Freelancing Without Borders – Where Freelancers Thrive Across Europe

Santa Claus is the typical cross-border freelancer, says Jessica Ortner: one day a year he delivers to clients with very different expectations, and the other 364 he does the paperwork for the mess. She works in the staffing industry and warns up front that she can't tell you the best country in Europe to freelance in. It depends on your profession and what you want. What she can give you is an equation to do your own homework.

What the talk covers

• Why cross-border work is still a minority: In the room, only a few people earned more than 20 percent of their revenue across borders. Complexity keeps people at home.
• Opportunity has three parts: the size of the market in your industry (tech, engineering, professional services and life science are the biggest), your specific role, and what rates look like in each country, including how AI will affect your role.
• Legitimacy means law and tax. Cross-border starts when your work location, your client's location, your company's registration and your money flow don't point to the same country. Examples: IR35 in the UK, the status debate in Germany, a government-published status test in the Netherlands.
• Ease is the soft part: cultural dimensions (she points to Hofstede), economic stability and currency, and the lifestyle you want.

Practical takeaways

1. Map your jurisdiction footprint. If work location, client and business registration don't align, assume complexity.
2. Put compliance before flexibility. Risk travels with you.
3. Pick the engagement model on purpose: sometimes giving up a few margin points through an intermediary or an employer of record buys you safer nights.
4. Build an advisory circle (tax, legal basics) and be open with your clients about it.

Q&A

How to get into the UK market from Germany, her view on Dubai (attractive taxes and rates, but check the whole equation), and which countries have a strong freelance culture (in her opinion the Nordics, the Netherlands and Belgium).

Who it's for

Freelancers who are considering clients, a company or a home base in another country.