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How to find remote jobs at US and EU companies that hire internationally

By FindAJobAI teamPublished

If you live outside the US or the EU, "remote" job boards can feel like a trick: thousands of remote roles, most of which quietly require you to live in one country. Yet plenty of companies do hire across borders, from US startups paying through an employer of record to European scale-ups hiring across EMEA.

This guide explains how companies hire internationally, where those roles show up, the search phrases that find them, and how to make your application easy to say yes to. The numbers come from live postings we read directly from employers' job boards.

Why internationally open roles are the minority

To employ someone, a company has to pay them legally where they live, deal with local tax and employment law, and offer benefits that make sense there. Doing that in a new country is work, so most companies hire only in the countries where they already have an entity. Our guide on how to tell if a remote job is open to you covers the phrases that give this away.

Here is what the location fields of live remote software engineering postings in our index say right now:

Location saysOpen roles
United States5,008
A European country, or Europe-wide2,804
Europe or EMEA, not pinned to one country156
Anywhere, worldwide or international294

For every role that says "worldwide", there are about 17 that say "United States". The internationally open ones exist, but you have to look for them on purpose.

Reading the full text of the 483 newest remote developer postings tells the same story: 5% say they're open worldwide, 2% set a time-zone rule without naming countries, and the rest either name the countries they hire in or don't say at all.

The three ways companies hire across borders

1. A local entity

The company has its own subsidiary in your country and hires you as a normal employee. Common for large companies with engineering hubs (Poland, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, India). Ads usually name the country: "Remote, Poland".

2. An employer of record (EOR)

A provider such as Deel, Remote.com or Oyster legally employs you in your country and charges the company a fee. You get a local employment contract, payroll and statutory benefits, and you work for the company day to day. This is how many startups hire in dozens of countries without opening an office. Ads mention it as "we hire through an EOR" or simply list many countries.

3. A contractor agreement

You invoice the company as an independent contractor. It's the simplest route for the employer and the most flexible for you, but you handle your own taxes and usually go without paid leave or employer benefits. Check your local rules on contracting; in some countries long-term exclusive contracting can be treated as disguised employment.

Knowing which route a company uses tells you what to ask and what the offer will look like. It's fair to ask a recruiter "Do you hire in Georgia through an EOR or as contractors?" in your first message.

Where these roles show up

  • The location field. "Anywhere", "Worldwide", "Remote - EMEA", "Remote - Europe" or a long list of countries.
  • Companies' own careers pages. Remote-first companies often publish the countries they hire in, sometimes in a public handbook.
  • Remote-focused job boards. Sites like We Work Remotely, Remotive and Working Nomads tag roles by region, though tags aren't always accurate.
  • Applicant tracking system boards. Most tech companies post on Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby or Workday boards, which carry the original location text.

Our own lists are built from those employer boards and filtered by location text, so they only show roles whose location says they're open internationally:

See also remote developer jobs for people outside the US and EU. If you can work in a European country, these lists include single-country roles too:

Check each posting before you apply

Even on an "international" list, read the text. A worldwide location field next to "must be authorized to work in the US" in the requirements means US-only. A time-zone rule ("4 hours overlap with CET") might be fine from Tbilisi and impossible from Manila.

Paste the ad into our free remote eligibility checker. It quotes the sentences that decide it and tells you whether the role is worldwide, time-zone bound, limited to a region or a country, or silent.

Make your application easy to say yes to

An international applicant has to answer questions a local one doesn't. Answer them before anyone asks:

  • Header line: "Tbilisi, Georgia (UTC+4) · open to EOR or contractor · overlap 09:00–14:00 ET".
  • Remote evidence: one bullet that shows you've worked async across time zones before, with the team's locations.
  • Salary in their currency: a range in USD or EUR, researched for remote roles rather than your local market or theirs.
  • Written English: remote teams run on writing. A clean CV and a short, specific cover letter are part of the test. Our remote cover letter guide has a template.

Expect it to take longer. In Huntr's Q2 2026 data, remote-only applications had the lowest recorded interview rate of any work arrangement, 3.53% against 6.07% for hybrid (Huntr). Applying only to roles that can actually hire you is the single biggest lever you control.

Prepare a CV that travels

A CV that works for local applications can still confuse a recruiter in another country. A few changes make it read the same everywhere:

  • Explain local employers in a few words. A short descriptor after the company name ("fintech, 300 employees, Series B") tells a recruiter abroad the scale a name alone doesn't.
  • Use the international name of your title and degree. Translate local titles to their common English equivalent, and give degree names as they'd be understood abroad (BSc in Computer Science).
  • Skip what other markets don't expect. Photos, date of birth and marital status are standard on CVs in some countries and a reason to pause in the US and UK.
  • Lead with the overlap. If you've worked with US or European teams before, say so in the first role it applies to, with the time-zone split.
  • Use the employer's vocabulary. International applications are often read by a recruiter who searches the ATS for the ad's exact terms. Check yours with the free CV score checker before you apply; it lists the keywords the ad uses that your CV doesn't.

For which skills a given role asks for across the market, see resume keywords by role, counted from the same live postings.

Red flags in "work from anywhere" jobs

Fully open remote roles attract scams. Walk away if you see:

  • A request to pay for equipment, training or a background check up front.
  • Interviews only over chat apps, or an offer without any video call.
  • Pay in cryptocurrency or gift cards, or a "contract" with no company name and address.
  • A recruiter email from a free webmail address for a well-known company. Check the role on the company's own careers page.

Frequently asked questions

Which companies hire remote workers internationally?

Mostly companies that use an employer of record or contractor agreements, remote-first startups, and large companies with entities in many countries. The quickest way to find them is by the location text on their job posts: "Anywhere", "Worldwide", "EMEA" or a list of countries.

What is an employer of record?

A company that legally employs you in your country on behalf of the company you actually work for. It runs payroll, taxes and statutory benefits locally, so the hiring company doesn't need its own entity there.

Can a US company hire me as a contractor from abroad?

Often, yes. Many US companies hire international contractors directly or through a platform. You'd invoice them and handle your own taxes; check your local rules on long-term contracting.

Does "remote EMEA" include countries outside the EU?

Sometimes. EMEA spans Europe, the Middle East and Africa, but many employers only hire in the EMEA countries where they have an entity or EOR coverage. If your country isn't named, ask before applying.

Sources

  1. Huntr: Job search trends, Q2 2026

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