How to Get a Remote Job From Another Country (US and UK, 2026)

To get a remote job from another country with a US or UK company, apply only to roles open to your location, prove real time-zone overlap, and expect to be hired as a contractor or through an employer of record. Those two setups, not visas or local payroll, are how most cross-border remote hiring works.

This guide walks through the process step by step: filtering listings, writing your application, understanding the offer, and getting paid. If you're starting your search from zero, our step-by-step job search guide covers the fundamentals first.

The quick-start version: 7 steps

1. Pick a role you can do fully online. Customer support, software development, design, writing, marketing, bookkeeping, data and project management hire across borders most often.
2. Filter for location-open listings. Look for "worldwide," "anywhere" or a named region that includes your country.
3. Read the eligibility line first. If a post says you must be authorized to work in the US or UK, skip it.
4. Decide your working hours. Work out how many hours you can overlap with US Eastern or UK time.
5. Adapt your resume to the market. No photo, no date of birth, and your location stated clearly.
6. Put your location and overlap up front in your cover letter or application answers.
7. Understand the offer setup (contractor or employer of record) and how you'll be paid before you sign.

Can a US or UK company legally hire you from another country?

Yes, and companies do it every day, just not usually as a regular employee. A US company can't simply add you to its normal payroll unless it has a legal entity in your country, and UK companies face the same limit. Instead, cross-border remote hires usually happen in one of three ways.

Work visas are a separate question that matters when you relocate to the US or UK. Staying home and working remotely is a different arrangement, and the rules that usually matter most are your own country's tax and business registration rules. This guide doesn't give tax or immigration advice, so check your national tax authority's website and ask a local accountant before you sign anything.

How do you find remote jobs that hire worldwide?

The biggest time-waster for international applicants is applying to "remote" jobs that are only remote within one country. In US posts, remote often means remote inside the US. In UK posts, it often means anywhere in the UK. Filtering first saves you dozens of silent rejections.

Use location filters the right way

On large boards such as LinkedIn, set the work type to Remote and set the location to "Worldwide" or your own country, not to the US or UK. A location of New York or London shows jobs for people who live there. Remote-first boards often use region tags such as Anywhere, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), LATAM or APAC. Our roundup of the best job boards by industry shows which boards are strongest in each field.

Search phrases that surface location-open roles

• Your job title plus "work from anywhere"
• Your job title plus "remote" and "worldwide"
• "Contractor" plus your region, such as "APAC" or "Latin America"
• "Async" or "distributed team" plus your job title

Read the eligibility line before the job description

When a listing is vague, check the company's careers page. Some companies publish a list of countries where they can hire. If yours isn't listed, a polite one-line question to the recruiter is fine, but don't apply blind and hope.

If you don't yet have experience in a remote-friendly role, start with entry-level remote jobs that hire without a long track record, then build from there.

How do you show time-zone overlap in your application?

Time zones are the first worry a hiring manager will have, even if they never say it. Answer it before they ask. Name your time zone, the hours you'll overlap, and how you handle the rest of the day asynchronously.

Work out your real overlap

US Eastern Time is UTC-5 in winter and UTC-4 during daylight saving time, which runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. UK time is GMT (UTC+0) in winter and British Summer Time (UTC+1) from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. Because the dates differ, your overlap shifts by an hour for a few weeks each spring and fall.

For example, if you live in Manila (UTC+8), 9 a.m. in New York is 9 p.m. your time in summer and 10 p.m. in winter. A 9 a.m. start in London is 4 p.m. in Manila during British Summer Time and 5 p.m. in winter. Check your own city with a world clock, and choose hours you can keep for months, not weeks.

Sample wording you can adapt

I'm based in Manila (UTC+8) and work a fixed schedule from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. my time, which covers 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern during daylight saving time. Outside those hours, I post a written end-of-day update so nothing waits on me.

I'm in Lagos (UTC+1), so my normal 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. day matches UK hours during British Summer Time and runs one hour ahead in winter.

Put this in the first paragraph of your cover letter and in any location or notes field on the application form. For the rest of the letter, see our guide on how to write a cover letter.

How should you adapt your resume for US and UK employers?

Your experience is the same everywhere, but the packaging changes. Recruiters in the US and UK skim fast and expect certain conventions, so a document that looks normal at home can look unusual to them.

• Use the right document. US employers expect a resume of one to two pages. UK employers usually ask for a CV, which is a similar document, typically up to two pages. Our CV vs resume comparison explains the differences by country.
• Remove personal details. Leave out your photo, date of birth, marital status and ID numbers.
• State your location clearly. Write "Manila, Philippines (remote, UTC+8)" or similar under your name, so nobody assumes you live locally and rejects you later.
• Add context to past employers. A US recruiter may not know your last company, so add a few words, such as "a 400-person logistics firm in Nairobi."
• Show remote evidence. Name the tools you used with distributed teams and results you delivered without in-person supervision.
• Match the spelling. Use US spelling for US roles and UK spelling for UK roles.

Your LinkedIn profile is often read before your resume. A headline that names your role and says you work remotely helps, and these LinkedIn headline examples show formats that work.

Contractor or employer of record: what's the difference for you?

When an offer arrives, the first question is how you'll be engaged. It decides your take-home pay, your benefits and how much paperwork lands on you.

Companies often run both setups through platforms such as Deel, Remote, Oyster or Rippling. If you're hired through one, you'll usually create an account there to sign your contract, submit invoices or view payslips. That's normal, as long as the company and recruiter check out.

What to ask before you sign

• Am I a contractor or employed through an EOR, and which company signs my contract?
• What currency am I paid in, and who covers transfer fees?
• How often am I paid, and on what date?
• Is paid time off included, and whose public holidays apply?
• Who provides equipment, and do you cover internet costs?
• What is the notice period on both sides?

A note on contractor status

Countries draw the line between contractor and employee differently. In the UK, for example, the off-payroll working rules known as IR35 decide whether some contractors should be taxed like employees. Those rules mainly concern people working in the UK, but they explain why some UK firms ask detailed questions about how you'll work. Your own country may also require you to register as a freelancer or sole proprietor.

How do you get paid by a US or UK company from abroad?

Payment is where small decisions add up. A fee or a weak exchange rate you barely notice on one invoice repeats every month, so it's worth comparing options once and choosing carefully.

Fees and features change often and differ by country, so check each provider's current pricing page before you choose. Ask whether the company can pay you in your local currency, and compare that rate against converting the money yourself.

The US tax form you'll probably see

If you're a non-US contractor working for a US company, expect to be asked for IRS Form W-8BEN. It certifies that you're a foreign person for US tax purposes, and you give it to the company, not to the IRS. It is not the same as a W-9, which is for US persons. If someone asks you to fill out a W-9 while you live and pay tax abroad, ask why. UK companies have no direct equivalent, but they will want proper invoices.

For a realistic picture of what this work can pay, see our breakdown of what Filipino remote workers earn. Pay varies widely by role, experience and setup.

How do you spot fake remote jobs aimed at international applicants?

International applicants are a common target for job scams, because it's harder to verify a foreign company from far away. Walk away if you see any of these:

• You're asked to pay for training, equipment, a processing fee or a visa.
• The whole interview happens by text chat, with no video call.
• You're sent a check to deposit and asked to send part of it back or buy equipment from a "vendor."
• Pay is offered only in gift cards or cryptocurrency.
• The recruiter uses a free email address and the company website shows no real team or history.
• They ask for bank logins, passwords or ID scans before any contract exists.

Check the company on its own website and LinkedIn page, and confirm the recruiter actually works there. A legitimate employer gives you a written contract before asking for tax forms or banking details. The US Federal Trade Commission explains common job scam warning signs that apply wherever you live.