Solving Immigration Challenges in the APAC Region | Case Study
Objective
Overcome Immigration Challenges by Providing the Right Partner to Our Clients & their Employees in the APAC Region.
Challenge
As a global Relocation Management Company (RMC), we provide our clients and their employees with many services, including immigration support. After the height of the Covid pandemic when APAC borders started reopening, a WHR Global (WHR) client was not happy with our current immigration partner. Changes in local authorities’ policies and requirements due to the pandemic were changing. Entry procedures were confusing. At times, there was a huge government backlog of cases due to border re-openings which resulted in delays and errors in government-issued documents. Some immigration providers were overwhelmed with the ever-changing immigration requirements.
When APAC borders began opening after the COVID lockdown, there were many challenges since every country had its own entry requirements. As an RMC, our #1 priority is always to take care of our clients and their employees, so WHR needed to have the right immigration partner in place to provide support. Thanks to our independent ownership and operation since 1994, WHR has the agility to pivot and utilize the best provider quickly.
Based on weekly meetings WHR Client Services Managers were having with clients, we very quickly knew that our client’s needs and those of their employees were not being satisfactorily met by our current immigration partner. Red flags included the following issues:
Lack of Timely Responses & Not Accessible
Assignees were not receiving the assistance they needed, when they needed it from the immigration partner. At times, the employees were waiting several days just for an email response. Employees could not reach the immigration partner team members via phone. Employees were frustrated with the slow response, unavailability, and lack of
timely and regular updates.
The poor response caused delays since immigration requirements for some APAC countries were confusing & ever-changing as borders began opening. Clients cannot plan for the entire relocation process if there is any uncertainty in immigration timelines.
Timelines are crucial to relocate the employee and for the client to ascertain the employee’s official start date in the new location, and when to terminate employment in the current location. Some immigration processes were taking several weeks to complete even though the processes could have been completed in one week.
Administrative errors by the immigration partner caused additional delays. Immigration partner team members were not demonstrating the technical expertise needed to efficiently complete critical tasks.
Immigration partners provide a host of critically necessary support that our clients and their employees need including advising on key immigration changes, plus keeping employees legally compliant and stress-free so that employees can focus on business goals. Immigration services can include visa support, work authorization for foreign nationals, eligibility assessments, post-arrival registrations, residence permits, translation and legalization of documents, exit visas, re-entry permits, new entry, documentation requirements, and green cards for permanent transfers. Additionally, they provide work and study permission for family members, and documentation to prove family ties support.
Our global clients have a strong need to place skilled foreign nationals in roles throughout the APAC region, but it is important to be aware of regulations governing their foreign executives’ stay abroad, especially since documents required for a foreign national working in Asia vary from country to country. The right immigration partner will provide the needed support for success.
Additional Costs
Immigration delays can be costly, not just inconvenient. Consider a family of four relocating to another country and their immigration approval is delayed by 31 days. The chart below demonstrates this example. Their pack/load date, and their property handover date (rental or home sale), is fixed and cannot be changed. Now, instead of a 3-night hotel stay in their home country before their flight departs at $900 USD, they now have a 30-night stay at $6,000 USD. Meals for the 3-night stay would be $600 USD versus $6,000 USD for 30 days. Household goods (HHG) storage due to an immigration delay could equate to $2,000 USD. As shown in the chart below, the difference in organizational costs equates to an additional $12,500.
Costs for a Family of 4
Solution
Sourced a New Immigration Partner
Immigration partners provide a host of critically necessary support that our clients and their employees need including advising on key immigration challenges, plus keeping employees legally compliant and stress-free so that employees can focus on business goals. Immigration services can include visa support, work authorization for foreign nationals, eligibility assessments, post-arrival registrations, residence permits, translation and legalization of documents, exit visas, re-entry permits, new entry, documentation requirements, and green cards for permanent transfers. Additionally, they provide work and study permission for family members, and documentation to prove family ties support.
Immigration partners provide a host of critically necessary support that our clients and their employees need including advising on key immigration changes, plus keeping employees legally compliant and stress-free so that employees can focus on business goals. Immigration services can include visa support, work authorization for foreign nationals, eligibility assessments, post-arrival registrations, residence permits, translation and legalization of documents, exit visas, re-entry permits, new entry, documentation requirements, and green cards for permanent transfers. Additionally, they provide work and study permission for family members, and documentation to prove family ties support.
Whenever possible, we use local providers. We also go direct as opposed to using brokered services. By going direct and local, we can pass on cost savings to our clients and provide customized solutions by eliminating the middleman.
Continuous Supplier Network Management
We also use key metrics to manage our network. By using real-time feedback via service evaluations from employees plus a score carding process, WHR can monitor existing providers to ensure they are meeting our service metric requirements. We provide that same feedback back to our providers, (on-time service, cost, etc.) so that providers can course correct quickly. Plus, providers know that superior performance drives more business their way. If service is below our standard, we are empowered to resolve it by engaging other providers, as we are not bound by any preexisting relationships.
“When there is a service issue, we first try to educate our supply partner to acknowledge the issue, identify the root cause, and brainstorm together for a solution to fix it and prevent a recurrence. If this still does not work, we have a wide network of suppliers to tap for a suitable partner that will meet or better still, surpass our client’s expectations.”
Benefits
The new immigration partner responds rapidly and makes each employee feel like they are a top priority. The partner acknowledges email receipts and provides an estimated time of when they will get back to employees. They also schedule regular calls with employees to walk through any outstanding documents, and they advise on the next steps. They provide employees with clear direction on what is needed & how quickly.
They offer 24/7 support, just like WHR does. Each employee is treated like a VIP. This is very important to WHR since we know that moving is one of the most stressful events in a person’s life. It’s our goal to help ease that stress so that employees can focus on their new roles sooner.
Less stress equates to better employee engagement and retention for our clients.
When immigration challenges arise, WHR has a partner that stays ahead of the curve.
“WHR takes great pride in its 24/7/365 availability and high client and employee satisfaction ratings. That’s why it’s so important that we partner with suppliers that match our principles. As a solely and independently owned organization since our inception with no ownership or affiliations with any providers, we have the freedom to act as a fiduciary to our clients and only choose the best suppliers for each move.”
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