EY Human Capital Conference 2012: Immigration - what you need to know now

2012 Human Capital Conference
23–26 October

Immigration: what you need to
know now

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Page 2 Immigration: what you need to know now

Presenters

► George Reis ► Toni Silvestri
► Egan LLP ► The Boeing Company
► george.reis@ca.ey.com ► antonietta.silvestri@boeing.com

► Edith de Bourgraaf ► William Taylor
► Ernst & Young Belastingadviseurs LLP ► Adobe Systems Inc.
► edith.de.bourgraaf@nl.ey.com ► wtaylor@adobe.com
wtaylor@adobe com

► Wim Cocquyt ► Steven Brown
► Studio Legale Tributario ► Accenture
A t
► wim.cocquyt@it.ey.com ► steven.l.brown@accenture.com

► Michelle Kotze
► Ernst & Young Middle East
► michelle.kotze@ae.ey.com


Agenda

► The global environment for immigration
► Overview of Boeing Mobility Program
► Europe
► Overview of Adobe Mobility Program
► Middle East and Northern Africa
► Overview of Accenture Mobility Program
► Americas


The global environment for immigration

Mobility = significant
political challenges:
► Growing nrest
Gro ing unrest in often
fragile mature (and
emerging) markets
► Cultural challenge
► Xenophobia
► Values gap between
electorate and
governments

Global trends: yet another quantum shift

►

1 2

Accelerating pace
Shifting economy
of globalization

Rapid succession
Integrated model
g of legislative and
for immigration and
tax administration regulatory changes
4 3


Global immigration trends
Government agenda Corporate agenda

Promote growth while Increased global
protecting local l b
t ti l l labor business t
b i travel
l

Increased
Border
B d security – it Increased business
I db i
focus on pressure
utilization of technology
immigration

Tax/immigration connection Risk and cost
for revenue generation mitigation


Boeing
Overview of Global Mobility Program
y g

► About Boeing Corporation
g p
► Scope of Global Mobility Program
► Objectives
► Operation
► Challenges
► Expectations for the future


Adobe
y g

► About Adobe
► Objectives
► Operation
► Challenges


Accenture
y g

► About Accenture
► Objectives
► Operation
► Challenges


Europe
European Economic Area (
p (EEA) members
)

► With a few notable exceptions, citizens and p
p , permanent
residents of one member country may generally work in
another member country without a work permit.
► Residence permit may still be needed.
► Not all countries in Europe are in the EEA!


Europe
Immigration initiatives
g

► Free movement of services
► Blue Card Directive
► Directive for intra corporate transfer
intra-corporate
► Single Permit Directive
► Directive on family reunification
► Long-term EU residence status for non-EU nationals
► Regulation on restrictive measures against Iran


Europe
Schengen agreement
g g

► Business visitors are limited to 90 days per six-month
y p
period in all Schengen nations combined.
► Currently, the Schengen nations are: Austria, Belgium,
y g g
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia,
Liechtenstein, Lith
Li ht t i Lithuania, L
i Luxembourg, M lt
b Malta,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia,
Slovakia, Spain,
Slovakia Spain Sweden and Switzerland
Switzerland.


Netherlands
Highly skilled migrant p g
g y g program

► The purpose of the p g
p p program is to:
► Reduce employer administrative burden during application
process
► Focus on internal immigration process to ensure compliance
► Increase scrutiny
► Intensify penalties for non-compliance
► Reduce the risk of losing sponsorship rights for highly skilled
migrant employees


Netherlands
Family reunification
y

► Restriction since 1 October 2012
► Only partners who are married or have a registered
p
partnership can apply:
p pp y
► Unmarried partners can no longer apply.


Italy

► Italy has various programs in p
y p g place:
► Entry quota system for non-EU workers
► Limited and restrictive exemptions allowed to q
p quota
► Since November 2010, the Italian government has not
issued the general decree with entry quotas
► Except for specific categories of workers/entries (e.g., quotas
for seasonal workers, students, internships and professional
training)
g)


Italy
Solution – the protocol arrangement
p g

► Assignment of highly q
g g y qualified p
personnel:
► Main issues:
► Length of the immigration process: the issuance of the work permit
may t k more th eight weeks.
take than i ht k
► Lack of clarity on exact nature of documentation to support the
application: local territorial differences.


Italy
Solution – the protocol arrangement
p g

► The protocol arrangement:
p g
► Allows accelerated immigration process
► Benefits:
► Issuance of work permits becomes a purely internal bureaucratic
matter, sent directly to the competent Italian Consulate for preparation
of work visa.
► Allows for a more timely processing of the application: approximately
four to five weeks.
► In principle, the supporting documentation is the same throughout the
p p , pp g g
country.


Italy
Introduction of Blue Card

► Blue Card was introduced in August 2012 – Council
g
Directive 2009/50/EC.
► Conditions of entry and residence of third-country national
y y
for the purpose of highly qualified employment.
► If able to demonstrate highly qualified profile, exemption
from limits of entry quotas is possible.
► Same treatment as an Italian national; however, change
of employer in th fi t two years is subject to prior
f l i the first t i bj t t i
approval.
► Blue Cards are not available to assignees or family
members of EU nationals.


Middle East and Northern Africa

Introduction

► Labor immigration and labor market
g
► Demographics of Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
► Arab migration into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries
► Economic sectors in focus
► Average expat population is about 66%
► Increase in local unemployment rates
p y
► Deficiencies in education skills and language barrier
► Developments and significant changes to immigration
policies


Nationalization and quota system
q y

► Kafala system (sponsorship system)
y ( p p y )
► Saudization, Omanization, Emiratization, etc.
► Reduction of dependence on foreign workers
► Restriction on employment in specific sectors
► Employment quota system in public and private sectors
► New policies to reduce demand for immigrant labor
► Restrictions on visa issuance
► Ceiling on immigrant quotas
► Rise of employment of “ghost workers
ghost workers”


Regulatory environments
g y

► Laws developed to improve working conditions
p p g
► Progress made to attract foreign investors
► Requirement of local agent for immigration purposes
► Police clearance certificate from home country
► Medical clearance certificates from home country
► Visa on arrival


Compliance
p

► Substantial documentation requirements and costs
q
► Mandatory legalization of documents
► Liaising with several government agencies
► Immigration laws constantly adapting to political
landscape
p
► Timeframes to get work permit/residence permit


Facilitation issues

► Non-transparent j
p justice system
y
► Absence of anti-corruption law
► No clear law specifying migrant worker rights
► Immigration and labor restrictions on migrant workers
► Local knowledge and relationships
► Discrimination
► Dependence on local Public Relations Officer (PRO) or
Government Relations Officer (GRO)


Impact of Arab Spring
p p g

► Political and economic outlook for MENA
► Economic freedom and representation
► New policies reducing demand for immigrant labor
► Ban on foreign workers from unstable countries
► Job creation and pressure on unemployment rates
► Rise in emigration
► Political and economic reforms


United States
Scrutiny, audits, enforcement and penalties
y, , p

► Increased border scrutiny “expedited removals”
y p
► 20,000 deported under expedited removal each year
without attorney representation
y p
► Risk for business visitors (B-1 business entry visa or
through a visa waiver program)
► May be refused entry, expedited removal, uncomfortable
interrogation, penalty (financial or criminal) and/or future
bar f t (fi
b of entry (five-year b for expedited removal orders)
bar f dit d l d )
► Consequences for companies: penalty (financial or
criminal), blacklisted,
criminal) blacklisted targeted by government for
immigration compliance audit and/or refused applicants
hamper business plans and objectives

United States
Scrutiny, audits, enforcement and penalties
y, , p

► Who is a “business visitor” in the US:
► Is
I seeking entry to engage i i
ki in international b i
i l business activities, not entering
i ii i
local labor market
► Is the main source of employment income must remain outside the US
► Cannot participate in the production of goods or provision of services
► Examples of acceptable reasons for entry:
► Attending meetings with business associates
► Giving or receiving intra-company training
► Attending public conferences or seminars
► Meeting with prospective clients for work to be performed outside of the
US
► A recommended best practice is that business visitors carry letter of
p y
invitation.


United States
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
p g

► On-site fraud inspections of employer p
p p y petitioners
► Requests for Evidence (RFE) and denials especially of
L-1A and L-1B petitions:
p
► L-1A:
► 2007 – 24% RFEs and 8% denials
► L-1B:


United States
H-1B

► Cap met earlier this y
p year
► Export Control Certification by employer (as of
20 February 2011) to confirm that:
y )
► They have reviewed the designated regulations and determined
if they will require a license to release controlled technology or
technical data to beneficiary
beneficiary.


United States
U.S. Department of Labor (
p (DOL)
)

► Increased wage and hour audits
g
► Labor Condition Application (LCA) compliance for the
H-1B program
p g
► Awards of back wages, penalties and interest
► Audit and supervised recruitment of PERM cases:
p
► 29% audited
► 50% – 55% of audits denied
► National approval rate of approximately 50%
► Supervised recruitment cases have an 11% certification rate


United States
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (
g (ICE)
)

► Focus shifted from deportation of illegal workers to
p g
criminal prosecution of employers
► Increased I-9 audits:
► Penalties – up to $11,000 per instance of unauthorized
employment and $16,000 per instance of discrimination
► Increased raids on companies:
I d id i
► Penalties – up to five years in prison for HR managers, CEOs,
presidents, etc.
► New taskforce investigating H-1B employers


United States
U.S. Department of State (
p (DOS)
)

► US Consulate in Chennai release new policies/
p
requirements
► B-1 in lieu of H-1B
► New visa bulletin


United States
E-Verify
y

► E-Verify is an internet based system in partnership with
y y p p
Social Security Administration (SSA)
► Employers can electronically verify employment eligibility
p y y y p y g y
of newly hired employees
► Employees can use data mining techniques to investigate
participants.
► Participation is required for federal contractors:
► Several states have mandated use
► There is proposed legislation to mandate E-Verify for all employers
who file nonimmigrant visa petitions


United States
Global entry
y

► Expedited clearance for p
p pre-approved, low-risk travelers
pp ,
arriving in the US:
► US citizens/ Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs)
► Mexican citizens
► Dutch citizens enrolled in Dutch Privium program
► Republic of Korea citizens enrolled in Korean SES program
► Canadian citizens and residents enrolled in NEXUS program
► 400,000
400 000 global entry members averaging 5 000 kiosk
5,000
uses per day at 28 airports
► Phasing out I-94 cards
I 94
► Discontinue stamping F-1 student’s Form I-20 upon entry


United States
Immigration legislation
g g

► Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
( )
► The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
► Increased fees for H 1B and L-1
H-1B L1
► Fraud prevention


Canada
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (
g g (IRPA)
)

► April 2011 changes to IRPA
p g
► Protect vulnerable foreign workers and ensure program
integrity
g y
► Consistent trends towards:
► Increased government oversight
► Less flexibility
► Greater onus on employers to self-monitor
► Increased penalties f non-compliance
I d lti for li


Canada
IRPA amendments

► Four-year cap for many categories of foreign workers
y p y g g
► “Genuineness” of the job offer
► Increased compliance reviews
► Information sharing regarding employer non-compliance
p
or complaints
► New penalties for employer non-compliance with
immigration laws, including employer “blacklist”


Canada
Other changes
g

► Closure of Canadian visa offices (Buffalo, Tehran,
( , ,
Belgrade, Berlin, Tokyo, Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur)
► Closure of some local Citizenship and Immigration
p g
Canada (CIC) offices
► Foreign nationals presently in Canada can now apply for
temporary resident visas from within Canada:
► Proposed changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Stream and the
creation of a Federal Skilled Trade Stream announced
► Introduction of minimum language requirements for semi-skilled
workers applying under the Provincial Nominee Program


Canada
IRPA – employer compliance
p y p

► Section 124(1):
( )
► Employers are barred from employing foreign nationals without
proper work authorization.
► Section 124(2):
► Employers must exercise reasonable due diligence to determine
whether a foreign national has adequate work authorization
authorization.
► Section 127:
► Foreign nationals are barred from directly or indirectly
misrepresenting any materials facts relating to their activities in
Canada.
► Section 126:
S ti 126
► Employers are barred from counseling foreign nationals to
misrepresent their activities in Canada
Canada.


Mexico
Changes to immigration regulations
g g g

► Published 28 September 2012 in the Federal Official Gazette.
p
► Substantial changes effective in 30 business days.
► Now four major visa categories for Mexico:
► Visitors without permission for remunerated work paid in Mexico
(180 days or less)
► Visitors with permission for remunerated work in Mexico (180 days
or less)
► Temporary resident (more than 180 days but less than four years)
► Permanent resident
► Qualifying foreigners will be able to apply work visas for up to
four years, without the need for annual renewals that are now
f ith t th df l l th t
in place.


Mexico
Changes to immigration regulations
g g g

► New visa quota system will be implemented and
limitations on the number of work visas issued is likely to
be implemented.
► Companies sponsoring assignees t enter M i under a
C i i i to t Mexico d
work visa that includes remuneration in Mexico, will be
required to have a basic registration file with the Mexican
tax authorities.
► Visas related to work with salaries paid in Mexico must be
initiated with Mexican immigration authorities. Consulates
abroad retain authority to issue only certain work-related
visas in case of foreigners being paid from abroad.


Argentina
Changes to immigration laws
g g

► Argentinean Immigration Authority (
g g y (DNM) sharing
) g
database information with tax authorities (AFIP).
► “Premium” fee to obtain an appointment request for
pp q
temporary and permanent visa requests is now up to
36 hours.
► Exchange restrictions:
► Foreign workers must be paid in Argentinean currency (pesos),
unless otherwise authorized This causes difficulty at the end of
authorized.
the assignment or when they need to transfer money to their home
country.


Chile

► Current proposed changes to immigration law:
p p g g
► New bill will be sent this year to Chilean Congress for approval
during the next year
► New law will include changes to all visa categories,
including tourists, working, temporary and permanent
residence
► The new Chilean immigration system will contain three
pillars:
► Flexible rules
► Improvement of q
p quality of service and p
y processing times by
g y
immigration authorities
► Launching of new immigration technology system (e.g., tracking)


Questions


EY Human Capital Conference 2012: Immigration - what you need to know now

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EY Human Capital Conference 2012: Immigration - what you need to know now