The Evolving Landscape of Immigration and Remote Work

The worldwide shift to remote and hybrid work models over the past few years has brought major changes to global mobility and immigration policies. In one of our recent shows, Julia Onslow-Cole provided some timely immigration updates.

Some key highlights:

• Many major employers are calling workers back to the office full-time after months of flexible remote work options during the pandemic. However, this mandate is now facing backlash and increased resignation rates from employees seeking location flexibility.
• Analyses show that companies allowing some level of ongoing remote work have seen greater revenue growth compared to fully in-office models. There also appear to be sustainability benefits with remote workers producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
• Governments are taking notice and updating visa regulations to attract digital nomads and tech talent. By relaxing restrictions for location-flexible workers, countries like Canada and Japan hope to drive innovation and economic growth.

What does this mean for immigration management?

As one audience member noted, cross-border remote work presents ever-evolving obstacles for mobility program administrators. Immigration rules simply have not kept pace with modern demands for work mobility.

While consensus remains elusive on optimized remote work policies, the terrain continues shifting drastically across sectors. Immigration and mobility specialists play crucial roles in this landscape, making sense of regulatory complexities and guiding organizations across uncharted territory.

You can view the complete update here