How to State Salary Expectations for a Job in Another Country

You reach the box on the application that says "Expected salary," and your cursor just sits there. The job is in Amsterdam, or Munich, or Manchester. You know what you earn at home. You could run it through a currency converter, add something for the move, and type it in. That instinct is the most common way people get this answer wrong. A converted number tells the employer what you earn somewhere else. It says nothing about what the job pays where it is. If your visa depends on the offer, a number in the wrong format can also leave the employer unable to sponsor you at all.

The good news is that the answer comes down to three decisions: what the job is worth locally, the legal floor your offer has to clear, and how people in that country write a salary down. Once you have those, you can type a number with confidence, and you'll have one that will hold up in a recruiter screen too.

Start from what the job pays there

Your current salary reflects your home market's cost of living, tax system, currency and demand for your skills. None of those carry over. Someone earning well in Lagos or São Paulo can convert their pay and come out with a figure that looks low in London. Someone moving from San Francisco to Berlin can convert and get a figure no German employer will take seriously. In both cases the conversion pins you to the wrong market.

Research the role in the destination city instead. Use the same title, the same seniority, and the same kind of employer. Look at job ads that publish pay, salary surveys for that country, and what people in the role report. Then ask anyone you know there, even loosely, whether the range sounds right. If an ad just says "competitive," it's worth knowing what a competitive salary usually means in a job ad before you read anything into it.

Write down three numbers: the low end you'd accept, a realistic middle, and a strong but defensible top. Your stated range will usually run from the middle to the top. The low end is private.

Keep your range clear of the visa floor

If you need sponsorship, there is a second number that matters as much as market rate: the minimum salary the immigration authority requires. This is a legal floor, not a negotiating anchor. Employers cannot sponsor you below it, and the way it's counted is often stricter than the way salaries are usually discussed. A package that sounds generous can still fall short once bonuses, pension contributions or holiday pay are taken out.

These rules change and come with exceptions. Treat the figures below as a starting point and confirm them with the official source for your country, or with the employer's immigration adviser, before you rely on them.

United Kingdom

The UK Skilled Worker general threshold has been £41,700 a year since 22 July 2025, and your salary also has to meet the going rate for your occupation, whichever is higher. Compliance is assessed on guaranteed basic gross pay, so a bonus or allowance doesn't help you over the line.

Hours are where people get caught out. Going rates assume a 37.5-hour week, so a longer contract raises the minimum. On a 40-hour week, a £45,000 going rate becomes £48,000 (£45,000 × 40 ÷ 37.5). If the job is 40 hours, check your range against that higher figure, not the headline.

There are reduced thresholds too: a relevant PhD (£37,500 plus 90% of the going rate), a STEM PhD (£33,400 plus 80%), a role on the Immigration Salary List (£33,400 plus 100%), and new entrants (£33,400 plus 70%). If you're a recent graduate, the new entrant route may lower the floor you need to clear. It doesn't lower what the job is worth, though.

Germany

For 2026, the EU Blue Card thresholds are €50,700 gross a year (about €4,225 a month) as standard and €45,934.20 for shortage occupations, recent graduates and qualifying IT specialists. They're reset every year. The test uses contractually guaranteed gross annual pay, and discretionary or purely performance-based bonuses shouldn't be counted.

The gap between the two figures matters more than it looks. If your salary only meets the reduced threshold, Federal Employment Agency consent is required. At €50,700 or more, that step is dropped, even for shortage occupations. A range that starts at or above €50,700 can mean a simpler process for the employer, which is worth knowing before you name a number. If you're 45 or older, there's a higher rule of about €55,770 a year in 2026, unless you can show adequate pension provision.

Netherlands

The IND publishes its 2026 thresholds as gross monthly amounts without holiday pay: €5,942 for highly skilled migrants aged 30 and over, €4,357 under 30, and €3,122 on the reduced criterion. The EU Blue Card is €5,942, or €4,754 on its reduced criterion.

The IND does not count holiday allowance, payments in kind, or uncertain pay such as overtime. A thirteenth month only counts if it's paid monthly in 12 equal amounts. The threshold is also checked against gross salary before the 30% ruling is applied, so the tax benefit doesn't help you clear it. Clearing the minimum isn't the whole test either. The salary must also be at market rate, and the IND can ask the UWV for advice if it doubts that. Asking for the bare minimum on a senior role can work against you.

Australia

For subclasses 482, 494 and 186, the Core Skills Income Threshold rose to A$79,423 on 1 July 2026. It's indexed every year and earlier reports gave slightly different figures, so check the current number with Home Affairs. Compulsory super does not count toward it, so "$80,000 plus super" counts as $80,000. Sponsors must pay whichever is higher, the threshold or the Annual Market Salary Rate.

Why a range near the floor is a problem

If the bottom of your range sits right at the threshold, an employer who negotiates you down slightly may no longer be able to sponsor you. In Germany it can also add the consent step. Put real distance between the floor and your stated low end. Make sure your private walk-away number clears the floor too, because a "yes" below it isn't an offer you can actually take.

Say it the way locals say it

A correct number in the wrong format still causes confusion. Saying "€60,000" to a Dutch recruiter who thinks in monthly figures, or "£50k net" to a UK recruiter who thinks in gross annual pay, forces them to guess what you meant. Quote it the way people in that country quote it.

Always use the local currency. Quoting in your home currency makes the recruiter convert it, and their conversion might not be generous. It also suggests you haven't looked at the local market, which is the opposite of what you want them to think. Always say "gross" in Germany and the Netherlands, where the gap between gross and net is large and people discuss both.

Scripts for every place the question comes up

On the application form

Salary fields on international applications are often a single box, sometimes numbers only. If it's free text, give the range with its format spelled out:

"€5,400–€6,000 gross per month, excluding holiday allowance, open to discussion depending on the full package."

If it only accepts a number, use a figure near the top-middle of your range in the local unit, annual or monthly, whichever the form implies. Don't leave it blank if it's required. For more on this field and the others like it, see how to answer job application questions.

In the recruiter screen

"Based on what this role pays in Munich at my level, I'm looking at €58,000 to €65,000 gross per year. I've checked that against the Blue Card requirements, so there's comfortable room above the threshold. Can you share the budgeted range for the role?"

Mentioning the visa floor briefly tells the recruiter you understand sponsorship and won't be a difficult hire. Ending with a question puts the next move on them. A recruiter screen usually comes before any detailed conversation, so this line may be the anchor for everything that follows.

When the range is already published

"The published range of £52,000 to £60,000 works for me. Given my experience with [specific skill from the posting], I'd expect to land toward the upper half."

When they ask what you earn now

Rules here differ by country and are still changing. Under the new EU pay transparency rules, employers must give the starting salary or range in the vacancy notice or before the interview, and may no longer ask about pay history. But not every country had the rules in force by the June 2026 deadline. Italy, Slovakia, Lithuania and Malta did, while Germany, France, the Netherlands and Spain missed it. Poland has applied these rules since December 2025, and Czechia has banned salary-history questions since June 2025. Even where ranges aren't required yet, only 15.8% of job postings in Germany include salary information, so you'll often be naming the figure yourself.

Whatever the local rule, your current pay is in a different market and isn't a useful reference point. You can say so politely:

"My current salary is set for a different market and currency, so I don't think it's a useful comparison. What I can tell you is that my expectation for this role, based on local pay here, is £55,000 to £62,000."

Where relocation and the 30% ruling fit

Keep salary and relocation separate. Salary is the recurring number the visa test looks at. Relocation support, temporary housing and flights are one-off costs, and folding them into your salary inflates your ask without helping your sponsorship case. Ask for them separately:

"Separately from base salary, will the company cover relocation, such as flights, a few weeks of temporary housing, or visa fees?"

In the Netherlands, the 30% ruling affects your take-home pay, not the gross figure the IND checks. Base your gross ask on market rate first. Then raise the ruling as a question about the offer, not as a reason to accept less gross pay. When offers come in, run them through an offer comparison calculator so you're comparing complete packages, not just headline numbers.

Doing this across dozens of applications

Working out one country's rules is manageable. Doing it for every role on a cross-border search is where it gets heavy. Each employer site wants a new account, a salary field in its own format, and answers about visa status, notice period and relocation. Surveyed job seekers spent about 44 minutes per application, and international applications add their own questions.

This is the work Argo is built to take off your hands. You set your target titles, the cities or countries you're open to, your work arrangement and a minimum pay. Set that minimum at your walk-away number, and job matching leaves out roles below it. Argo then fills out and submits each application on the employer's own form, in your name, with answers drawn from your real experience. It handles the account sign-ups and verification codes. It also does resume tailoring for each posting, matching your resume to the posting's keywords while keeping your dates and results true. That matters because tailored resumes turned 5.75% of applications into interviews or offers against 2.68% for generic ones in self-reported Huntr data.

You stay in control. You can open any application to see exactly what was submitted, including how the salary field was answered, and pause Auto Apply whenever you want. Replies from employers, including interview invitations from recruiters in different time zones, land in your Argo inbox, and the important ones are forwarded to your email. Every application, status and reply sits in the application tracker, so you don't need a spreadsheet covering four countries. If Argo hasn't landed you an interview within 60 days of starting, you get a full refund.

Your salary answer is one line on a long form. Get it right once, in the market's own terms and safely above the visa floor, and then spend your energy on the recruiter calls that answer earns you. Upload your resume and choose your jobs to get started.

Frequently asked questions

Should I give my salary expectations in my home currency or the local currency?

Use the local currency, in the format local recruiters use. Quoting in your home currency makes the recruiter convert it and suggests you haven't researched the local market. Argo fills out each employer's own application form for you, and you can open any application to check what was submitted.

Do I convert my current salary or research local salaries when applying abroad?

Research local salaries. A conversion reflects your home market's pay levels and cost of living, not what the role pays in the destination city. Build your range from local pay for the same title and seniority, then check that the bottom of it clears any visa minimum.

Should I quote gross or net salary for a job in Germany or the Netherlands?

Quote gross. In Germany that's usually gross annual pay. In the Netherlands it's typically gross monthly, excluding holiday allowance, which is also how the IND states its visa thresholds. Saying "gross" explicitly avoids any confusion.

What is the minimum salary I need for a work visa in the UK, Germany, Netherlands or Australia?

As of 2026, the floors are £41,700 a year or the occupation's going rate in the UK, €50,700 a year (€45,934.20 reduced) for a German Blue Card, €5,942 a month (€4,357 under 30) for a Dutch highly skilled migrant permit, and A$79,423 for Australia's Core Skills Income Threshold. Each counts only guaranteed base pay and has exceptions, so confirm the figures with the official source. Setting your minimum pay in Argo at or above your walk-away figure keeps lower-paying roles out of your applications.

Can an employer abroad ask what I currently earn?

It depends on the country. EU rules now bar pay-history questions, but not every member state had them in force by the 2026 deadline, while Poland and Czechia already restrict them. Wherever you are, you can redirect: say your current pay is set for a different market, and give your expectation based on local pay instead.