New precedents are being established in the world of mobility. What should have captured the global headlines in March 2022, seemed to have quietly vanished from the news. Still, the ripple effects continued to stimulate other massive migration deals at the highest-levels of governance.

Visa (the company) and Greece

In March 20022, the multinational financial services conglomerate – Visa Inc. – announced that it would be sending 3% of its workforce to Greece….every year. Alongside the announcement that 21,500 employees would be able to live and work remotely from Greece were fragments of insight as to how this would be put into motion.

Unfortunately, for private-service providers in the migration industry (i.e. global mobility firms) a high-level deal was struck between Visa and Greek public-authorities. All qualified employees would be relocated to Greece using the new digital nomad visa category AND this process would be streamlined directly through Government Authorities and responsible municipalities.

A Paradigm Shift for Talent Mobility

There are several notable aspects of this high-level engagement. On one hand it represents one of the most streamlined pathways for a private corporation to integrate a remote-work policy. Hey employees, who wants to go live and work from a Mediterranean island for a year? On the other hand, it demonstrates how eager national governments are to incentivize this demographic of salaried workers in order to boost local and national economies.

High-Level Dealings in the Private-Public Sectors of Immigration

The Visa and Greece deal generated some buzz in the world of migration. Yet, commentary is scarce and there are enough global headlines to easily muffle the media impact. Still, migration insiders and mobility stakeholders can easily grasp the potential influence – in fact, Summer 2022 has already experienced other headline news breaking the traditional molds of labour-based immigration.

A recent article by Skift Media covers aspects of how Governments are attempting to fill labour-shortages in an immediate, on-demand way. Examples can be found in the United Arab Emirates collaboration with a major tech-based company to source talent. Germany’s attempt to fill labour shortages in the travel industry (at airports for example). Qatar’s current effort to recruit 12,000 overseas temporary workers for the 2022 Women’s World Cup.

Remote Work Visas and Immigration Stakeholders

The landscape of global mobility is undoubtedly evolving. There is a powerful tide flowing towards a more streamlined process of immigration. It is happening at virtually every stakeholder level – from individuals demanding this innovation to governments implementing new visa pathways and procedures.

We're glad to be along for the ride.