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No, it's perfectly reasonable for them to expect you to pay for them to get to you. You're the employer, so you ought to be the one with the ability to provide transportation. Now, that doesn't mean that you necessarily need to purchase a plane ticket. It's also reasonable for you to travel to their current city and interview them, possibly providing other transportation back. Put yourself in their shoes. If you were looking at employment at a startup company (which is what you effectively are), you'd expect them to buy a round-trip ticket for you (or travel to you) if they wanted to conduct an in-person interview. And it doesn't inspire much confidence that you'd be there for very long or that it's a worthwhile company to work for, if they're not willing to spend money to find and hire the right people. As the employer, you have the financial upper hand. You ought to demonstrate this by being willing to pay for their expenses. But, as always, remember the forum warning: NEVER send money directly to them. Those requests are almost certainly scams.