The most COMPLEAT working abroad thread EVAR. Or, help me get out of Jersey already!

April 4, 2008 9:17 AM

I'm looking for resources on doing paid farm work (preferably in Scandinavia, but anywhere else in Europe is fine, too).

I want to work on a farm in Scandinavia for a couple of months. From what I can tell, it's incredibly hard for non-EU people (I'm American) to get working papers to go there, so my options are these (in order of most to least wanted):

1) Drill through the process and end up on a farm in Scandinavia for a couple of months. Anyone have any experience with this? How can I make this process easier?

2) Work doing something else in Scandinavia for the next couple months. My options are pretty limited -- haven't finished college yet, don't really have any marketable skills as far as I'm concerned. Past jobs have included office work, temping, waitressing, cashiering. Could I actually get away with doing something like teaching English?

3) Work in another English-speaking country in Europe where it's easier to get a visa/permit. I'm ok with this, but I've never had a driving need to visit the UK, Scotland, or Ireland.

4) Volunteer to work on a farm in Scandinavia. As far as I can tell, the papers process might still be pretty complicated. Plus, my money situation is really tight; I'd really like to be compensated in some way, not just in food and board.

So the priority here is to basically a) get to Europe this summer b) get paid, although the preference is on Scandinavia, and farm work (the only widely offered job I can see myself being qualified for).

Any suggestions? Are there positions or locations that I've overlooked?

My research has basically turned up these sort-of relevant threads:

How feasible is it for me to live and work abroad?
money for living abroad?
How do I get a job outside the UK? ASAP.
How can I move to Spain for couple of years?
Summer programs
How to find jobs around the world?
Travel jobs
12181

and a handful of links basically pulled from these pages:

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/shortterm/farm_jobs_agriculture.shtml
http://www.pickyourown.org/jobsonfarms.htm

Any other suggestions? TIA.

posted by twins named Lugubrious and Salubrious to travel & transportation (8 comments total)

Some wwoofing situations offer stipends.
posted by letahl at 9:24 AM on April 4

Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF)
A friend of mine did this in France and had a fantastic time.

What draws you to and what do you know about Scandinavia? Any particular countries in mind? 'Cause I've spent a lot of time there...
posted by Queen of Spreadable Fats at 9:27 AM on April 4

You do not need a working residence permit or even a residence permit of any kind in Finland when doing harvest work or working for fur farms. This means that as an US citizen you could stay in the country without any special permits for 90 days and work as harvest help during that time. Most of this work will be picking berries and such.
posted by Authorized User at 10:36 AM on April 4 [1 favorite]

For example: Open Positions
posted by Authorized User at 10:41 AM on April 4

buy a good pair of shoes.
posted by 29 at 10:45 AM on April 4

Also, from looking at your posting history it seems you might have visited Europe lately, this might have taken away from those 90 visa-free days given to americans, contact your local Finnish or Schengen-country embassy for questions.
posted by Authorized User at 10:48 AM on April 4

QSF: For some reason I've always been interested in living/working/studying in Scandinavia for a while; there's just something that draws me there. I was in Denmark a couple of years ago on vacation (which I know isn't anything close to experiencing farm work! :-) but even though I was only there for a short time, there wasn't anything that contradicted my expectations. It was an all-around great experience. And since I just want to spend a couple months out of the States and in Europe this summer, I knew that Scandinavia would definitely be my first choice.

AU: Yep, I was in Italy for a vacation, but I probably stayed there about 10 days max. Do the 90-day restrictions apply all across the EU?
posted by twins named Lugubrious and Salubrious at 12:22 PM on April 4

I am not sure how the 90-day restriction over a 6 month period applies, afaik, it should be uniform across all Schengen countries (most EU countries). However, I'm far from sure about this and especially not sure how your visit to italy affects your stay in Finland. You should really ask about this from a finnish consulate, just drop them some e-mail or try reading their faq or something. Also note that applying for a regular visa for a stay beyond 90 days should not be impossible since you do not need an actual residence permit to do the kind of work mentioned above.
posted by Authorized User at 12:40 PM on April 4