Hello! Some of my questions may seem very simple or stupid, but I have to get started somewhere...
A good friend of mine,have been proposed to work as a doctor in an English resort hotel in Antigua.For her own reasons, she wants to do her own research and have everything ready if she finally decide to go. She is an EU citizen,and needs to know what is the situation about passports (maybe VISA needed???) and maybe any extra qualifications needed to work legally as a doctor there. What is the situation about tax numbers,national insurance numbers etc? Me my self (EU citizen too) would be very interested to visit her there, and maybe get a job (in tourism sector,eg hotel reception or something) for some months.
Any help would be highly appreciated!
Err - yes, she'll need a passport.
All I can say is, she must have very good reasons for wanting to sort this out herself. I would definitely be expecting my employers to organise all the visa/qualifications shit.
You are not likely to find any experts on Antigua immigration procedures and Antiqua health services here on the TT. Not many Antiguans are members of the Thorn Tree.
She needs to talk to Antigua's Immigration people if she wants to find out about their requirements for her to immigrate and practice medicine there.
I also find your statement that she wants to do her own research highly unusual. In general if someone were offering a doctor a job I would expect them to take care of all the necessary paperwork through their lawyer.
As for you going and getting some hotel work, forget it. The system doesn't work like the system in Greece. You would have no chance of getting a visa to work in a hotel and no chance of working illegally either.
Hmmmm,I see! What about wanting to holiday there? Is a VISA necessary,or is it OK if someone has a EU passport?
Any good travel agent should be able to tell you if a Greek citizen needs a Visa for Antigua. It has nothing to do with being a citizen of an EU country.
Pretty much all of Central America is visa free for EU passport holders but double check with the nearest Guatemala embassy/consulate.
If Guatemala is like Panama, foreign medical professionals cannot practice - so I would really get the company that's hiring your friend to check this out and make sure they get all the right permits and paperwork - trying to do it on your own is a pain in the you-know-what and it's expensive too. Having done it all myself here in Panama!!!
And as for work in the hotel business - unless you are hired by the hotel and they get you the work permit it's pretty much impossible - even if you did the wages are less than minimal. In Antigua there are some foreigners working in the bars and they seem to turn a blind eye to it if you keep your nose clean but the number of available jobs is very few.
Cheers,
Andrew
Do you mean Antigua, the island in the Caribbean or Antigua, the city in Guatemala?
Assuming that you mean the island in the Caribbean, I would start by checking the website of the government, http://www.ab.gov.ag/gov_v2/index.php<BR><BR>As a physician, very few countries accept the license of another country and permit you to practice medicine without some sort of evaluation or work under supervision or reexamination. I would suggest emailing the ministry of health.
Ruth
trusted partner
