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Dictionary of international remote work
Clear definitions of the terms that decide whether you understand an international remote job post, a contractor agreement or a tax obligation. Every entry answers first and explains afterwards.
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34 terms
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Tools and methodAI agentAn AI agent is a system built on language models that carries out a multi-step task autonomously: it decides what to do, uses external tools and chains actions until it reaches a goal. It differs from a chatbot in acting on real systems rather than only producing text.
Tools and methodAsync documentationAsync documentation is the body of writing that lets a distributed team decide and progress without overlapping in time. It captures the decision and the reasoning behind it, not just the conclusion, so someone arriving months later understands why it was done that way.
Ways of workingAsynchronous workAsynchronous work is a way of coordinating teams in which replies are not expected in real time. Each person advances within their own hours using written documentation, recorded decisions and clear deadlines instead of simultaneous meetings. It is what lets a team operate across incompatible time zones.
EmployabilityATSAn ATS is the software companies use to receive, filter and rank applications. It parses the CV, extracts structured fields and lets recruiters discard or prioritise against defined criteria. In international remote processes, with hundreds of applicants per opening, almost nobody reaches a human without passing through one.B
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Ways of workingDigital nomadA digital nomad is someone who works remotely while changing country of residence fairly often. The label describes a lifestyle, not a legal status: what counts legally and fiscally is where their tax residence sits and under which permit they are staying in each country.
Hiring and legalDigital nomad visaA digital nomad visa is a residence permit some countries grant to people working remotely for companies or clients based outside that country. It usually requires proof of minimum income, health insurance and a clean record, and in return allows legal residence for one or several years.
Ways of workingDistributed onboardingDistributed onboarding is the process of joining a remote team, where nobody learns by osmosis or by asking the person at the next desk. It relies on entry documentation, explicit goals for the first ninety days and a named person to bring questions to.
Tax and mobilityDouble taxation treatyA double taxation treaty is an agreement between two countries that allocates the right to tax the same income so it is not taxed twice. It determines which country taxes first, which must grant relief or exemption, and provides tie-breaker rules when both consider you tax resident.E
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Hiring and legalInternational contractorAn international contractor is a self-employed professional who provides services to a company in another country and invoices for them, with no employment relationship. They handle their own taxes, contributions and time off, and in exchange usually command higher rates and more flexibility than an equivalent employee.
Hiring and legalInternational payrollInternational payroll is the periodic payment of salaries to people employed in countries other than the company's, with each jurisdiction's withholdings and contributions. It requires a local entity or an Employer of Record acting as the legal employer in the worker's country.
EmployabilityInternational portfolioAn international portfolio is the public body of work that lets a recruiter abroad assess you without knowing your previous employers. It replaces local reputation, which does not travel, with verifiable evidence: projects explained with their context, your specific role and the measurable result they produced.
EmployabilityInternational resumeAn international resume follows the conventions of the market you are targeting, not of the country you live in. In most English-speaking remote processes that means no photo, no date of birth, no marital status, single column, and quantified achievements rather than a list of duties.J
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Tax and mobilityPermanent establishmentA permanent establishment is a stable presence of a company in a country other than its own that triggers an obligation to pay tax there on the profits attributable to that presence. It can arise without an office: it is enough for an employee to habitually conclude contracts from another country on the company's behalf.
EmployabilityPersonal brandA personal brand is the impression someone forms of your professional judgement before ever speaking to you. In international remote hiring it substitutes for a local network: if a recruiter abroad can read you and understand how you think, you stop being an unknown who represents risk.
Remote businessProductised offerA productised offer is a service sold with fixed scope, defined timeline and fixed price, as if it were a product. It removes case-by-case negotiation and bespoke quoting, which shortens the sales cycle and makes both delivery and margin predictable.
Tools and methodPrompt engineeringPrompt engineering is the practice of framing instructions to a language model so results are reliable and repeatable. It means supplying enough context, defining the output format and bounding the criteria, so the same request produces consistent quality rather than depending on luck.R
Ways of workingRemote burnoutRemote burnout is the exhaustion that comes from working at a distance without clear boundaries between the working day and personal life. It worsens when the team spans time zones and availability stretches to cover them all, so the day never quite ends.
Tools and methodRemote stackA remote stack is the set of tools underpinning a distributed person or team: communication, documentation, task management, storage, payments and automation. It is defined not by the list of applications but by how they fit together and who does what in each.
Ways of workingRemote workRemote work is a working model in which a person performs their role from any connected location, without attending a company office. It defines neither the schedule nor the type of contract: it defines only where the work happens, which is why it coexists with both employment and contractor arrangements.S
Remote businessSolopreneurA solopreneur runs a business with no employees, leaning on automation, tooling and occasional external collaborators. They differ from freelancers in selling a systematised service or product rather than their time, so income does not grow only by adding hours.
Remote businessSOPAn SOP is the written, step-by-step description of how a recurring task is carried out in a business. It lets another person, or an automation, produce the same result without depending on whoever usually did it. It is the basic unit of a business that can be delegated.T
Tax and mobilityTax residenceTax residence is the country entitled to tax your worldwide income. You do not choose it by declaring it: each jurisdiction determines it through objective tests such as days of presence, where your centre of economic interests lies and where your family lives. You can be tax resident somewhere you barely spend time.
Ways of workingTime zone overlapTime zone overlap is the number of hours during which two people in different zones share working time. International remote job posts usually require a minimum, typically two to four hours, and that requirement effectively decides which countries can apply for a given role.
EmployabilityTotal compensationTotal compensation is the complete package of an international remote role: base salary, variable pay, equity, learning and equipment budgets, time off and health cover. Comparing base salary alone across countries leads to the wrong conclusion almost every time.