Working as a waiter in Europe

[Deleted member 588036]

I'm applying for dual citizenship by descent in a country within the European Union. I hope to leave Australia and work in a European country but I work as a waiter at a restaurant and the only European language I speak is English. Can I realistically find a job at a restaurant in Sweden, Germany, France and so on? Are jobs available in Ireland?

 

[FAST6191]

Ireland speaks English so that one is simple enough. Equally if it is Ireland that is your ancestry claim then you can also swing that to UK owing to the whole peace agreement thing (possibly even vote) but much like those visiting Australia from the UK "It is a long way to go just to speak English".

Elsewhere it will depend what country and where in it, as well as the calibre of restaurant. Michelin star native French cuisine? Not a chance (France in general is also quite hard if you don't speak French, though if you have an Australian accent they might forgive a bit compared to UK), not even a bus boy, outside chance you would be allowed to wash dishes. Fish and chip shop in Netherlands tourist trap place, maybe. The tourist heavy thing is going to be the main thing you have to look for there, especially with English being the world's second language, but even then you will want to pick up some native language for where you are at in a hurry as well as learning the menu and quirks around it.

If you have other perks like master of wine or proper sommelier certificates/training then that can also help things out a bit.

Bar work might also be an easier one there.

 

[Dwaalspoor98]

In Amsterdam most bar people can't even speak Dutch, so English is fine there

 

[Deleted member 588036]

Ireland speaks English so that one is simple enough.

Ireland is a little complicated. Most jobs do not require employees to speak Irish. The job market itself worries me. I once met an Irish immigrant who moved to Australia and her reason was that Ireland has a low population making the job market too small.

Equally if it is Ireland that is your ancestry claim

Unfortunately not. I'm joining a shithole country not worth visiting.

If you have other perks like master of wine or proper sommelier certificates/training then that can also help things out a bit.

I hold several hospitality related certificates recognised Australia-wide. Not sure whether employers in Europe are willing to recognise them. They will probably recognise my work experience but ask me to get European certificates.

Do you know if Scandinavian countries require employees to speak the local language? I'm most interested in the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia.

 

[FAST6191]

The UK is not part of the EU these days, though you can probably still do EEC related things (a bit more complicated than rock up and register like it was back when that was a thing). Depending upon your age you might even lean back on the Australian aspect, there being a lot of visas and such for the youth to come over on working holiday as it were, especially if some of the trade deals go through.

Job market wise. Same as anything really and locally there will be somewhere in need of people -- not like people do hospitality long term for a company for life, and I don't know if you come from the land of wishes and faries where town with more than 3 restaurants all suffer an abundance of capable staff at all points (turn up on time, showered and not stoned for 3 days in a row and.. employee of the century material right there for a lot of restaurants I have dealt with).

Certificates might be tricky as outside of professional stuff (medicine, engineering and such) it tends not to carry over. Skills however are always appreciated and as you presumably already know to ask people for allergies (a popular hobby these days) and can do basic food hygiene then note that if asked -- Australia is still a developed country (assuming you are not from Tasmania anyway) so there is that. Do however check to see if there are any "could do it with my eyes closed" type certificates.

Scandinavia/Nordic countries. Depends. They have their touristy things and English is again the second language of choice. It won't however be as easy as Netherlands, Belgium or tourist trap/serious international business/English speaking expats places. Bar work will also be harder as drinking in nordic countries in bars is a horrifically expensive hobby and there are fewer bars as a result.

 

[Cyan]

This is only my opinion, you'll have to actually try and ask around if you want to try your chance with France.

I think France will be hard if you only speak english, unless you find a touristic place (in Paris for example) where they are looking for international waiters.
if not, people/clients will not speak english with you, and it'll be hard at first to take the orders if you have a language barrier. Not even talking about the every day life too (finding a place to live, shopping, insurance, communication in general, etc.)

Generally speaking, French people are rarely speaking another language. Even young people who learned english at school, they are not very good at it, and they won't make the effort to even try.
Of course there are people like me too
happy to communicate in english with strangers is they prefer.


Also, in order to be allowed to work, you'll need an European working schengen visa (ask the French embassy in Australia before coming to Europe), or once in France you can ask for a residency card with work privilege (in France, at each administrative department's prefecture, but the procedure takes MONTHS, if not years...). You better ask the embassy, don't do it while already in France.
These can be restricted to specific jobs, and delivered for a specific time length. (3months, 1 year multiple times, until you can get the one for 10 years).
it's the future job's employer who need to initiate the request and publish job search notices, so you might be able to find these and see who is searching for Waiters. I don't know where to look, the embassy will probably have more information.

There is also a "work holiday visa", which is an agreement between countries to allow working, but age limit is 30. Though, Australia seems to have restrictions. (I don't know why, France/Australia were partner with this kind of visa last time I heard about it, not anymore?)

 

[Deleted member 588036]

The UK is not part of the EU these days

Is it possible that Wales or Scotland will become independent and join the EU? I've heard discussions about it in the media but don't know if they are realistic or hopelessly optimistic. Wales has the valid argument that they never chose to be a part of England.

 

[RaptorDMG]

Is it possible that Wales or Scotland will become independent and join the EU? I've heard discussions about it in the media but don't know if they are realistic or hopelessly optimistic. Wales has the valid argument that they never chose to be a part of England.

It's possible but it would probably take at least 5 years and in Scotland at least polling is pretty much 50/50 on the issue.

Just checked and you could possibly get a working holiday visa to the UK as an Australian so you could come over for a couple of years if you meet the requirements. More info here: https://www.ukvisasforaustralians.com.au/uk-visas-for-australians/uk-working-holiday-visa-tier-5/

 

[FAST6191]

Forgot to also ask.
Are there no remote work things you can try for? Quite a few of those exist these days and don't always find themselves in the "needs serious talents" side of things.

Is it possible that Wales or Scotland will become independent and join the EU? I've heard discussions about it in the media but don't know if they are realistic or hopelessly optimistic. Wales has the valid argument that they never chose to be a part of England.

There are legal avenues but Scotland already held its "once in a generation" referendum not so many years ago and people opted to stay, narrowly (which is usually worse for settling debates -- see also Quebec) but still stay. What is nowadays the main party in Scotland has it as a mainstay so I am sure would referendums every other day until they got the right answer, probably only hold another that will be accepted if in future whole UK elections there is a possibility for a coalition that needs them as a lynchpin to take power and someone takes the deal, the party proceeding to try to break up the UK then being electoral poison in the future and likely also the SNP (Scottish National Party, said party from earlier and basically UK left wing party but favours Scottish Independence) also losing power as it devolves into interest groups (there are already plenty of cracks forming) so they too would probably have to think long and hard.
That separation would take some time to enact as well as there are no firm plans anybody really discussed/have in place (military, oil, nuclear, education, health, future status to name but a few), and joining the EU is a whole separate thing for which they might not quite meet the economic requirements (at least not without a massive hit to their quality of life/government services) and might be blocked by Spain (joining has to be unanimous) and several other places with their own independence movements they would rather not give hope* (none of which would want to be under WTO rules if it is a choice between that and staying).
No chance of Wales. Way too tied and the popularity of such a thing way too low. It might well have been the training mission of empire builder the strategy game (congratulations you unlocked the massively OP longbow archers and "dealing with insurgency") but it was so long ago it does not really make any sense to consider it.
Outside chance Northern Ireland joins ROI but that does not make a lot of difference in this.

All of this is likely not going to happen on timelines conducive to your working holiday/life for the next 10 years plans either, more like retirement.

*videos because why not

This is only my opinion, you'll have to actually try and ask around if you want to try your chance with France.

I think France will be hard if you only speak english, unless you find a touristic place (in Paris for example) where they are looking for international waiters.
if not, people/clients will not speak english with you, and it'll be hard at first to take the orders if you have a language barrier. Not even talking about the every day life too (finding a place to live, shopping, insurance, communication in general, etc.)

Generally speaking, French people are rarely speaking another language. Even young people who learned english at school, they are not very good at it, and they won't make the effort to even try.
Of course there are people like me too
happy to communicate in english with strangers is they prefer.


Also, in order to be allowed to work, you'll need an European working schengen visa (ask the French embassy in Australia before coming to Europe), or once in France you can ask for a residency card with work privilege (in France, at each administrative department's prefecture, but the procedure takes MONTHS, if not years...). You better ask the embassy, don't do it while already in France.
These can be restricted to specific jobs, and delivered for a specific time length. (3months, 1 year multiple times, until you can get the one for 10 years).
it's the future job's employer who need to initiate the request and publish job search notices, so you might be able to find these and see who is searching for Waiters. I don't know where to look, the embassy will probably have more information.

There is also a "work holiday visa", which is an agreement between countries to allow working, but age limit is 30. Though, Australia seems to have restrictions. (I don't know why, France/Australia were partner with this kind of visa last time I heard about it, not anymore?)

OP said some kind of EU country passport by dint of their (several places in Eastern Europe have things that if your parents or grandparents were from here that you can try to get a passport for here -- quick and easy way to get some of your diaspora which tend to be well educated and young, something you probably want as most of those places have very low birth rates these days), at which point it would be EU rules in play and no different to anything else there (can vary from country to country and some specialist regions but usually just rock up, get whatever local rubber stamp you need that is given away like signing up for electricity bills in your new house and go from there, mainly as that is what EU membership demands).
Good info though if you were going to play it more traditional path. Thanks for backing up the language thing -- for those unaware "snooty Frenchman pretends he doesn't speak English" is a bit of a meme in the UK (and there are many occasions of Welsh, Irish and Scottish types trying it on as well, usually to revert to flawless English when it turns out the new one in the bar/shop is not English).

 

[Deleted member 588036]

Just checked and you could possibly get a working holiday visa to the UK as an Australian so you could come over for a couple of years if you meet the requirements. More info here: link removed because it failed the anti-spam filter

I've thought about a working holiday in the UK and might do it but the main problem is the 2 year time limit. I'm hoping to stay outside of Australia long-term, not just for a few years. Maybe I'll do two years in the UK then move on to Ireland.

 

[FAST6191]

It can be easier to do things within the UK whilst being in the UK (it is not like US immigration where actually it is better to be outside it for large chunks of it, outside it also potentially including living near the Northern Ireland border or a cheap ferry/train to it), and EU/EEA/similarly confers some advantages (though the better ones would have seen you be in the UK a couple of years back). Equally if this Canzuk business does go ahead (granted I expect any progress there to be more 5-10 year range if it happens at all) you might have other options under that.
I should also note that many of the skilled professions ( https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...ed-worker-visa-eligible-occupations-and-codes ) that go for the new points based system (somewhat modelled after the Australian one, though if you did not bother with it yourself then OK) are not all "needs masters (preferably phd) and 10 years in the field" and a few, albeit more in the healthcare/dangerous/dirty side of things (I have sat in back of house in enough restaurants playing IT over the years to know it is anything but a glamorous role), are closer to 2 years with skills possibly transferring from elsewhere (like Ireland) and places maybe even considering you for training on the job/day release to schools with them mostly being on the list because there are serious shortfalls in them -- I saw CNC machinist and other machinists on the list; a few months back I was at a machine shop picking something up and going ooh and ah at machines, when it became apparent I knew how to run most of them (never used a cone grinder before) you should have seen the look of desperation on the owner's face, as well as the disappointment when it became apparent I was likely not on the cards ever (though I do wonder if not going for that was a missed trick), and yeah I have met maybe three under 30 this last however many years and not many more under 40. Construction trades are usually less of a mess of certificates than they are in Australia as well if you did want to go down the trades path.

On languages then of the big 5-8 (basically anything you would have seen a handheld game commonly translated into -- English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and similarly Dutch, though I note a lot of Dutch people speak some three to four at notable level) then they are not usually that bad to learn if you are there and making an effort; the torture that otherwise is known as verb table memorisation which seems to constitute school language lessons is really not representative of things. I know it is a bit of saying people say because it sounds good but immersion in a place really can do wonders. You might never get to a point when you can opine on the modern interpretations of their national epics (though many of those are in ancient forms of the language) but shopping, standard customer complaints, ring up and get a service for your house and the like are well within reason. That you have also spent most of this using apostrophes and proper grammar as well as making sense of my waffle and having done a bit of your own research speaks to some facility with language as well.

 

[linuxares]

Imaging thinking Ireland is a shithole... 20% taxes sounds soooo harsh...

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I'm applying for dual citizenship by descent in a country within the European Union. I hope to leave Australia and work in a European country but I work as a waiter at a restaurant and the only European language I speak is English. Can I realistically find a job at a restaurant in Sweden, Germany, France and so on? Are jobs available in Ireland?

I think that no matter where you move you should try to learn the local language. It's much easier to learn a language when you live there, and it'll make it much easier for you to get a job, make friends or even just to communicate with the local residents and employees everywhere you go.
France is tough. People there barely speak English, a lot of people don't speak a single word of English (amazing in this day and age), even restaurant employees in touristy areas barely speak English. If you don't know French then good luck. I doubt you'd even be able to get a job. French people seem to have a disdain for the English language.
Scandinavian people are generally pretty good at English so they might be willing to give you a job without knowing the local language but you might have to learn some of the basics at least so you can communicate with elderly or kids who don't speak English well.
Germany in my experience is similar to France in that a lot of people don't speak English very well and it's hard to communicate with them in English but it isn't nearly as bad. I think that'll make it hard to get a job without knowing German though as you'll have trouble communicating with coworkers or customers.

 

[Deleted member 42501]

French people vill go out of zair vay to not speek Angleesh.

Great language though so I'm not surprised. Crappy attitudes are commonplace.

OP, look at the Netherlands, specifically Amsterdam. Its a lot of fun and always busy so people are always hiring and English is the most commonly spoken language. Its also far easier to find people who will hook you up with something elsewhere as its all networking, all the time. If you're an extrovert and people like the cut of your gib it all slots together beautifully and I'd highly recommend it.

 

[Cyan]

French people seem to have a disdain for the English language.

For any language ! They act like other people should learn french...
And they do that even when traveling in other countries, like every other countries naturally speak and understand french. I'm ashamed of other french people doing that and giving a wrong idea of the good ones
There are of course some who speak english pretty well. not everyone are the same.

I don't know why French people have more difficulties learning new language (other than not being motivated enough).

It's much easier to learn a language when you live there, and it'll make it much easier for you to make friends

really? I should learn French then... oh, wait.
Sometime you just can't make friends around you

 

[Deleted member 588036]

I should have said this in the first post. If I stay in a country long-term I am willing to learn their language, but when I arrive I need a job immediately and will only know a few words of their language.

 

[JefjafCak]

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[Marc_LFD]

I hope the OP found what he was after, but thinking mainly on moving to a different country based on a quick job is not a good plan (or a plan at all).

The best European countries to get a job are generally: U.K., Germany, France, and Spain (maybe). Russia is massive, but learning their language looks pretty hard (German is also somewhat hard too, to be honest)

I once visited Cyprus and it's a lovely country, geographically in the Middle East, but its population are European (although an area is controlled by the Turkish and deemed dangerous so not to go near). Oh, and they have a city FULL of cats, kinda crazy.