I can only speak for string players, but here are a few things I’ve learned as an American auditioning/working in Europe: 1) Most audition applications take place over the platform muvac. My understanding is that most orchestras treat this application as a resume round and narrow candidates down to between 10-30 candidates. It’a very hard to get invited to an audition if you have an American address on your profile as opposed to a European one. Once I had a European address I was invited to about half/two thirds of auditions I applied for as opposed to basically none when I was based in the US. This was with no European schooling or professional experience. You can also use the cover letter part of the application as an opportunity to explain your situation and increase your likelihood of invitation. 2) The first round is almost always the classical concerto, excerpts are not requested until semi-final or final rounds and lists are much shorter. It is essential to have a strong classical concerto or else you won’t get a chance to play anything else. There is a tendency for Europeans to find that Americans play this too romantically. Same with Solo Bach. 3) If you can’t/don’t want to go to school, orchestra academies are a great option to get started. It’s also definitely possible to get a job from an audition directly if you can get invited. 4) It’s not always guaranteed that people will speak English but it’s possible to get by, especially in Germany. 5) Countries like Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the UK have a lot of international/American musicians. Countries like Spain, Italy and sometimes France have more limitations for legal status before auditioning that make it harder to get there. 6) Berlin has an unofficial “artist visa” (just a freelance visa) with a very high acceptance rate to allow Americans to get legal status in Germany to work with very little proof of work possibilities (ex. two letters from ensembles saying they’re interested in working with you). You can read the details of how to get it here: https://allaboutberlin.com/guides/how-to-get-a-german-freelance-visa