Tips and tricks for applying for a work visa

Published on 4 August 2022

Moving abroad as an expat or relocating your employees to a branch in another country is a big step. The first main obstacle is applying for a visa and work permit. Citizens of EU countries are lucky: they can live and work in another EU country without additional visa. In all other cases, you have to go through a long and rather complex procedure. There are many different types of visas. For example, the most countries have specific visas for intra company workers (relocation) and distinguish temporary and permanent visas. Whatever your situation may be, the tips and tricks in this article are good to keep in mind.

1. Start early

This is properly the most straightforward one, but we cannot emphasize this enough. The most important thing to keep in mind is that visa applications take long. Make sure that you start in time with your application. The most immigration services give an estimate of the procedures for different types of visas on internet. However, we have experienced delays and unforeseen problems many times in the past. Starting in time means having spare time for possible delays and prevents stress or time pressure.

2. Get complete and accurate documents

During the process, you may need different documents and paperwork. Not only a valid passport or identity card is needed by a visa application. For example, the immigration office also desires information about the company and branch or subsidiary, goal of the relocation, the job position, salary and other financial information of the company and employee. Handing this in during the first request, will prevent your approval to settle on the shelves.

3. Sufficient funds or support

For most working visas in general but also the intra company transfer visas, it is a requirement that the employee must earn a minimum salary to get approved. Make sure you are aware of this, and that this salary is already mentioned in the contracts and paperwork for the job. In some countries, the employee also has to hand in some documents regarding their financial situation and spare money.

4. Speak the language

To speed up the process, it can be helpful to speak the language of the immigration officers. When applying for a visa in a country with the same language or in English, this may not be a problem. In other cases, it could be helpful to hire a translator to assist you.

5. Hire a lawyer or expert

Hiring a lawyer or expert to assist you with the application may sound expensive or unnecessary. But, in most cases we see that a lawyer or expert with extensive knowledge of the process makes the approval more successful. The costs are easily earned back by the time that is saved.

6. Ask experiences of other companies / experts

Relocating employees is not a new trend. Big companies have been doing this for years. This means that you are properly not the first one in this situation. It could be helpful to ask other companies to their experiences, not only about the visa application but the whole experience in general.

7. Ties to home country

What helps for almost every country in the world to obtain a visa, is to prove that the stay and therefore the visa and work permit are temporarily. For intra company visas, this is always the case and easy to prove with the end date in the contract of the employee. In other cases, you can prove this by showing the ties to the home country. In other words: does the employee has reasons to return home that are stronger than those for remaining? Think about family, friends, a house, job, investments, etc.

Can you use the help of an expert during the visa application of your employee? Eurohome, brand of Voerman Group, is happy to assist you with their immigration assistance services. Also, take a look at the other relocation services that Eurohome offers for both corporate companies and expatriates.