Far from a complete answer, but generally speaking if your goal is to work at a large multinational company in R&D, then the hardest part(s) will be:

• Getting a work visa for the country you want to move to.

• Getting a job in that country.

• Getting a job in your field/discipline.

Once you have those 3, getting a job at a different employer is not so different from a normal job switch (depending on the country's visa rules), and working for the Multinational in option 1 can potentially get you all of them, making it the much safer option.

However, the biggest thing you need to research first is whether the particular multinational you'll be working for:

• Has an engineering presence in the country you want to move to.
• Is known for being particularly supportive (or not) of international relocation within the company, and if so for what level of employee

If one or both of those aren't in your favour, then that will significantly change the assessment of whether you should go with them.

Far from a complete answer, but generally speaking if your goal is to work at a large multinational company in R&D, then the hardest part(s) will be:

• Getting a work visa for the country you want to move to.

• Getting a job in that country.

• Getting a job in your field/discipline.

Once you have those 3, getting a job at a different employer is not so different from a normal job switch (depending on the country's visa rules), and working for the Multinational in option 1 can potentially get you all of them, making it the much safer option.

However, the biggest thing you need to research first is whether the particular multinational you'll be working for:

• Has an engineering presence in the country you want to move to.
• Is known for being particularly supportive (or not) of international relocation within the company, and if so for what level of employee

If the answer is yes to both, then based on your long term goals I recommend going with the Multinational.