International Relocations - Insights into Employee Pain Points in Immigration, Taxation and Insurances

Tommi Rantanen, Director, Global Mobility, Volvo Car USA LLC

Tommi Rantanen has over 25 years of experience in global mobility and HR. He has significant personal experience in international relocations as he has lived and worked in Finland, Sweden, Australia and the US during his career. His experience includes 20 years in Big 4 companies specializing in international taxation, incentive schemes, immigration and social security/pensions. For the past six years, he has been responsible for Volvo Cars’ global mobility program in the Americas.

Relocating internationally on a temporary or permanent assignment is a big decision for both the employee and the employer. The actual relocation process can be very stressful and time-consuming for the employee – dealing with the move, finding appropriate housing, setting up bank accounts, obtaining social security numbers, enrolling children in schools and acclimating to the new location, among other things, require time and commitment from the employee and the entire family. Employers generally offer extensive support via moving companies and relocation consultants as well as provide opportunities to attend training such as cultural and language training. Navigating through the complexities of rules, regulations and policies on immigration, taxation and insurance is another piece of the relocation puzzle that also requires professional support. Despite the support, some of the tasks and processes may feel overly burdensome to the employee. Below are some insights into the most common pain points in immigration, taxation and insurance that may arise in connection with employee relocations.  

● Immigration and Visa:  Employers usually provide support via a relocation provider and/or immigration law firm in the immigration process. Even with extensive support, the application process may feel very complex and time-consuming as employees generally need to provide a significant amount of information. Sometimes, the same information may be requested multiple times, as the service provider may first request information in their questionnaires, but the employee may then be required to provide the same details again when completing the information for the foreign authorities. Unfortunately, in several locations, some of the tasks can simply not be delegated to the service provider, so even with a more efficient use of technology, it is not always possible to completely avoid repetitive information requests. A big cause of frustration can also be the technology that governments are using for their information gathering – some systems are not very user-friendly, and getting support can take a long time. For a good employee experience, it is essential that employers and employees work closely with their service providers and provide timely feedback on any issues encountered. Instructions given to the employees should be clear and up-to-date, and non-necessary information requests should be eliminated. Another pain point can be authority processing times – the times are hard to predict, and any delays in getting the appropriate permits approved are likely to cause employee frustration. Filing early and good proactive communication throughout the process are the keys to a better employee experience.

"As the rules, regulations and processes around immigration, taxation and insurance are complex, it is imperative that employers provide comprehensive professional support for their relocating employees"

● Taxation: Understanding the taxation in the new location and former home country can be challenging. Not only will the employee often face completely different filing obligations, tax scope and deadlines in the new location, but their home country obligations may also change. Offering professional tax briefings and filing support is often

a must, but even with all the support, the employee may have to spend days gathering information and completing the service provider questionnaires while struggling to understand the terms used and the overall rationale for all the questions. Luckily, recent technologies are making the questionnaires easier to complete, and most of the information can automatically flow to the next year's questionnaire, so there may be less information needed in subsequent years. In addition to efficient technology, having designated service provider contacts (real people, not mailboxes!) significantly improves employee satisfaction.

● Insurances: As regards international assignments, most companies provide their assignees with expatriate insurance. This insurance typically consists of comprehensive medical/health insurance but can also include coverage, e.g., for personal property and travel. Not all employees are familiar with getting coverage under private insurance as some may have been part of a public health care system (this is the case, especially in some European countries). Understanding how the insurance works and what exactly is covered can be difficult for the employee. HR or Global Mobility are often not insurance experts either, so the responsibility to carefully review the insurance policy and related processes generally falls on the employee. Therefore, it is necessary that the insurance policy information is included in the pre-departure and arrival meetings, and it is readily available to the employee on the intranet or other channels at all times. The employee should also be provided with (and reminded of) contact details for people who can support in case of any questions.

As the rules, regulations and processes around immigration, taxation and insurance are complex, employers must provide comprehensive professional support for their relocating employees. Simply relying on professional support is, however, not adequate. HR and global mobility teams need to understand the possible pain points and how to mitigate the issues. Efficient use of technology, clear and proactive communication, and real-person support are the keys to a better employee experience.