Onboarding from crisis areas
International onboarding (onboarding from or to third countries) varies from country to country, but the basis is the same: key personnel who are brought to our country as specialists require, for example, birth certificates, passports, work papers, residence card, police clearance certificate and training certificates. Some countries, such as Canada, Germany, Australia, offer registration for foreign employers and enable digital processing of applications.
The current question that Austrian and German companies are asking themselves regarding international onboarding is: "Can we hire Russians?" and the answer is: "Yes."
As soon as the law is complied with, nationality is not respected by the authority.
However, there is a difference between coming to our country as an asylum seeker and as a specialist. The current example of Ukraine shows that asylum applications are currently being approved quickly.
Since Ukrainian refugees usually carry their personal documents with them, it is understandably much easier for them to switch from Aysl status to key force procedures.
A challenge for every mobility manager.
After the partial mobilization in Russia, IT and engineering specialists in particular fled the country. In some cases, they have already had job offers and have travelled to neighbouring republics where they are allowed to stay visa-free. There they are now waiting for their entry applications to be processed.
The law stipulates that the entry visa D must be applied for at the home embassy (which in our case would be the Austrian embassy in Moscow or St. Petersburg). Until recently, in order to apply for a visa when you are not in your home country, you still needed a special permit from the Ministry of the Interior; for submitting the application at an embassy that is not located in the home country. The Austrian Embassy in Moscow can therefore also send invitations to apply for visa D for countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Belarus, if the Ministry of the Interior supports it accordingly.
This special permit is a huge relief for onboarding, and in our experience it works really well. Hats off to Brussels and the member states that make this possible.
Another major challenge in the onboarding of key workers from crisis areas lies in the emotional burden of immigrants.
People from crisis areas must safely get out of their home country, then legally enter the new country, and finally build a completely new life in the new country. The latter has its own pitfalls with the situation on the housing market, for example in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.
In the case of Russian specialists, it may happen that those who left the country after the partial mobilization are deserted. They will not be able to return to their home country without going to prison.
Leaving your home country, leaving your friends and building a career in a foreign country is a great achievement in itself. If you have to assume that you will never be able to go back, or do not know whether the family will be able to join you, this is a completely different burden for the persons concerned.
We notice this additional burden due to the increase in the need for our expat coaching. The young professionals who come to us from Russia seem paralyzed because their lives have been completely turned upside down. That's why it's so important for us that our employees have coaching training – they listen, encourage professionals and give them feedback on what is "normal" in our country.
Because: the human factor is essential in our business.
If you have any questions about optimizing your international onboarding processes, please contact us here: office@moves-consulting.com
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