1 Vertriebsmeeting Fa. Willis GmbH am in Bremen Dozent : Dipl.-Betriebswirt Kai Mütze Global Visa and Immigration Law Speaker: Kai Mütze General Manager of International Assignment Consulting GmbH, Germany

2 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

3 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 inspectionsRisk of accidents Violation 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!

4 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

5 Visa Categories Business visaAllowed activities can include meetings, negotiations, conclusion of contracts, after-sales service Commissioning VisaOffered by some countries as simplified version of a work visa; normally does not require a work permit Work visaNecessary 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:

6 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

7 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

8 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)

9 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

10 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

11 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!

12 Thank you very much for your attention!

13 Please feel free to come back to me with any further questions! Kai Mütze Business Economist General Manager IAC Unternehmensberatung GmbH Lutherplatz Wolfhagen, Germany Tel.: +49 (0) Fax: +49 (0) Homepage: