Hello all,
I',m a sole trader who has historically worked for myself and larger organisations around the UK and World and before Brexit quite a lot around the around the EU.
I'd class my profession as pretty specialised. Most of my work contracts are 2 weeks to 3 months long.
This year I am being offered a lot of work around the EU. It seems that for a 3 week contract the visas for most EU countries are pretty longwinded and tricky. (much like the previous visas I obtained for Australia and New Zealand)
So I'm here to learn from experiences of others and feed back my experiences eventually to help others...

I suspect that there's going to be no way around it, just as with Aus & NZ.

Each individual EU country has its own visa requirements & rules for non-EU citizens.

For most, the potential employer must apply for the visa.

 

Thanks @xabiaxica I am pretty much thinking this is how it's going to be.. After living in freely for 10 years as a young chap and all over the EU periodically it's a really difficult pill to swallow. 😕
In Spain, someone had mentioned that getting in touch with the regional government and "Department of employment, Training and Self employment" And filing "POSTING OF WORKERS IN THE FRAMEWORK OF A TRANSNATIONAL PROVISION OF SERVICES (Procedure Code: 511) would be adequate. Pretty sure this couldn't be the case and would need to be accompanied by a visa or permit?

 

Thanks @xabiaxica I am pretty much thinking this is how it's going to be.. After living in freely for 10 years as a young chap and all over the EU periodically it's a really difficult pill to swallow. 😕
In Spain, someone had mentioned that getting in touch with the regional government and "Department of employment, Training and Self employment" And filing "POSTING OF WORKERS IN THE FRAMEWORK OF A TRANSNATIONAL PROVISION OF SERVICES (Procedure Code: 511) would be adequate. Pretty sure this couldn't be the case and would need to be accompanied by a visa or permit?

My gut feeling is that it won't apply to you as a sole trader, but get a cuppa & have a read through this... Posting of workers to Spain in the framework of the transnational provision of services. Ministerio de Trabajo y Economía Social

That would still only cover Spain though, if it does work!

 

The long term & permanent solution may be to get an EU port.
The fast route to an EU port is through a Golden Visa, check countries that offer Golden Visas. Usually a significant investment is required, starting from 500K with strict rules.

Check here for Portugal Golden Visas: Is the Portugal Golden Visa Ending? Not Exactly | 2024 Update

 

I'm pretty sure that the minimum residency requirement in various countries is 5 years before applying for citizenship. In Spain it's 10 years!

That's one heck of a long term (& expensive considering the financial investment required) plan for a sole trader who wants to do a few weeks/months work around the EU each year.

I suspect it might not help the OP, but some others might be interested I suppose.