Jobs abroad in Europe: where you can work in English

Where English is enough

In every European country we track there are jobs where the team works in English. What changes from one country to the next is how many of them there are, and how many of the remaining ads still ask for the local language as well. The difference is large, so the country you pick matters more than any other choice you make.

The bars below come from live job ads, counted every hour. We only count a job as English-speaking when the ad makes the working language clear, and every bar shows how many ads it is based on, so you can see when a share rests on a small number.

Two things to read into these numbers. First, a high share means more of the market is open to you without the local language, not that the local language never helps: in most countries, speaking it widens your options and makes daily life easier. Second, a country with a lower share but a large job market can still have more English-speaking jobs in total than a smaller country with a higher share. Look at both columns.

Each country with enough data has its own page listing the English-speaking jobs we track there, with the cities, the companies hiring and the share that ask for no local language at all. Start from English-speaking jobs in Europe and pick a country.

Which fields hire in English

English-speaking jobs are not spread evenly across professions. Teams that work across borders, sell to international customers or build software tend to use English as their working language. Roles that deal with local customers, local law or the local public sector usually need the local language, even when the company itself is international.

If your field is near the top of this list, a move without the local language is realistic. If it is near the bottom or missing, plan for the language: either learn it before you go, or look for roles in your field that serve an international market, such as a regional team that covers several countries from one office.

Seniority matters too. Many companies hire junior people locally and recruit internationally for experienced specialists. A clear specialism and a few years of experience make an application from abroad easier to say yes to.

Work rights: EU citizens and everyone else

If you are a citizen of an EU country, you have the right to work in any other EU country, for an employer or as a self-employed person, without a work permit (Your Europe (European Union) (opens in a new tab)). Some formalities may still apply, and they differ from one country to the next.

If you are not an EU citizen, you will usually need a permit to work in an EU country, and the rules depend on your nationality, the country and the kind of job. The EU's official page on work permits explains the cases and links to each country's authorities (Your Europe (European Union) (opens in a new tab)). Read it before you apply, because some employers only consider candidates who already have the right to work.

Switzerland and the United Kingdom are not in the EU and have their own rules. In the UK, every employer checks your right to work before you start, and the way you prove it depends on your status (GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)).

This guide does not give immigration advice. Rules change, and your situation may have details that matter. For anything beyond the basics, use the official pages above or ask the authorities of the country you are moving to.

Moving before or after the offer

There are two ways to do it, and both work for different people.

• Get the offer first, then move. This is the lower-risk path. Many interviews now happen by video, and an offer gives you an income, often help with the move and, outside the EU, the basis for a work permit. The downside: some employers prefer candidates who are already in the country and can start soon.
• Move first, then search. Being local makes interviews easier and shows commitment. It needs savings to cover the search, which can take months, and for non-EU citizens it is often not possible without a visa that allows job seeking.

If you apply from abroad, say so plainly in the first lines of your application: where you are, when you can move and whether you need sponsorship. A recruiter who has to guess will often move on to the next candidate. EURES, the EU's job mobility portal, also describes living and working conditions in each country, from taxes to housing (EURES (European Union) (opens in a new tab)).

How to search

1. Pick 1 or 2 countries where your field hires in English, using the numbers above, rather than applying across the whole continent.
2. Read the ads for the language rule. "Working language English" and "German is a plus" are a world away from "fluent French required". Filter out the ads you cannot meet before you write a single application.
3. Check that the ad is still open. Ads stay online long after a role is filled. An ad that was reposted several times, or that you cannot find on the company's own careers site, deserves a second look.
4. Adapt your CV to the country. A UK-style CV without photo or date of birth works across most international teams; see our guides to the UK CV format and the Irish CV format.
5. Apply where your chances are best. A handful of applications to jobs you match closely beats dozens of generic ones.

CVtly does the first three steps for you: it reads job ads across Europe every hour, tells you which ones run in English and which ask for the local language, flags ads that look closed, and estimates your chance of an interview at each one from your CV. It never applies for you.