ICYMI: Scan and plan for what's impacting global mobility!

Digital nomad visas continue to grow in popularity around the world. These visas have become increasingly popular and common over the course of the pandemic and allow individuals to work remotely in a foreign country up to 6 months, one year or in some cases longer. In this recent podcast from Berry Appleman & Leiden (BAL), the hosts explore the more than 30 countries offering them across Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Employees must typically apply and go through immigration process requirements like background and medical checks, locally register, and meet minimum salary requirements. Listen in to get a better sense for how and why companies are looking to consider all of the issues and integrate the options into their remote work policies. Also, try this article (With Employees on the Move, Make Sure You Can See the Entire Map) to consider how far-flung staff can create a host of compliance issues, from taxes to immigration.

With that interesting note discussed, let's look around the world at some recent developments for you to consider as you manage any potential impacts to your mobility programs:

1. United States: Mortgage rates are climbing again! As rates rise, housing affordability drops and buyers become more hesitant, especially those with active mortgages at less than half of the current rates! Rates ticked back above 7% last week amid growing fears that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer to curb still-hot inflation. Applications for mortgages, meanwhile, sank to their lowest level in 28 years. Also note that passport processing times have spiked due to dramatic increase in demand!
2. Canada: The Canadian government recently extended a temporary policy allowing visitors to apply for work permits while in Canada until Feb. 28, 2025. Foreign nationals who are in Canada as visitors and receive a valid job offer can continue to apply for and receive a work permit without having to leave the country, with more details here.
3. Philippines: Jeepneys, known as “the king of the road”, are a crucial part of the transport system in the Philippines, offering rides that are cheaper than trains, taxis or motorized tricycles. A week-long strike by drivers of Philippine jeepneys began on Monday, prompting schools and universities across major cities to suspend in-person classes, while businesses have also been urged to work from home.
4. Singapore – Starting in September, the Singaporean government will now be requiring employers submitting Employment Pass applications to also provide verification of their employee’s educational qualifications. In September of next year, renewal applications for Employment Pass holders will also be required to submit their verification. Delays may occur due to this new restriction.
5. Thailand – Envoy Global reports that Thailand has a new initiative to charge landing fees for certain travelers coming into the country beginning in June of 2023. Travelers entering the country via air can be charged up to 300 THB, and travelers entering via sea can be charged up to 150 THB. These fees will not be applied to travelers with work permits, temporary transit passes or Thai nationals.
6. South Korea – The restriction requiring PCR COVID-19 tests upon entry into the country from China was lifted on March 1st. The percentage of travelers from China who tested positive has decreased from over 18% in January to 0.6% in the end of February.
7. Europe – Europe’s planned electronic entry system has been delayed again, pushing its release date to 2024. The European Travel Information and Authorization System, or ETIAS, will be an electronic pre-screening tool for countries in the Schengen zone (the 27 European countries who have abolished the need for passports for travel within the zone). This system is planned to enhance the security between borders where visas and passports are not required. Applications for ETIAS will be done online and decisions will typically be made within 96 hours. This delay is due to trying to implement this system across so many different countries as well as concerns for how the UK’s processing times will differ due to it being considered a non-EU nation.
8. Portugal – New AI technology is being implemented to process and authenticate documents in the application process for Portuguese residency. These efforts are being utilized to shorten processing times and avoid in-person interactions.
9. Finland: According to BAL, the Finnish government recently advised travelers to obtain an A1 certificate for short business trips to countries in the European Union and European Economic Area. Individuals must apply for an A1 certificate for regular and frequent business trips to countries in the EU or EEA. Individuals are advised not to apply for an A1 certificate preemptively or if they are traveling to only one country. 
10. Sweden – The Swedish government is simplifying the country's work permit application process, trying to ensure that no applicant waits more than four months for a decision. They will be increasing staff in the Swedish Migration Agency and are prioritizing digitization to create a smoother and more accessible process.
11. France: Unions in France organized a sixth day of nationwide strikes against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform plans, bringing trains to a halt, blocking oil refineries, and reducing power production. Opinion polls have for weeks shown that a majority of voters reject the reform.

One of the trends from our recent 2023 Global Mobility Trends survey is that most all mobility programs are expecting the same or slightly greater mobility activity in 2023 than in the year prior, particularly when it comes to supporting cross-border movement for shorter term assignments and permanent transfers. Stay tuned as that report will be published soon!