Finding a Permanent Job Abroad
Since the days of the Pilgrim Fathers people have left Europe in search of a better life elsewhere. Some realize their dream and end their days in their chosen location, while others drift back home in a mood of disillusion. They find that their new life is no better than the one they left behind.
Going abroad on a short assignment is quite different from shooting off for a two year contract. Uprooting yourself completely belongs to yet another category, and a good deal of soul searching is essential before taking such a step, particularly if you have no experience of living outside your own country.
To be a successful emigrant requires a number of qualities, notably:
- a sense of adventure
- a belief in yourself
- unbridled optimism
- a will to succeed
No matter how strange and inhospitable your destination turns out to be, you must see it through rose-coloured spectacles - recognizing the opportunities it offers and disregarding the drawbacks. The fainthearted either find it impossible to tear themselves away from their home and origins, or having disengaged themselves moan about their new environment and suffer heavy bouts of homesickness.
Admittedly, it is more normal nowadays for people to test the water before committing themselves irrevocably to spending the rest of their days in a far-off clime. If you start off with a contract posting and find the place is not to you liking, you know that at the end of the contract you will receive an air ticket home.
There are two main options for anyone deciding to reside permanently overseas:
- emigration
- a job with an international organization.
Emigration
The days of mass emigration, when countries like America and Canada opened their doors wide to everybody, are long since past. Most countries have restrictions on entry which discriminate against the unqualified and unskilled. They prefer to let in people who have skills which are needed or are in short supply. Computer specialists, nurses and engineers, for instance, are generally welcomed with open arms.
If you have close relations residing in the country in question, it may well prove easier for you to gain entry. The same is true if you plan to set up a business in the country and have sufficient capital to invest.
Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA are populated for the most part by immigrants and the descendants of immigrants. And their attraction has not diminished even though one may be subjected to a lengthy wait before one's application is approved or rejected.
However that is not to say that there are no others.
A large number of countries, in fact, accept immigrants - usually according to a quota system - provided certain criteria are met. If you posses much needed skills or have money to invest, you stand a good chance of being granted the necessary visas to start off.
If you are a citizen of the European Union, there are no immigration restrictions if you wish to settle in a member country. British people can go to live and work in France, just as French people cross the Channel in the other direction.
