Workforce Mobility: The Impact of Immigration

With travel restrictions and entry requirements changing fast, 2021 is a challenging year for organisations keen to benefit from workforce mobility. Whilst greater potential exists compared with 2020, new factors need to be considered such as health measures and vaccination status.

KPMG’s report into global mobility confirms that immigration is key to attracting top talent. It states: “You need to know you can get the best person for the job no matter where in the world they are from. Is COVID-19 making that harder to do? Border closures, quarantines, lockdowns. These are facts of life today and a return to certainty seems a long way off. Getting the right people into the right roles in the right location is suddenly much trickier and fraught with risk. At the same time, the work from anywhere mindset is, in many cases, rendering geographical borders seemingly irrelevant.”

Participants at the Global Mobility Forum in late 2020 were asked if their future approach to immigration policy design would change based on their experience during COVID-19. 40% of people confirmed that they intended to revise their policies with 15% planning to create policies.

The top global mobility immigration challenges were seen as:

• 78% – Tighter immigration rules
• 72% – Changing legislation
• 70% – Complexity of foreign immigration laws
• 69% – Lead times and business not considering them

Source: 2020 Global Assignment Policies and Practices survey, KPMG International, 2020.

Keep track of current immigration requirements

Staying fully informed of complex requirements can be difficult. Sarah Huntridge of BTR International says: “From visa applications to immigration advice, BTR International’s team is here to help you. We’ll help your employees maintain compliance with immigration rules and regulations and deliver outstanding global visa services.”

The expertise available via BTR International’s global network helps with:

• understanding the visa/immigration options and data requirements involved with each relocation.
• preparing applications for permits, visas and work authorisation documents as required.
• tracking visa status regarding progression and renewal.
• monitoring services to keep assignees and their families compliant within their host country.