Global mobility, well prepared: what HR needs to know about assignments in 2027

In a guest contribution for PERSONALintern, the HR management newsletter for the DACH region, WorkFlex co-founder Pieter Manden sets out what HR teams need to know about international assignments in 2027.

Planning before booking

Visa, registration and social security requirements keep changing, which turns global mobility into a strategic HR task. Manden argues that the purpose, duration and activities of a trip should be clear before anything is booked, because they decide which visa, notifications and social security documents are needed. He suggests allowing about two weeks for an A1 certificate in Europe and around five weeks for a US certificate of coverage.

What the Cross-Border Index shows

The article draws on the WorkFlex Cross-Border Index, built on 1.86 million assessed working days abroad from more than 500 companies across 193 countries. More than 250 visa rule changes are tracked every month, and the extra reporting burden is concentrated in 31 countries with 27 national portals. EU reforms such as the A1 reform and the European e-declaration bring no short-term relief, so 2027 becomes a year of preparing for new digital procedures.

Five steps for HR

Manden closes with five steps: capture the purpose and activities of each trip, trigger compliance checks early, assign clear responsibilities, monitor rule changes instead of relying on static country lists, and plan for safety.

Read the full article (in German) here: https://www.personalintern.de/artikel/global-mobil-gut-vorbereitet-was-hr-fuer-auslandseinsaetze-2027-wissen-muss/