Local, foreign or remote: the three ways to work abroad

"I want to work abroad" can mean several very different things. Before you rewrite a CV or send a single application, it helps to decide which route you are really pursuing, because each one changes who employs you, who arranges your right to work, which country's employment law applies and where you pay tax.

A career abroad is a set of choices, not one decision. Where you live, who employs you, and which country's rules apply to your work, tax and social security can all be different. Once you see them as separate choices, you have more options and more control.

Start with four questions

Answer these before choosing anything. A first answer is enough; "I'm not sure" is useful too, because it tells you where to research next.

Why do you want to work abroad, and why now? Career growth, a sector that is stronger elsewhere, a partner or family, a culture or language, or a return to a country where you studied.
Where, specifically? One country, a region, or genuinely anywhere. Most people find it helps to name two or three target countries, even provisionally.
For how long? A chapter of two or three years, or a new long-term home. This matters more than people expect.
What do you bring that an employer there cannot easily find locally? A language, experience of a particular market, a technical skill, knowledge of your home region. Employers ask this silently when they read your application, so answer it first.

Route one: the local hire

You apply for and accept a job with an employer in the new country, on a local contract, just as a resident would.

Right to work: usually yours to secure, either through a work permit the employer sponsors or a status you already hold that lets you work.
Contract: local employment law, local pay conventions, local benefits and local notice periods.
Strengths: your network and reputation grow where you live, and it is often the most natural path to long-term residence where such a route exists.
Things to weigh: many employers prefer candidates who can already work in the country. Your permission may be tied to that employer for a period, and you may lose home benefits such as pension continuity unless you plan for them.

For a local hire, a clear explanation of your right-to-work position, and how quickly you could start, often matters as much as your experience.

Route two: sent by your employer

Your employer moves you to one of its offices abroad, or you join an international organisation that places you abroad. This covers several arrangements:

Secondment or assignment: you remain employed by your home employer and work abroad for a period, usually with a planned return.
Intra-company transfer: many countries have a specific route for employees moved within a multinational group. Which roles qualify and how long you may stay differ widely.
Localisation: you move onto a contract with the organisation's local entity, under local law and local benefits.

The employer normally leads the immigration process, which makes this the best-supported route for many people. The questions to ask are about paperwork: which entity employs you, how long the assignment lasts, how tax, social security and family matters will be handled, and whether a role is guaranteed when you return. Get the answers in writing.

If this is your route, the most useful step is often an honest conversation with your manager and HR team about mobility, long before a role is advertised.

Route three: remote work across borders

You live in one country and work for an employer or clients based somewhere else. The job does not move; you do.

Right to live there: you still need permission to reside in the country where you live. Some countries offer remote-work or "digital nomad" permits; others do not distinguish remote work from any other work.
Tax and social security: these usually depend on where you live and physically work, not where your employer is. The rules are specific to each pair of countries.
Your employer: your presence abroad can create legal and tax obligations for them, which is why many employers ask for approval or say no. Never assume permission; ask in writing.

An employer of record, a third-party company that legally employs you in your country of residence and runs local payroll, solves an employment and payroll problem, not an immigration one. It does not by itself give you permission to live anywhere.

Remote work looks the simplest and is often the most complex on paper. Take advice from a qualified tax adviser, and where needed an immigration lawyer, in the countries involved before you move, not after.

Comparing the three

Question	Local hire	Sent by your employer	Remote
Who employs you?	A local employer	Your employer, or its local entity	Your employer, an employer of record, or you as a contractor
Who arranges the right to work?	You, or the employer through sponsorship	Usually the employer	Usually you, through a status that fits
Built-in return path?	Not usually	Often	Depends on the employer
Builds a local network?	Strongly	Moderately	Weakly, unless you work at it

These routes are doors, not permanent commitments. It is common to arrive on an assignment and later take a local role, or to be hired locally and later work remotely for a firm back home.

Why this matters for your CV

The route decides what your application needs to say. A local hire must address the right to work head on. An internal move is often won through conversations rather than a CV. A remote arrangement depends on your employer's agreement more than on a job advert. The rest of this course assumes most readers are pursuing a local hire, with notes for the other two where they differ.

Common mistakes

Choosing a city from a holiday and working backwards to a job.
Assuming that because a laptop can work anywhere, the law allows it.
Forgetting that a partner may also need the right to work.
Treating a move as permanent when the legal route is temporary, or the reverse.

Your next step

Fill in the worksheet below. Name your preferred route and one alternative, and choose two or three target countries. You will use these answers in every lesson that follows.

Decide your route first; the CV, the search and the interview all follow from it.