How to tell if a remote job is open to your country
“Remote” often means remote within one country. Here’s how to check a listing in a minute, before you spend an hour on an application.
1. Start with the location
Most listings have a location line near the title. It usually settles the question.
- It names a country, like “Remote - Philippines”, “Remote (India)” or “United States (Remote)”. The job is open to people who live there.
- It names a region, like “Remote - APAC”, “EMEA” or “Southeast Asia”. It’s open to you if your country is part of it. APAC usually takes in the Philippines, India, Singapore and Australia, but some companies mean only a few countries, so look for a list in the description.
- It just says “Remote”, or names a city. That isn’t enough on its own, so read on.
2. Find the line that decides it
Search the description (Ctrl+F, or “Find in page” on your phone) for words like based, reside, located, authorised, time zone and the name of your country.
- Open to you: “you can work from anywhere”, “open to candidates in the Philippines”, “we hire in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh”.
- Not open to you: “must be based in the US”, “authorised to work in the United States”, “you must live in Canada”, “within two hours of CET”.
- Time zones: “overlap with 9am to 5pm EST” doesn’t rule you out by itself. It means evening or night shifts from Manila or Bengaluru.
3. Read the small print
- “Remote, with a monthly visit to our London office” is hybrid in practice.
- “We can only hire in countries where we have an entity” means a fixed list, so look for it.
- A salary in pesos, rupees or dollars is a clue to where they expect you to live, not a rule.
- If a listing says nothing at all about where you can work from, many companies mean their own country. When in doubt, ask the recruiter before you apply.
4. Or let us check it for you
Paste the job’s link or the job ad into Can I apply from here? We read it with the same rules we use for every job on Remotejobify, and quote the line that decides it. It’s free.
Or skip the checking: every job on Remotejobify has already been read this way. See the remote jobs open to people in the Philippines, the United States, India or any other country.