How to Hire Remote Employees Across Borders

To hire remote employees across borders, identify markets where the needed skills are available, confirm which locations your organization can employ in, and agree on a lawful employment and payroll route before making an offer. The recruiting plan must include how a new colleague will be paid, onboarded, and supported after joining.

In Global by Default at BambooHR’s HR Virtual Summit 2026, Remote’s talent acquisition director Anastasia Pshegodskaya described a sequence that often runs backward. A team meets a candidate it wants to hire, then asks HR whether it can employ that person where they live. Her recommendation was to settle the possible markets and operating arrangements before the urgent vacancy appears.

Pshegodskaya works for an employer-of-record provider, and her session included a case for that service. The underlying planning question is broader than any vendor: what is the organization prepared to offer someone in a particular place, and can it keep that promise?

When does cross-border hiring make sense?

Cross-border hiring makes sense when a needed capability is hard to find in the organization’s current markets and the business can support a role in another location. Pshegodskaya suggested checking three conditions: a narrow existing pipeline, a business reason to expand the search, and evidence that the needed skills are concentrated elsewhere. Starting from the cheapest labor market can miss the people the job actually requires.

Her own examples ranged beyond software engineering. A team may find language skills or customer support experience in a region it had not considered, while a different role points to another market. Search by the work and the talent pool, then test whether the location supports the team’s hours, service needs, and ability to manage the role.

Remote’s 2025 survey of 3,650 HR and business leaders found that 73% expected more than half their new hires to be international by 2026. That is a forecast from surveyed leaders, not a count of hires that subsequently occurred. It signals interest in wider talent markets; an employer still needs its own reason to enter one.

What must be settled before an international offer?

Before an international offer, establish whether the organization can engage the person in that country, which employment arrangement fits the work, who will advise on local requirements, and how pay and benefits will be delivered. Pshegodskaya discussed a local entity, an employer of record, and contractor engagement as possible arrangements. They are different routes with different obligations; the correct choice depends on the country and the actual working relationship.

HR should also confirm the pay currency and timing, benefits, onboarding documents, ownership of records, and the person who can answer the candidate’s questions. Pshegodskaya stressed the experience of a candidate who hears “we want to hire you” only to learn afterward that the company cannot employ them locally. That is a preventable loss if the search begins with an approved list of locations.

Remote’s survey found that 74% of its respondents reported compliance challenges abroad. The figure comes from the company’s own survey and does not tell any employer which arrangement is suitable in a particular jurisdiction. Local employment and tax questions need qualified advice for the specific country and role.

How should a small HR team prepare for global hiring?

A small HR team can prepare by keeping a short, current record of where it can hire, who approves a new market, and what steps must happen between candidate selection and offer. Pshegodskaya called this an operating layer: talent markets, employment and payroll support, a shared record of employee information, and local expertise. The record should name an owner who updates it when circumstances change.

The team also needs an intake conversation with the hiring manager. What skill is genuinely scarce? Which time-zone overlap is necessary? Does the manager know how the person will receive context and feedback? My colleague Guy J. Giguère’s piece on recognizing transferable skills explores a nearby choice: sometimes the best candidate is already in reach but has experience under a different title. His piece on crowded applicant pools and skill shortages makes the same distinction at market level. Broaden the location search after making the capability requirement clear.

What makes cross-border hiring work after the offer?

The hire works when the employee can do the job, get paid correctly, and access the same decisions and development as colleagues elsewhere. Pshegodskaya put onboarding, documentation, manager expectations, and fair access to opportunity alongside payroll in her session. An international offer is only the first test of the employer’s plan.

Start with a market where the needed talent and a workable employment arrangement meet. Give the hiring manager clear conditions for that location, and let candidates know the arrangement before asking them to commit. The goal is a search that can end in an offer the organization is ready to honor.