- with readers working within the Basic Industries industries
Important immigration reforms have come into effect
As part of its ongoing efforts to make the country even more attractive to highly skilled workers, Portugal has implemented several immigration reforms, including:
- Changing the job seeker visa to a yet-to-be-introduced “highly skilled job seeker visa” for highly skilled professionals,
- Introducing restrictions on family reunification and
- Abolishing the country's “expression of interest” regularization pathway as per December 31, 2025.
These reforms demonstrate the Portuguese government's continued efforts to focus the immigration program on attracting highly skilled workers, increasing administrative efficiency, and aligning Portugal's immigration regulations with those of other European countries.
Wichtige Einwanderungsreformen sind in Kraft getreten
Portugal hat im Zuge seiner kontinuierlichen Bemühungen, das Land für hochqualizierte Arbeiternehmer noch attraktiver zu machen, mehrere Einwanderungsreformen durchgeführt, darunter unter anderem:
- Änderung des Visums für Arbeitssuchende zu einem noch einzuführenden „Visum für hochqualifizierte Arbeitssuchende” für hochqualifizierte Fachkräfte,
- Einführung von Beschränkungen für die Familienzusammenführung und
- Abschaffung des Regularisierungswegs „Interessenbekundung” des Landes zum 31. Dezember 2025.
Diese Reformen belegen die fortgesetzten Anstrengungen der portugiesischen Regierung, das Einwanderungsprogramm auf die Anwerbung hochqualifizierter Arbeitskräfte zu konzentrieren, die administrative Effizienz zu steigern und die Einwanderungsbestimmungen Portugals, an die anderer europäischer Länder anzupassen.
Mobility program for young people from Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan: The lottery will begin on February 10, 2026.
The UK Home Office has announced that the first draw under the Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) 2026 for Chinese nationals from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Taiwanese nationals will begin on February 10, 2026, and end on February 12, 2026. Under this program, successful applicants can live, work, and study in the United Kingdom for a period of 24 months.
More detailed information:
The voting period: The first draw will begin at 00:01 (Hong Kong time) on February 10, 2026, and end at 00:01 (Hong Kong time) on February 12, 2026. A second draw is expected to take place in the middle of the year.
The voting period: The first draw will begin at 00:01 (Hong Kong time) on February 10, 2026, and end at 00:01 (Hong Kong time) on February 12, 2026. A second draw is expected to take place in the middle of the year.
The costs: Participation in the lottery is free but applying under the program costs GBP 298 (approx. CHF 316 / EUR 343). Those who are not selected in the upcoming lottery may reapply in future lotteries.
The application: When the application window is open, interested applicants can submit an application for the program by email.
The impact: The program offers individuals from a participating country or territory a specific route to entry with a relatively short processing time compared to other programs.
The background for establishing this procedure:
The United Kingdom has established several Youth Mobility Schemes (YMS) that enable individuals from a participating country or territory to experience life in the United Kingdom.
Mobilitätsprogramm für junge Menschen aus Hongkong, China und Taiwan: Die Auslosung beginnt am 10. Februar 2026.
Das britische Innenministerium hat bekannt gegeben, dass die erste Auslosung im Rahmen des Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) 2026 für chinesische Staatsangehörige aus der Sonderverwaltungszone Hongkong und taiwanesische Staatsangehörige am 10. Februar 2026 beginnt und am 12. Februar 2026 endet. Im Rahmen dieses Programms können erfolgreiche Bewerber für einen Zeitraum von 24 Monaten im Vereinigten Königreich leben, arbeiten und studieren.
Genauere Informationen hierzu:
Der Abstimmungszeitraum: Die erste Auslosung beginnt am 10. Februar 2026 um 00:01 Uhr (Hongkong-Zeit) und endet am 12. Februar 2026 um 00:01 Uhr (Hongkong-Zeit). Eine zweite Auslosung wird voraussichtlich Mitte des Jahres stattfinden.
Die Programmdetails: Die Auslosung steht chinesischen und taiwanesischen Staatsangehörigen der Sonderverwaltungszone Hongkong offen, die zum Zeitpunkt der Reise im Rahmen des Programms zwischen 18 und 30 Jahre alt sind, über Ersparnisse von mindestens 2.530 GBP (ca. CHF 2'690 / EUR 2'915), verfügen und keine Kinder unter 18 Jahren haben, mit denen sie zusammenleben oder für deren Unterhalt sie aufkommen. Die per Losverfahren ausgewählten Personen haben dann 90 Tage Zeit, um ein Visum im Rahmen des Programms zu beantragen, die Visumantragsgebühr (einschliesslich Einwanderungsgesundheitszuschlag) zu entrichten und biometrische Daten vorzulegen.
Das Kontingent: Es gibt kein Kontingent für das Losverfahren, aber jeder Gruppe werden im Rahmen des Jugendmobilitätsprogramms 1.000 Plätze zugewiesen.
Die Kosten: Die Teilnahme an der Auslosung ist kostenlos, die Beantragung im Rahmen des Programms kostet jedoch GBP 298 (ca. CHF 316 / EUR 343). Diejenigen, die bei der bevorstehenden Auslosung nicht ausgewählt werden, können bei zukünftigen Auslosungen einen weiteren Antrag stellen.
Der Antrag: Wenn das “Bewerbungsfenster” geöffnet ist, können interessierte Bewerber per E-Mail einen Antrag für das Programm stellen.
Die Auswirkungen dieses Verfahrens: Das Programm bietet Personen aus einem teilnehmenden Land oder Gebiet einen spezifischen Einreiseweg mit einer im Vergleich zu anderen Programmen relativ kurzen Bearbeitungszeit.
Der Hintergrund für die Einrichtung dieses Verfahren:
Das Vereinigte Königreich hat mehrere Jugendmobilitätsprogramme (Youth Mobility Schemes, YMS) eingerichtet, die es Personen aus einem teilnehmenden Land oder Gebiet ermöglichen, das Leben im Vereinigten Königreich kennenzulernen.
Part 4: Budget & costs for international employee assignments
The indirect and hidden costs of international assignments: implementation, corrections, and coordination
NORMAREYNOV, CONVINUS
Many international assignments are underestimated in terms of budget because only the obvious cost aspects such as housing and school costs, flights, or relocation are taken into account initially. These items are clearly visible and usually easy to quantify. The background work involved in assignments is often underestimated, especially in small and medium-sized companies, even though it is precisely this effort that determines whether an international employee assignment runs smoothly or requires attention for months.
Indirect and hidden costs arise from clarifications, implementation, and ongoing corrections. These include contract drafting, tax aspects, social security, registration requirements, and setting up and coordinating payroll across more than one country. Without this necessary administrative work, there can be no legally compliant and operationally viable international assignment.
Implementation costs: The underestimated effort behind the scenes
Implementation costs are not incidental expenses of foreign assignments, but rather the price that must be paid to ensure that an international assignment is set up correctly and becomes operationally stable. In many companies, they are not visible because they are incurred internally in HR, payroll, finance, and legal, distributed across several people and parallel to dayto-day business—supplemented by external support, which often only comes into play when internal uncertainty arises or deadlines are approaching.
The effort begins before the person is abroad or regularly working across borders. Even the initial clarifications take time because tax issues, social security, contract drafting, and payroll implementation are interrelated and cannot be answered in isolation. If these issues are dealt with one after the other or in silos, coordination efforts are inevitably required, which are rarely included in an expatriation budget.
Corrections due to changed circumstances
Corrections rarely arise because someone “makes a mistake, ” but rather because assumptions at the outset were not precise enough or because the circumstances of the assignment abroad have changed. This is because international assignments are particularly sensitive to small changes. If travel dates are postponed, periods of presence are extended, or the place of work is actually different than planned, it can quickly happen that the clarifications regarding taxes and social security are no longer correct.
This quickly leads to a need for corrections, especially in payroll. And this is not because payroll works poorly, but because it needs clear and stable parameters. International setups involve additional interfaces and dependencies. Variable compensation, bonuses, expenses, and benefits make this even more complicated because they can have different tax and social security implications depending on the timing and allocation. Every correction means queries, data collection, review, implementation, and documentation, tying up resources in several places at once.
Tax equalization is also a classic area for corrections. The problem rarely lies in the calculation itself, but rather in the process. The data must be complete and compiled from various sources (e.g., payroll and accounting departments at home and abroad). In addition, assumptions about foreign assignments must remain traceable and external factors (e.g., foreign tax calculations) must be correctly reflected on the payroll. If parameters change during the year or information is delivered late, this almost always results in additional rework.
Reconciliations as a cost factor in the international setup
HR and global mobility do not need to calculate these indirect costs in great detail. However, they must identify early on where the greatest expenditure will arise and manage it in such a way that the international setup remains stable. It is crucial to identify challenging constellations in good time and communicate them internally before payroll, external partners, and the employee get caught up in a cycle of constant corrections. This can only be achieved if a few key points are firmly established at the outset:
1. Key data for the international setup
The countries involved, the planned duration, travel arrangements, and work locations must be defined at an early stage. Once this key data is known, clarifications regarding social security, taxes, and the general payroll setup can begin. As soon as the basics have been clearly defined, implementation can begin on the payroll, thus avoiding the need for major corrections at a later date.
2. Clear responsibilities
It must also be clarified who is fundamentally responsible for implementing the international setup. This concerns, for example, coordination with external partners, the timely involvement of payroll, documentation of the case, and communication with the employee. If responsibilities are not clearly defined, this can quickly lead to unnecessary coordination and delays in practice.
3. Documentation as a basis for work
Documenting the international setup is not a formality, but a prerequisite for ensuring that decisions remain traceable, payroll can be implemented consistently, and knowledge is not lost within the company. If there is no clear documentation of the case, the same questions are often clarified multiple times, leading to higher internal costs.
4. Managing expectations with employees
Employees need to know what information and documentation is required, how to report changes in travel or work location, and what happens in the event of deviations. International setups are only stable if the employee's obligations to cooperate are clear and the consequences of inaccurate information flows are understood (e.g., incorrect social security contributions or changed tax obligations).
Conclusion
International assignments are often underestimated in terms of the overall budget because only the visible costs tend to be included in the planning. However, the hidden costs that arise in the background due to clarifications, implementations, coordination, and corrections relating to the contract, taxes, social security, reporting requirements, and payroll in an international context are considerable. This is because all of this work is necessary to ensure that an international assignment is legally compliant and operationally sustainable. Those who fail to take these costs into account will still have to pay for them later. However, this will be over a longer period of time, unplanned, and usually more expensive than if everything had been clarified and implemented properly in advance.
HR and global mobility do not have to and cannot clarify and budget every detail in advance, but the biggest cost drivers should be identified as early as possible and managed in a timely manner. Binding key data for the setup, clear responsibilities, clean documentation, and consistent expectation management with the employee are the four cornerstones that keep an international setup stable and avoid ongoing corrections.
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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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