International Mobility Post-Brexit

The session was presented by Mark Walker from Coventry University and Jason Norris from Deloitte.

Coventry University’s approach to Internationalisation

Mark explained that Coventry University has been working on its approach to internationalisation for many years and they currently have a team of five within HR and a team in Legal dealing with their Internationalisation. They ensure that they establish/consider the following for each case:

• Who needs to be involved?
• What is the objective?
• What external support might be required?
• What is the timeline?

They work in collaboration with their professional services team, who they meet with on a weekly basis to discuss cases. They engage with Deloitte at the earliest opportunity regarding their intended approach in the relevant country, and they find getting things right up front is much better than trying to fix things after the event!

They also have a policy that all travel needs to be booked through Key travel, enabling them to have a fuller overview of who is going where, and therefore what overseas activities are taking place.

Mark often has to schedule Skype calls in the early hours due to the different time zones and often travels to the countries where Coventry University has people working. The Coventry team feel it is key to work closely with their in-country advisors - this cuts out the middle man and helps to ensure the in-country advisor understands what the University expects from them and what they expect from the University, which helps to ensure that everyone is kept up to date with progress.

China

Jason provided some information on China, and explained that it is one of the most difficult countries you can engage someone to work in, due to monthly tax returns, employer compliance issues and regular changes to rules and regulations. Jason warned universities to be aware that using international student recruitment agents in China can lead to the agents becoming de facto employees.

What does Brexit Mean to Mobility?

Jason also looked at some of the potential impacts on international mobility that Brexit might have:

• International Taxation: There is no impact and the treaties will remain in force, individual tax residence will still determine individual status and business tax presence will still determine the taxation and compliance of a university in country.
• Immigration: This has the largest impact as new immigration policies and procedures will be in place. The expected changes are currently unknown; however, it is expected that there will be a limit on numbers entering the country.
• Social Security: There could be an impact here - transitional arrangements are in place, however, these are dependent on a deal being achieved. The UK is likely to apply EEA rules in the event of no-deal, however, the EEA may not reciprocate and therefore understanding the current status is vital. Where employees have an A1 certificate that is due to expire, applying for an extension should be considered.
• Business Travel: It is expected that in the long term a permit/visa may be required, which is likely to involve a registration document/electronic application before entry.
• The Posted Worker Enforcement Directive: This will continue to apply to UK employees travelling to Europe – be aware that non-compliance can lead to find of up to €100,000!