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VertriebsmeetingFa. Willis GmbHam 12.10.2011

in Bremen

Dozent : Dipl.-Betriebswirt Kai Mütze

Global Visa and Immigration Law

Speaker: Kai MützeGeneral Manager of International Assignment

Consulting GmbH, Germany

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Agenda

• Relevance of visa issues for international companies

• General considerations – Risks of inappropriate status

• Visa Screening

• Typical visa categories

• Global visa regulations – Examples

• Correlation of visa with tax issues

• General challenges

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General Considerations & Risks

Relevance of visa issues for international companies

- Every country has specific immigration laws and regulations

- Possible risks of inappropriate immigration status:

On-site inspections Risk of accidentsViolation of

fiduciary duty

• Illegal stays can

result in fines (for

company and/or

employees) or entry

bans

• Involvement of

police or other local

authorities

• Every employer has

a legal fiduciary

duty towards its

employees, which

he may not violate!

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Visa Screening

Step I in the application process: Visa Screening

- How long will the employee stay?

- Which activities will be performed?

- Which qualifications does the employee have?

- Will he/she receive any local renumeration?

- Does the applicant have a „visa history“ (e. g. previous stays in the country, previous visa, violations of immigration law)?

→ Identification of the appropriate visa category

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Visa Categories

Business visa Allowed activities can include meetings, negotiations, conclusion of contracts, after-sales service

Commissioning Visa Offered by some countries as simplified version of a work visa; normally does not require a work permit

Work visa Necessary for certain activities or long-term stays; normally requires a prior work permit application within the country; some countries require a local work contract

Different types of visa typically used by international companies:

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Global Visa Regulations – Examples

USA

- Business Trips: Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows nationals of 27 countries to enter the U. S. without visa for business trips up to 90 days → allowed activities include e. g. meetings, contract negotiations, short term training

- Engineering or commissioning tasks can be fulfilled as business traveller if it concerns after-sales-services on equipment delivered from outside the U. S., as long as these services are explicitly part of the sales contract

- Work Visa: Various categories for special entry purposes (e. g. Intra Company Transfers, Speciality Occupations, Foreign Investors, Persons with Extraordinary Abilities); work visa in most cases require prior approval from the immigration authorities

- General distinction between non-immigrant and immigrant status

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Global Visa Regulations – Examples

India

- Business Trips: Every business trip requires a visa → Allowed activities are limited to ONLY meetings, purchase trips, travel related to investment

- All other activities (e. g. signing of contracts, assignments, engineering or commissioning tasks) require an employment visa

- Exemption: Since 2010 some Indian missions have started to issue Project Visa for projects in the steel and energy sector

- Some embassies distinguish between short-term and long-term employment (short-term = delegation agreement vs. long-term = local work contract with an Indian company)

- Employment visa may be issued in the home country without prior approval of local authorities

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Global Visa Regulations – Examples

Russia

- Business visa for meetings, visits to clients or subsidiaries, contract negoatiations etc.

- All work requires a work permit (in some cases including a quota)

- Exemption: Engineering or commissioning tasks can be fulfilled as business traveller if it concerns after-sales-services on equipment delivered from outside Russia, as long as a special invitation letter is applied for by the Russian client

- Work Visa: Based on a local work permit (regular procedure vs. simplified procedure for highly qualified foreign specialists)

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Global Visa Regulations – Examples

Germany

- Member country of the Schengen Area: Schengen Visa for business trips for up to 90 days within a period of 180 days – allows participation in meetings, visits to clients or subsidiaries, short term training within an international company group etc. in all Schengen countries

- Work Visa: Issued as „Residence Title for Emplyoment“

- Requires approval by foreigners‘ office and labor authorities

- May be issued for one specific emplyoer or as general work permit

- Some procedures (e. g. International Personell Exchange within an international company group) is exempted from the requirement of searching the labor market for local personell

- National Visa (valid for 90 days) is transformed into residence titel after arrival in Germany

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Correlation of visa with tax issues

Examples:

• Work permit applications in many countries require local employment contracts, often including a local payroll

→ Local tax regulations need to be considered !

→ Involvement of accountants and tax consultants

• In some countries an appropriate immigration status is precondition for tax registration / tax compliance

→ Correlation of Visa and Tax Management

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General challenges

• Many companies are involved in project business

→ Short-term planning, (technical) emergency situations, requires a high flexibility in scheduling and personell planning

• Work permit applications are in most cases filed locally and require local support

• Requirement of local employment contracts → Assignment to subsidiary vs. client‘s site

• Compliance with local and company standards

• Often limited capacities and knowledge in HR Departments

→ IAC supports with long-term expertise and country-specific knowlegde!

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Thank you very much

for your attention!

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• Please feel free to come back to me with any further questions!

• Kai Mütze• Business Economist• General Manager

• IAC Unternehmensberatung GmbH • Lutherplatz 1• 34466 Wolfhagen, Germany • Tel.: +49 (0) 5692 - 997720 - 0• Fax: +49 (0) 5692 - 997720 - 19• Email: info@i-a-c.de • Homepage: www.i-a-c.de