I want to work in Italy or in Greece for a couple months but don't know how to go about doing it?

Question

I live in the Okanagan in BC, Canada and i want to know if there are any government programs or something that will allow me to work there. And if there is how much would they pay for like housing accomodations, and transportation and such. Also what would i do for work there?

Answer 1

There is a SWAP program for Canadians, but not for Italy or Greece. It's for Germany, France, UK, Ireland, Austria, Australia, Japan, Brazil and South America.

http://www.swap.ca/

You are technically not allowed to work on only a Schengen visa, and if you do it's considered to be illegal. Also, there are no skilled migrant visas for Greece or Italy. How do I know this? I've worked in Greece for a long time, and I have non-EU friends in Italy who have been there for a decade.

Greece has taken a number of measures to crack down on illegal immigrants, especially those seeking to work on an island for summer. France and Greece are also cooperating to tighten measures and include jail time for violators. A good article written by an American working in Greece for 11 years is:

"How non-EU citizens can move, live and work in Greece"

http://americaninathens.wordpress.com/20...

Italy is less stringent about illegal immigrants, and there are people who work there for years without a work visa or permit. There is a good book called, "Living, Working, Studying in Greece" by Travis Ward that details legal and illegal work. The book is based on 10 years there.

Accommodations, transportation and food are usually not included, but some people negotiate if it's casual summer work. Read this about summer jobs in Greece:

Summer jobs in Greece

http://americaninathens.wordpress.com/20...

The reason there are no skilled migrant visas for these countries is because: a) there is no call for skilled work, most jobs call for unskilled workers, b) unemployment is already very high for these countries and they must protect their own citizens.

I hope that helped.

Answer 2

you have to apply for a work visa from the consolate of the country your going to.

Answer 3

No working holiday visa to Italy or Greece for Canadians. A possible option would be to WWOOF (especially in Italy), that's working on an organic farm in exchange for food and accomodation. Max. stay is 90 days inside the Schengen area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Ar...

http://www.wwoof.org/

http://www.anyworkanywhere.com/

You'd get better answers if you included your qualifications into your question, for some people it is possible to get skilled migrant work visas.