What are the best practices for aligning visa and immigration policies with industry trends?

It is crucial to stay updated since small details can change the life of your employee or his family and this affects his/her work. To stay updated is not only to know the law and how this is implemented through the government which is in place (immigration strategy may be the same but governments change the practice) but also know what civil servants processing the applications are asked to do. Best practice is to get advise from an immigration specialist who deals with multiple applications per day and has experience in different individual cases.

It is important to understand that each sovereign country will have their own rules and regulations for how/when you enter their country and to respect those rules. Because immigration rules can vary and change frequently it is crucial to try and keep abreast of the changes in the markets that you frequent. This helps you to plan ahead as much as possible and adjust timelines accordingly.

It might be quite difficult to stay on top of all the rules and procedures, because there are so many. If it seems overwhelming, I think it’s ok to be aware of general issues, typical delays, red flags so that you can help your business make plans and avoid making impossible to meet commitments. Also, a good idea to have some good immigration advisers on speed dial :)

Some companies are doing quite interesting things with immigration policy as an incentive/retainer strategy for their talent - for example, supporting permanent residency, supporting dependent applications, providing an open advice line to employees and their families.

Setting the expectations at the very beginning of the process is important. Then resetting expectations as the process progresses is crucial. Moving from one country to another involves many moving parts and stakeholders. The immigration part of the process is the part that drives thing’s forward and all other steps will need to follow as they are dependent on the immigration process to be successful. As such communication is vital, even when there is no movement, you still need to keep stakeholders updated that things are at a standstill. This helps to adjust the timelines accordingly.

Mostly - it is important to be realistic about timelines; understanding these before committing to move dates. If you have good advisers, you can rely on them to sort out the details, like the supporting documents and how the application mechanics work; but it’s helpful if you can prepare employees to expect that they will need to provide information and documentation, plus may need to attend some appointments in person.

Ideally, if you have external advisers, partner with them before you’re actually dealing with an individual work permit application. If your advises understand how your company works, they can help you draft your policy and strategy, and you can help them understand how best to obtain the information and documentation they’re going to need for applications. All this can save a lot of stress later on.

The most important point mentioned above is probably the monitoring of status and ongoing compliance. Generally speaking, if a visa or permit holder has a change of circumstances (E.g. new job, new salary, new home address, new work location, new baby) something Immigration related might need to be done. Likewise, corporate changes like adjustment in ownership, making redundancies (RIFs), moving offices may all trigger an immigration compliance requirement. Partner with your advisers and just let them know when things like this change (HRIS integrations can be useful too) so they they can keep you in the clear.