one more form than if you only apply for the NIE and you will have to pay a tax of €6.80 (summer 2007) in cash at any bank before you apply, but the advantages are big, you have 50% off flight prices to spain mainland and to other spanish islands. Same goes for the ferries!
Getting the NIE – an adventure!
Basically, always bring the original and a copy (better two) of every document that is needed for the NIE.
Apart of the above listed documents (working pre-contract or empadronamiento document), bring your passport. Pictures weren’t needed in 2007 but have some ready (you will need pictures either way in the beginning of the season, but that’s another story…)
To apply for the NIE you need to go to the police station in Ibiza Town. The police station is situated on the ring road, outside the town center, very close to the McDonald’s in Figueretas and basically just next to the building of the Diario de Ibiza (the Ibiza Newspaper).
Phase 1 – forms
You will need to pick up the correct forms at the police station on any working day between 9am and 1pm. Just pass the queue, step inside and pick up enough forms. Caution – the forms for the above explained possibilities (NIE only and NIE with residencia) aren’t the same! The empty forms can be copied and if you’re lucky, one of your friends already went to the police station to get enough forms and so you can save this trip. Then fill out two forms (filling out one and copying this one is not valid!) and make sure you have all the documents ready including all copies!
Phase 2 – applying (that’s where the fun starts)
The next day (or whenever you feel like, but the earlier in the season the better) you get up REALLY early, but at latest at 5am and directly head towards the police station. If you arrive at 6am (better earlier), you will not be the only one there, asking yourself “what the heck am I doing here???”. If there are already more than 50 people at the time when you arrive, then leave and come again the next day – but much earlier. Else, stand (or sit) in the queue and wait till it’s 8am. Erm, no, they don’t start working at 8am, but they will let you inside the station area (not inside the building) at that point and you’ll get in the definite queue then. At this point, they are also giving out tickets. This summer, they gave out around 40 tickets each day. On the ticket, there’s your number and an estimated time, at what time your turn will be. If you’re amongst the first few numbers, then just stay at the police station and wait, but if you’re one of the last ones, then walk into town, have a nice breakfast and come back later (but please don’t lose your ticket). Once it’s your turn, things go quite quickly, the officiers have a look at your documents, keep the copies for themselves and give you back your originals. And then they will tell you an estimated date when your NIE will be ready. Easily add one more week to that, then the probability is much higher your NIE (or residencia) is actually ready.
Phase 3 – getting the NIE.
After the hassle of phase two, this is really a piece of cake. Come back to the police station on any working day between 9am and 1pm, pass the queue again, make your way to the entrance and tell them you only have to pick up your NIE (or residencia). Get it (if already available) and the summer can start.
If you don’t want to get through all this, you can employ a gestor to do this (for €€€), but almost everyone does it on it’s own. If you have all your documents ready, all your forms filled out correctly, then it’s really just one bloody day that you have get up feckin’ early (or maybe go to pacha first for a few hours and just leave earlier than usual?) and wait, wait, wait until they open. Take it easy, everyone has to get through it and normally, when you finally get it, you will admit it wasn’t that bad. The best thing about the whole story is the following fact: if you’re deciding to come back for another season anytime later, you will not have to do apply for the NIE again, it’s valid forever!!!
As I said, these are experiences from 2007. things might change, but I am sure, getting things going as early as possible will stay the best option in the future!