These shifts are increasing both transparency and risk, with closer monitoring of visitor activity, evolving permanent establishment rules and more assertive enforcement influencing how organisations deploy talent internationally. Organisations that embed mobility considerations into strategic decision making from the outset – rather than treating them as operational afterthoughts – will be better positioned to secure talent, control costs and build resilience through more joined up commercial, legal, HR and tax planning.

In this insight, we outline four developments we expect to impact global mobility activities this year.

01. Business travel is rising – so is enforcement 

Business travel has long been an operational requirement for businesses, but we are seeing a rise in it for various reasons.

Businesses are placing more value on in-person interactions, even in the context of balancing this against environmental considerations. Remote working is also being embraced, with some businesses taking the view that employees may only need to travel to the jurisdiction they are employed in, as the business need arises, rather than permanently relocating there. Also, for some jurisdictions, business travel is becoming the least onerous, workable option where visa processing times are lengthening or the criteria for obtaining work visas are being tightened.

Higher volume creates higher risks on its own, however enforcement developments across the world in areas such as immigration, tax, social security and employment are further amplifying these. Some of the issues are discussed below.

Immigration

Immigration authorities are responding to these trends by more heavily scrutinising visitor visa applications and examining visitors more extensively at the border. They are also taking more robust post-arrival action on suspected illegal working by visitors, with last year’s immigration raid at Hyundai’s electric vehicle production site in Georgia, USA, perhaps being the most high-profile recent example. 

At the same time, governments are also expanding electronic border controls and pre authorisation systems, giving authorities greater visibility of how often, how long and for what purpose individuals enter and leave a country.

Electronic gates (or e-gates) streamline arrival but remove the passport stamp that once helped track entry dates. Europe’s Entry/Exit System (EES) is replacing stamping with biometric registration and automated counting of days spent in the Schengen area, making the 90/180 day rule far more straightforward for immigration authorities to police. ETIAS, Europe’s pre-travel authorisation system, will add a pre travel authorisation layer similar to the US Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) or the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). Together, these developments mean that patterns of repeat travel, extended stays and the nature of visitor activity will become far more visible to governments, placing greater responsibility on employers to monitor Schengen-area days, ensure activities stay within permitted limits and escalate early where work authorisation may be required.

At the border, visibility has become more pronounced. Automated entry and exit logs, digital authorisation systems and e-gates create detailed travel histories. Mobility teams should assume authorities have access to this data when considering compliance. This elevates the importance of robust pre travel approvals, clear communication of permitted activities and reliable systems for capturing proof of entry after using e-gates.

For businesses, these developments increase the importance of correctly classifying trips, mapping activities against each destination country’s rules and ensuring business travel plans are limited to the duration and purposes that are permitted for visitors. Unfortunately, in many organisations, business travel has often sat in a lacuna whereby it is not owned by the HR team or the global mobility team. Often the focus is on the financial side of business travel compliance – ensuring business travel fits inside strict policy guidelines with little consideration made to other compliance issues. 

Organisations should have clear policies and procedures in place to ensure that trips undertaken on behalf of a business happen within a compliance framework. At the very least, organisations and travellers should keep accurate records of where staff are, retain evidence of entry and ensure departure within the period granted. Many organisations are introducing dashboards or monitoring systems to flag extended stays early and ensure timely departures. Traveller training has also become important so individuals understand the restrictions applicable to business travel and can provide information confidently when questioned about their purpose, activities or employer. 

Employment rights 

Employment rights can create compliance risks for business travellers. 

In many jurisdictions worldwide, employees gain ‘day 1’ employment rights as soon as they perform any work locally – including limits on working-time, protection against discrimination and basic health and safety obligations. The EU Posted Worker rules apply when staff are sent to another EU country or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (where similar rules apply) to provide services, requiring employers to keep the employment relationship in place and meet the host country’s key employment standards. These cover areas such as minimum pay, working time limits, health and safety and, in many cases, advance notifications.

Employers also have wider responsibilities towards staff who travel and their obligations to employees who are undertaking business travel need to be considered carefully. This includes providing cultural guidance, advice on travelling with medication and duty of care measures such as risk assessments, travel security planning, emergency procedures and mental health support. 

Having clear contractual provisions is also important, for example provisions which confirm the employee’s home country employment, the governing law and any limits on their authority overseas. Policies covering areas such as permitted business visitor activities, expenses, data use, hospitality and sanctions compliance should also be clearly set out.

02. Permanent establishment in a remote work world: clarity lags business reality

Remote overseas working is now commonplace, but the tax rules governing whether such work creates a permanent establishment in the overseas country have struggled to keep pace. Although the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently released updated guidance clarifying when remote working from a home, second home or other personal workspace overseas may create a taxable presence, the framework still falls short of fully reflecting global perspectives and business realities. As a result, organisations must continue to make strategic decisions in areas where uncertainty remains. This requires defining risk appetite, setting boundaries for roles and determining which client facing or revenue generating activities can be performed overseas. 

Tax authorities are increasingly focusing on objective factors, such as frequency, duration and substance of activities, rather than job titles or internal descriptions. Recently, the Danish Tax Council reinforced this position by confirming that a foreign company had a permanent establishment in Denmark solely due to employing an executive employee with decisive influence on management decisions working from a home office in Denmark for an overseas company. 

The wider lack of global alignment increases the importance of strong governance. Internal matrices that set out “red lines” activities, standardised invitation letters and robust audit trails can help organisations demonstrate that they have taken reasonable steps to comply, even where tax rules lack clarity. 

03. Managing employment tax and social security misalignment across borders 

Although mobility specialists have long advocated for greater harmonisation of tax and social security regimes, meaningful alignment has been slow. 

Mobility tax now extends beyond permanent establishment risk to a wide range of tax regimes, with individual income tax, corporate tax, transfer pricing, payroll obligations and social security each applying separate and often misaligned tax rules. Instead of changing the underlying rules and putting in place multilateral changes to reflect the needs of a global workforce, governments have made tweaks “around the edges” which has resulted in a patchwork of day-count rules and tests which are applied inconsistently, sometimes resulting in conflicting outcomes across jurisdictions.

Accurate travel tracking and proactive forecasting of residence thresholds are now essential to ensure that traveller behaviour does not generate unexpected payroll or social security liabilities. The OECD’s recent work highlights these issues; for example, its Inclusive Framework project on the tax implications of global mobility and its January 2026 public consultation, emphasise the complexity of short-term business travel, longer-term relocations and cross-border remote work and the compliance uncertainty which employers are required to manage.

Even short periods of physical presence can trigger payroll and social security reporting, regardless of whether the company has a taxable presence locally. With digital borders, airline passenger data and greater information sharing between governments, organisations should assume that authorities know where people are. This makes accurate day count tracking, clear controls on overseas activities and automatic activation of shadow payroll processes critical. 

There is a growing international need for tax rules that reflect modern working patterns, which can be applied without excessive cost or uncertainty. Increased harmonisation of tax treatments, including pensions, social security contributions and share schemes would help reduce administrative burdens and improve certainty for both employers and employees. 

04. Global mobility resilience: navigating geopolitical and market shifts 

At a time of geopolitical realignment and economic challenge, organisations are prioritising locations that offer political stability, predictable regulation and strong commercial logic and reducing reliance on jurisdictions that have become more unstable, costly or restrictive. When assessing where to establish, maintain and expand operations, organisations now must continuously monitor geopolitical and market conditions in the round, taking into account mobility factors such as the complexity of securing visas, the scope of what business visitors are allowed to do, social security costs, the employment law landscape and the practicalities of maintaining compliant remote or hybrid arrangements. They must also ensure that global mobility programs are actively reviewed to ensure they remain effective for engaging and retaining talent in locations that make sense commercially. 

Countries thriving in today’s talent market are those with a good local skills base, business friendly immigration policies, predictable tax and social security frameworks and strong cultural integration support. Markets such as Poland, now a fast growing tech and services growth centre, illustrate how economic strategy and policy clarity can attract global talent. At the same time, other markets are becoming more attractive. Mainland Europe (including Spain, Portugal and Poland), Japan, the UAE and Australia continue to draw talent with strong infrastructure, competitive employment rights frameworks, predictable tax rules and stable social security regimes. 

Cost and everyday experience also will continue to influence the shape of mobility programs. High living costs, slow work-authorisation processes, higher visa fees and changing perceptions of welcome can deter talent, or can affect morale, productivity and ultimately retention. Recent reports of Australians reconsidering or leaving the UK highlight this. 

Now, more than ever, businesses should include global mobility as a key strategic consideration when developing their business plan and strategy. Global mobility professionals (both internally and externally as business partners) can save businesses time, money and headaches by identifying and addressing mobility-relate issues with a proposed strategy before a business has committed to it.

Key considerations for the year ahead 

In 2026, organisations that combine strong compliance foundations with attention to employee experience will be best placed to deliver work wherever it is needed around the world.

The following points may assist organisations to make the most of opportunities and to minimise risk:

• Build resilience into mobility planning by assessing ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors in each location, reviewing markets that have become more complex or costly and considering alternative destinations with stronger business logic.
• Align relevant internal stakeholders such as commercial, immigration, tax, HR and legal teams so that deployment decisions are coordinated, risk informed and reflect the organisation’s tolerance for business travel, permanent establishment and cross-border tax exposure.
• Improve day count tracking and visibility for staff who travel internationally (both for work-related and personal reasons), ensuring compliance with tax, immigration and social security obligations by integrating border entry and exit data, shadow payroll triggers, presence-tracking and compliance-monitoring systems where possible.
• Prepare for tightening rules in some jurisdictions and new opportunities in others, with contingency locations identified in advance and scenario plans that take account of geopolitical shifts, digital border enforcement and changes to remote work or business visitor compliance regimes.
• Enhance employee experience and duty-of-care measures, including cultural guidance, support with local compliance expectations and clear communication of restrictions relating to business travel and remote work.