Looking for work has changed on both sides of the Channel. In England the search still runs through a handful of big job boards and recruitment agencies, while across the rest of Europe the ground shifted after Brexit, and a British passport no longer opens every door the way it once did. This guide brings the two together, so you know where to look, which sectors are hiring, and what the right to work really means now.
A useful starting point for the continent is a dedicated portal such as work in Europe, which lists vacancies country by country and puts people in touch with recruiters, saving you from trawling a dozen national job sites one by one. The main English-language routes are covered below too.
Finding work in England
If you are job hunting in England, most vacancies pass through a small group of national sites, so it pays to be on more than one of them. The main places to look are these.
- Indeed and LinkedIn, the two largest boards, where most employers post first and where you can set alerts for a role and area.
- Reed and Totaljobs, long established UK boards that are strong on office, admin and commercial roles.
- Find a Job, the free government service on gov.uk, which lists everything from warehouse work to the public sector.
- Recruitment agencies, worth approaching directly for a specific trade or profession, as many roles are filled through them before they ever reach a board.
- Your local Jobcentre Plus, useful for entry level work, apprenticeships and support if you are claiming benefits.
Whoever hires you in the UK has to carry out a right to work check, so have your passport or share code ready. The sectors taking on the most people at the moment are health and care, retail, hospitality, warehousing and logistics, and almost anything in tech.
Where the jobs are across Europe
Working abroad is very doable without fluent German or French, because a large slice of European hiring happens in English. The countries with the most English-language roles tend to be the ones below.
- Ireland, where Dublin is a hub for tech, finance and multilingual customer support, and there is no language barrier at all.
- Portugal, where Lisbon and Porto have become centres for customer-service and support work, often hiring for English alongside another language.
- The Netherlands, with a lot of English used at work and steady demand in tech, logistics and engineering.
- Poland, where Krakow and Warsaw host large business-services centres that recruit English speakers in their thousands.
- Malta and Spain, popular for English speakers in igaming, tourism and support roles, with Barcelona a particular draw.
Across those markets the work that hires in English most readily is customer support and business services, IT and software, tourism and hospitality, teaching English as a foreign language, and seasonal jobs in resorts and on farms.
Your right to work in Europe after Brexit
This is the part that catches people out. Since the Brexit transition ended at the start of 2021, British citizens no longer have the automatic right to work in the European Union. You now have to meet the immigration rules of the particular country you are moving to, which in most cases means lining up a job offer first and then applying for a work permit or visa through the employer.
A British passport still lets you visit the Schengen area without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180, but that short-stay allowance is for tourism and business trips, not for taking paid work. Highly skilled professionals may be able to use the EU Blue Card, and anyone who holds an Irish passport, or dual nationality with an EU country, keeps full freedom of movement and can work without a permit.
Because the rules differ by country and change over time, always check the destination country’s official immigration authority and the guidance on gov.uk before you commit. The notes here are general information, not legal advice.
Where to start your search
Wherever you are aiming, a little structure makes the hunt far shorter. A sensible order of attack looks like this.
- Register on two or three big boards and turn on alerts for your role, so new vacancies come to you instead of the other way round.
- Go straight to the careers pages of companies you would like to work for, since many never advertise anywhere else.
- Approach a specialist recruiter for your trade or profession, at home or abroad.
- For Europe, use the EU’s own EURES portal and country-specific job sites, and the English-language listings at Work Europa, which are grouped by country so you are not hopping between a dozen pages.
- Tailor your CV to each role rather than firing out the same one everywhere.
If a new job brings you to this part of the coast, our guide to moving to Portsmouth covers the practical side of settling in, and the transport section explains getting around once you arrive.
Common questions about working abroad
Can UK citizens still work in Europe after Brexit?
Yes, but not automatically. You need to meet the chosen country’s immigration rules, which usually means a job offer followed by a work permit, unless you hold an Irish or other EU passport.
Which European countries have the most English-speaking jobs?
Ireland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Poland, Malta and Spain tend to have the most, especially in customer support, tech and tourism.
Do I need to speak the local language?
Not always. Plenty of support, tech and tourism roles run entirely in English, though a second language widens your options and usually pays better.
What are the best job sites for Europe?
The EU’s EURES portal, the big international boards, country-specific sites and specialist English-language portals are the main ones, and starting with a listing grouped by country saves a lot of time.
Portsmouth And put this guide together from official guidance including gov.uk and the EU’s EURES service, with job-market information current for late 2026. Last updated: November 2026. Immigration rules change often, so always confirm the current requirements with the destination country’s official immigration authority before you make plans.
