Flights

To commence employment with BFIS, BFIS will reimburse the cost of economy-class airfare for the Foreign-

Lead Teacher and legal dependent (up to 800€ per person: teacher & legal dependents), by reasonable direct route, from the airport nearest to his/her home of record to Barcelona. Reimbursement for the inbound flight is made with the first paycheck. *taxable benefit

If the Foreign-Hired Lead Teacher meets all his/her contractual obligations and completes at least two years of employment at BFIS, BFIS will reimburse the cost of one-way economy class airfare to return from Barcelona to his/her home of record at the end of his/her BFIS employment ( up to 800€ per person: employee and legal dependents). The reimbursement for the outbound flight is made with final paycheck. *taxable benefit

Please note: If the Foreign-Hired Lead Teacher fails to meet the terms of his/her initial contractual obligation and leaves BFIS prior to completing at least two years of service, BFIS will not cover the cost of the one-way economy class airfare back to his/her home of record and the school reserves the right to ask for reimbursement of arrival allowance.

BFIS reserves the right to purchase such tickets or to nominate the travel agent to be used for their purchase

In the case of reimbursement, receipts must be submitted to the HR.

Flight home allowance – BFIS will reimburse a maximum amount of 1,300€ per employee or his/her legal dependent/s (total amount) for the first four years with receipts provided. The flight allowance can only be used for Summer flights and that they are only eligible for returning teachers. The reimbursement will be done in June paycheck.*taxable benefit

Look at your Foreign Hire Contract information for more details.

If you live in the US, there are some companies that offer direct flights to/from Barcelona. This includes:  American Airlines, Delta, United Airlines but also some low-cost European companies such as Level or Norwegian.  

• American Airlines: direct flights to Barcelona from Charlotte, Chicago, Miami, New York and Philadelphia. 

• Delta: direct flights to Barcelona from New York and Atlanta.

• United Airlines: direct flight to Barcelona from New York.

• Norwegian: direct flights to Barcelona from Florida/Fort Lauderdale/Miami, Los Ángeles, New York and San Francisco-Oakland. 

• Level: direct flights to Barcelona from Boston, San Francisco-Oakland and New York. 

You will be reimbursed upon arrival after submitting your invoices to Lola (lolac@bfischool.org). 

If you are coming to Barcelona for a short visit to look for apartments, here are some hotels in which to stay near school:

• Primero Primera:  Amazing B&B in Sarria. It feels like home. It has a pool in a pretty and peaceful garden.  

• Eurostar Angli : A few blocks from the school (about 10-15 minute walk) and halfway up the hill. Often consultants and visitors will stay here when working with BFIS. It is a nice option. Good pool and outdoor space.

• Melià Sarrià

• Catalonia Mikado

To book them you can use www.booking.com  

Useful Tips for Packing and Shipping

• Parcels that are marked as “gifts” with a value under 45€ are exempt from custom fees

• When indicating the value of the package always make it lower that it really is, within a reasonable range 

• If a package is insured, it is assumed valuable and will most likely be taxed and held at customs

• Keep the descriptions of the items in the package as vague as possible. Use “toiletries” rather than “makeup” or words like “gift”, “used” and “old personal belongings”

• Remove all price tags and plastic packaging before sending new items, just in case customs does open your package

• Use UPS for express shipments, not FedEx, because UPS operates within Spain whereas FedEx hands off packages to local couriers

• Do not send vitamins; they always seem to be stopped and taxed

• Mailing several smaller boxes costs more than one big box (read: one heavy box)

Comments from other Staff Members

Shipping from the US can be unpredictable. Most employees that are from the States recommend to bring extra baggage with you on the flight as opposed to shipping personal or work belongings.

• "You will need to provide a number of documents to clear customs; in addition to the standard list, as an EU citizen, I had to show my work contract as proof that I planned to reside in Spain."

• "Get insurance! We shipped from China and it took about 5-6 months and most of boxes were damaged by water and mold when they arrived.  I would not have shipped had I known the process would be so difficult. "

• "Shipping can be quite difficult and if the boxes get tagged in customs quite expensive.  From my experience, I would not ship again rather just check as many suitcases as possible on my flight to BCN."