Jobs for Foreigners in Europe: Where Will It Be Easiest to Find Work in 2027?

Europe remains a top destination for migrant workers. Find out which countries make it easier to obtain a work permit, what salaries you can expect, and how much it costs to live there

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Eurostat has the numbers: in 2025, EU countries issued around 3.9 million first residence permits to citizens of non-EU countries. More than a third of them, 1.3 million (33.6%), were issued for work, and the number of such permits rose by 16.1% over the year. Working in Europe has long stopped being the exception for newcomers.

Poland, Portugal, Spain and Germany issue the most work permits, and together they account for 60.3% of the total. But the number of permits says nothing about conditions: salaries, rent and candidate requirements differ widely from country to country.

Want to work abroad but lost in the lists of documents and requirements? Visit World's "Work Guide" brings together step-by-step instructions for applying for a work visa and work permit, full document checklists, visa fees and processing times. Just choose your citizenship and destination country, and the PDF will arrive in your inbox within minutes. Pick your guide and start preparing today.

Working in Europe: How Were the Countries Compared?

The comparison is based on three factors: how clear the application procedure is, how much people earn, and how much housing costs. Minimum wages in Europe vary considerably: in the Netherlands the rate exceeds €14.99 per hour, while Switzerland has no nationwide minimum at all. All salaries are gross, i.e. before tax. Where an increase in the minimum wage for 2027 has already been officially announced, this is noted.

Germany: Blue Card and Chancenkarte for Skilled Professionals

Germany admits foreign workers through several routes, and the right one depends on your qualifications. The best known, the EU Blue Card, requires a university degree and a job offer from an employer with a salary above a set threshold. In 2026 that threshold is €50,700 gross per year. A lower threshold of €45,934.20 applies to shortage occupations, IT specialists and recent graduates. The threshold is reviewed every year, so check your offer against the current figure. With German at B1 level, a Blue Card holder can apply for permanent residence after just 21 months.

If you don't have an offer yet, there is the Chancenkarte, or Opportunity Card (Section 20a of the Residence Act). It works on a points system and lets you search for a job once you are in the country. While looking, you can take on up to 20 hours of part-time work a week and do trial work days of up to two weeks with one employer. Once you find a job, you can switch to a Blue Card or another permit without leaving the country. Of course, the card does not guarantee employment.

- Minimum wage: €13.90 per hour in 2026. From 1 January 2027 it will rise to €14.60.

- Average salary: according to Destatis, the median annual income of a full-time employee in 2025 was €54,066 gross, or about €4,500 per month. The mean is higher, at €64,441 per year.

- Cost of living: according to immowelt (October 2026), rent in the 15 largest cities averages €10.83 per m². In Leipzig it is €9.68, in Berlin €14.63 and in Munich €21.65. For a 50 m² apartment, that comes to roughly €480, €730 and €1,080 per month, excluding utilities.

Read here about how much the middle class earns in Germany in 2026.

Poland: The Voivode Decides on Work

Poland is one of the EU's top four countries by number of work permits issued. The law of 20 March 2025 has been in force since 1 June 2025 and moved the procedure online. The employer submits the permit application in the voivodeship, and must submit a copy of the contract through the praca.gov.pl system before work begins. The permit is issued for a specific employer and position, usually for up to three years.

Find out here what jobs foreigners most often do in Poland.

The new rules have also closed several loopholes. You cannot work on visas issued for visiting relatives, medical treatment, studies outside a university or "other reasons" (the only exception is the Karta Polaka). Schengen visas from other countries do not give the right to work either, unless you hold a residence permit from that country. In this setup, the work visa comes as the next step after the voivode's decision, not instead of it.

- Minimum wage: PLN 4,806 gross per month in 2026, and PLN 31.40 per hour for certain civil-law contracts. From 1 January 2027 the figures will be PLN 4,950 and PLN 32.30; the regulation was published in the Dziennik Ustaw on 15 September 2026.

- Average salary: according to GUS, it was PLN 9,562.88 gross in the first quarter of 2026.

- Cost of living: according to Otodom data for March 2026, apartment rent in Warsaw averages around PLN 4,800, in the Tri-City PLN 3,100 and in Łódź PLN 2,300. The average across regional capitals is PLN 3,500, and rents have been falling by about 1% a month since the start of the year.

For a detailed look at Polish salaries by industry, see our previous article.

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Spain: A Catalogue of Shortage Occupations and a Minimum of €1,221

Last year Spain issued the most first residence permits in the EU: 635,438, or 16.5% of the total. For job seekers, the key document here is not the visa but the Catalogue of Occupations in Difficult-to-Fill Positions. If a vacancy appears in it, the employer can apply for an initial residence and work permit without proving that no local candidate could be found. The SEPE published the catalogue for the third quarter of 2026 with no significant changes from the start of the year.

For other occupations it is harder: the employer must show the immigration office that the vacancy could not be filled from the domestic labour market. The application is submitted where the work will take place. After the worker arrives, they must be registered with social security within three months. If the permit is valid for more than six months, the foreigner's identity card (TIE) is issued within a month of registration. Immigration lawyers warn that a salary even slightly below the SMI often becomes grounds for refusal.

- Minimum wage: the SMI is €1,221 per month in 14 payments, i.e. €17,094 per year. The rate has applied since 1 January 2026.

- Average salary: according to INE data for 2024, the average gross annual salary was €29,540, the median €24,497 and the most common €16,520.

- Cost of living: according to idealista, in August 2026 average rent nationwide was €15.1 per m², in Madrid €23.3 and in Barcelona €20.2. A 45 m² one-bedroom in Madrid costs over €1,000 a month, while in the most affordable provincial capitals such as Zamora or Ourense the rate is about €8.3 per m² (June data).

Read here about the main trends in the Spanish labour market.

The Netherlands: High Salary Thresholds and Expensive Rent

In the Netherlands, the employer decides everything. To hire a highly skilled migrant, the employer must be a recognised sponsor with the immigration service IND. In 2026, the salary under the Highly Skilled Migrant scheme must be at least €5,942 gross per month for those aged 30 and over, and €4,357 for younger applicants. For graduates and those on the orientation year, the threshold is lowered to €3,122. For the Blue Card it is €5,942, and €4,754 for recent graduates. The amounts exclude the 8% holiday allowance and apply to applications submitted in 2026.

Salary and allowances counted towards the threshold must be written into the contract, guaranteed and paid into the employee's personal bank account. The thresholds are indexed every year on 1 January.

- Minimum wage: €14.99 per hour for workers aged 21 and over, in force since 1 July 2026. There is no separate monthly minimum, only an hourly one.

- Average salary: according to preliminary CBS data, in 2025 a full-time employee earned on average €4,859 gross per month, excluding holiday pay and overtime. The median hourly rate was €26.90.

- Cost of living: according to Pararius and Huurwoningen.nl, in the third quarter of 2026 private rental housing cost an average of €1,914 per month, or €20.92 per m². Landlords usually require an income of three times the rent, i.e. about €5,742 gross per month.

Read about working conditions in the Netherlands for foreigners in this article.

Ireland: Critical Skills Thresholds and a €14.15 Minimum

In Ireland, the first filter for a foreigner is the minimum annual salary. Since 1 March 2026, it is €36,605 for the General Employment Permit and €40,904 for the Critical Skills Employment Permit. Critical occupations are listed separately, and employers do not have to carry out a labour market test for them. The base pay must also meet the national minimum wage for every hour worked.

The thresholds are now tied to CSO earnings statistics, so they will keep rising. The occupation lists are also reviewed: on 29 May 2026, changes were announced under which six occupations gained Critical Skills eligibility and nine gained access to the General Employment Permit without a quota.

- Minimum wage: €14.15 per hour in 2026. The 2027 budget, announced on 6 October 2026, provides for an increase to €14.94 from 1 January 2027.

- Average salary: according to CSO data for 2024, median annual earnings were €44,816. The mean is noticeably higher because it is pulled up by multinational corporations.

- Cost of living: according to Daft.ie, in the second quarter of 2026 a two-bedroom apartment in Ireland cost an average of €2,204 per month. In Dublin, according to the first-quarter report, it is €2,609.

Switzerland: Permit Quotas and High Salaries

Switzerland is not in the EU, so a quota system applies to third-country nationals. In 2026 the federal government allocated 8,500 permits: 4,500 type B (one year or longer) and 4,000 type L (short-term). The quotas are not fully used: in 2024, 74% was taken up. According to the law firm Fragomen, in September 2026 there were no signs that the limit would run out before the end of the year.

The employer must prove that the search among workers from Switzerland and the EU/EFTA yielded no result, and it is mainly qualified specialists who are sought here. The application is reviewed by the canton and the State Secretariat for Migration. Only then does the consulate issue an entry visa, which takes 6 to 12 weeks for third-country nationals. After arrival, you must register with your municipality within 14 days and before starting work. Knowing the language of the canton noticeably improves your chances of finding an offer.

- Minimum wage: there is no nationwide minimum. Five cantons have their own: in 2026, in Geneva it is CHF 24.59 per hour, in Basel-Stadt CHF 22.20, in Jura CHF 21.40, in Neuchâtel CHF 21.35 and in Ticino about CHF 20.50.

- Average salary: according to the FSO, the gross median for full-time employment in 2024 was CHF 7,024 per month. In Zurich it is CHF 7,502, in Ticino CHF 5,708.

- Cost of living: according to Newhome, the average advertised rent in Zurich is CHF 2,340 per month. The most affordable region is Espace Mittelland (around Bern), at CHF 1,452. In the year to July 2026, advertised prices across the country fell by an average of 1.7%.

Follow the link for a detailed guide for those planning a move to Switzerland in 2026.

What to Consider Before Applying for a Work Visa

A work visa or permit is almost never processed before a job offer appears. The application is usually submitted by the employer, and your job is to gather your diploma, proof of experience, passport and contract. Your diploma often has to be recognised or at least translated.

Salary thresholds don't stand still. In Germany and the Netherlands they are reviewed every year on 1 January, in Ireland they are tied to earnings statistics, and Switzerland keeps its quotas fixed. So check your offer against the threshold that will apply on the date you file, not the day you speak to the recruiter.

The cost of living in Europe varies even more than salaries. For €1,000 a month in Leipzig, at average prices you can rent more than a hundred square metres, and in Madrid about forty-three. In the Netherlands, a landlord may refuse you outright if your income is not three times the rent. So it is best to calculate your budget as a pair: net salary minus housing.

Each country on this list has its own rules: Germany ties the permit to your degree and a salary threshold, Ireland to a list of shortage occupations, Switzerland to quotas, and in Poland the procedure is started by the employer. It is easy to slip up at the start: one missing document, and the application stalls or is refused.

Visit World's "Work Guide" helps you avoid this, because it covers the whole path from filling in the visa application form to registering with local authorities. It includes step-by-step instructions for both the visa and the work permit, full document checklists, visa fees, processing times, travel tips and rules for completing the application form. The instructions are tailored to your citizenship and chosen country, so you won't have to work out which requirements apply to you. Enter your citizenship and destination country on the guide page and get the instructions by email.

Remember: Switzerland leads in net pay, at $8,282 per month. We have already covered how much workers earn in the top 10 OECD countries and why the figures differ.

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