as I am planning on traveling around Europe and would love to get modeling work.

For doing paid modelling work in Europe you need a work permit (visa). For the "Schengen countries" you can aquire a joint visa for all those countries. For the United Kingdom and Ireland you need an extra work permit (visa).

For visiting model agencies and trying to get listed by them you don't need a visa. That's "business" (contrary to "paid activities") so you can do it if you enter "visa free".

"Travelling around in Europe" is quite undefined. If you plan to stay for a year or so  it may be attractive for an agency. But if you should stay just for a few weeks it would not be worthwile for the agency.

IF you should be considered to be "world class" by some agency people it will be irrelevant from where are or where a are right now...

Besides this: if you are 17 you are "underage" legally which means in most (all?) European countries you need your parents approval before being able to sign a legally valid contract of this kind (modelling).

Fotopia wrote:
European agencies are required to follow EU employment law and readily employ all European citizens, hopefuls from outside of that zone are unwelcome unless they can prove no suitable European model can do the work.

Visa requirements for models are a matter of aliens law. Models do not fall under "employment laws" because they are not employees but are legally seen as self employed entrepreneurs. (Models who reside in Germany by the way as all self employed entrepreneurs* are obliged to become a member of the Chamber of Commerce...)

Work visas are obligatory for anyone who wants to earn money during his/her stay - regardless whether by self employed work or as employee.

European model agencies can and do accept foreigners as models because there are no limitations to contracts with foreign self employed suppliers. The point is that their customers prefer models who can do modelling jobs legally. It is annoying when expensive productions are obstructed because some russian or american model is blocked from entering the country at the airport because her visa has expired...

We have really a lot of russian or ukrainian models working here in Europe. Which means that paperwork makes an important portion of the tasks of a model agency.
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*) "As all" is not completely correct because self employed craftsmen are obliged to become a member of the Chamber of Craftsmen instead of the Chamber of Commerce. Only self employed free lancers are excepted from this obligation. "Free lancers" by german legal definition are self employed lawyers, architects, journalists, actors, writers, physicians etc. But for some weird reasons not models...