Working in Arinsal
Your guide to what you need to do if you want to work in Arinsal, with useful hints and tips from people who have done it before.
Worker Profiles
Name: Alicia Seargeant
Age: 26
Where are you from? Sydney, Australia
What job do you do? Bar Manager (2007-08)
Who do you work for? El Cau Bar
Why Arinsal? Fun, friendly people with lots of familiar faces returning year after year. Small town atmosphere, but with a great night-life. Large mountain area with lots to do.
Any hints or tips? Anyone arriving for holidays, bring a funny costume for the 70s night, and save room for the duty free shopping! Anyone arriving here to work, don't forget to bring your stamped police report!
Name: Steve Hull
Age: 26
Where are you from? Leeds, England
What job do you do? Area Manager (2005-08)
Who do you work for? A Tour Operator
Why Arinsal? Arinsal is a really friendly village with loads of returning staff. Although quite a small village, the nightlife is excellent and there is some really good skiing to be had too!
Any hints or tips? If you work as a rep for a tour operator you don't need to get a green card to work here, which is a lot easier.
Working in Arinsal
Here's a guide of what to do if you want to come and work in Arinsal. For further information please contact your relevant Foreign Office. Arinsal.co.uk cannot accept any responsibility for you not being accepted for work in Andorra . . .
From the UK
First of all you need to make sure your passport is valid until way into next year. It's recommended that you have six months left on your passport at the end of season, so until October/November really. If it's not, get applying for a replacement.
Next up, you need to get a Police report less than 3 months old by the time it is presented to immigration in Andorra. Ask at your local Police station, however, they may refer you to the county head office. You can usually apply online too which you may find easier. Once you have this, you need to get it stamped at the Legalisation Office of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in Milton Keynes (until August 8th 2008 it used to be in London) which costs £28 (2009). It is open Monday to Friday from 09:30 until 15:30. You don't need an appointment, but be prepared to wait a while! If you can't get to Milton Keynes you can send it in the post but this costs a little extra and can take up to two weeks. At the time of writing, that's all you need to do before you travel.
The address of the Legalisation Office is: Norfolk House (West), 437 Silbury Boulevard, Milton Keynes, MK9 2 AH.
For more information you should visit the website of the Legalisation Office.
From Australia
Again, check that your passport will be valid, then visit the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in any state capital (www.dfat.gov.au). You will also need Federal Police clearance. Applications for this are done on the Federal Police website (www.afp.gov.au). This can take between 1 and 3 weeks. To get the most up-to-date information please contact the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Types of Jobs
There is a full range of jobs available in Arinsal, and for most you don't need to speak any languages except English! Jobs available include bar staff, waiters & waitresses, holiday reps, chefs, PRs (handing out fliers for bars), as well as the full range of hotel jobs, however for these you would probably need to speak Catalan or Spanish or both!
Once You Arrive
Hopefully before you arrive you will have made some contact with a prospective employer, who will then be able to help you with the paperwork once you get to Arinsal. Alongside the paperwork you will need an up-to-date CV and a passport-sized photograph to hand in to imigration. You will need to go for a medical as well as visit the imigration office. Once your paperwork has been accepted you'll get your documents and be ready to start work!
