Risk-taking is inherent to immigration. Factors such as sex, age and other characteristics, such as country of origin, religion, family status and education influence the exposure to risk for a newcomer in a transit or destination country.
Immigration Risks for Employers
Financial Risk – Failure to comply with work permit and visa regulations, for example – submission of incorrect tax–related information by expatriates, cost global businesses interest and penalties in the local jurisdiction, and they face combined action from immigration, tax and labour authorities. Employers need to be cognizant of financial overspending and implement financial risk management strategies. Excessive spending on executive business travel can lead to mounting costs that impact budgets. High flight and accommodation rates, bookings at the nth hour and discretionary spending that goes unchecked make up some of the common risks.
Legal Risk – Legal requirements include adhering to visas, immigration, exit reporting, data privacy and employment laws. Frequent international travel can lead to unintended tax liabilities. Errors in compliance or failing to comply with local regulations can hamper a business’ moves into new markets and expose it to legal challenges initiated by employees, partners or authorities. Non-compliance with local immigration law carries the risk of withdrawal of visa, deportation or even imprisonment, making it hard to do business not just at that point but probably for a long period afterwards.
Operational Risk – Executive travel enables commercial objectives to be met – whether it is checking in on the progress of a milestone project, attending an important discussion, meeting a supplier or attending to a crisis. Certain instances require physical attendance with short notice. This demands the capability to move quickly, and secure at speed the relevant visa or permits to travel. Issues with gaining entry could result in missed opportunities. Governments around the world now integrate immigration data to have a tighter oversight on compliance of social security regulations. Organisations would be required to significantly improve or change their internal processes to comply with frequently changing regulations.
Reputational Risk – Activities that can be perceived as doubtful can contribute to loss of reputation and eventual loss of value. Immigration-related bottlenecks create delays that can result in terminated contracts if the market perceives the company as unreliable. Any business would want to avoid being seen as careless of its employees or engaged in breaches of regulations. E.g. – If immigration authorities discover that a company official has failed to declare any element of their salary, the consequences will harm the company’s reputation. Thus, enterprise risk management strategies are crucial.
Strategic Risks – Businesses can encounter strategic risks if they are unable to access global talent pools as a result of immigration-related challenges. Many organizations rely on the ability to bring in workers with skills or expertise that are either scarce or unavailable locally. Immigration restrictions can prevent companies from filling key roles thereby slowing innovation and day-to-day operations. The workforce may become less internationally diverse, impacting creativity, global perspectives, and the ability to serve a multicultural customer base. Companies blocked by immigration barriers face the risk of losing market share.
Security Risk – Employers have a legal and ethical responsibility to safeguard travelling employees. High-profile individuals may be more vulnerable to cyber attacks, corporate espionage, and physical risks. An employer’s duty of care obligations include casualties, health emergencies, and incidents requiring immediate support.
Logistical Risk – Frequent multi-destination travel increases logistical risks. Coordinating multiple flights, accommodations, and local transportation and managing numerous permits and supporting documents complicates scheduling and makes compliance and communication more difficult. Delays or issues in one region can affect the rest of the trip, leading to missed meetings, cancelled appointments, or wasted resources.
Geopolitical Risk & Health Risk – Business travel to politically unstable or high-risk to health locations exposes executives to security threats, civil unrest, or disease outbreaks. Lack of sufficient rest between trips leads to burnout.
Risks affecting immigrant employees
Socio – economic risks – If the journey lasts longer than initially planned, individuals are at risk of destitution once they run out of their travel money and if they do not find a job. Without money, they cannot access basic health services and accommodation. People with no permits or visas to legally stay in transit or destination countries risk arrest and detention with poor or no access to justice. Those in charge of immigrants’ travels – facilitators having knowledge of their situations – are in a position to mistreat them. On one hand, they support immigrants by organizing their journeys (at a high cost and high risk for the immigrant); and, on the other, they are often culprits in cases of abuse against them alongside other actors, such as members of criminal networks. There are reports of immigrants falling victims to rights violations of all kinds – abuse, exploitation, money extortion, robbery, attack and kidnapping. Immigrants end up as victims of uncontrolled agents operating outside the law.
Political Risk – Political factors create contextual risks. Political instability has led to the emergence of lawless zones. There are many accounts of violence against immigrants favoured by the lack of State control and rule of law. At the other end of the spectrum, State policies of tight border control in Europe, involving search operations by security forces, have led to disembarkation of immigrants.
What can corporates do to mitigate immigration risks?
Organizations and individuals can focus on risk mitigation and control by adopting the following steps –
- Implementing a comprehensive and integrated framework incorporating all stakeholders in a concurrent manner.
- Evaluating the business’ existing immigration process and identifying bottlenecks and areas for improvement. These audits should assess both employee records and the overall processes. Regular reviews and employee feedback help refine the policies, keeping them relevant and effective. Even people in immigration detention undergo a risk assessment process and are assigned ‘risk ratings’, which are used to determine the types of risk management measures that will be applied to them.
- Setting up an operational framework to ensure timely updates of all regulatory changes are received and its impact for business stakeholders are evaluated. A useful approach in corporate risk management is to operate an internal online resource hub or source of information on latest compliance obligations.
- Regularly updating training for recruiters so that they are abreast of any changes in immigration policies and procedures.
- Developing relationships with immigration experts, service providers, and immigration law firms to improve immigration procedures.
- Investing in the latest technology and leveraging global tools, whether built in-house or through a vendor, for document management, case tracking, and compliance monitoring. Immigration management systems should integrate with other business function systems such as tax. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can be used to reduce the time spent on repetitive operations. These solutions can speed up the processing time, streamline immigration functions and reduce administrative burden while improving oversight.
- Preparing a clear onboarding process for international employees and communicating information regarding potential difficulties in the immigration process serves as an important step in avoiding end minute challenges. Clear protocols should be in place for emergency evacuations and crisis management.
- Implementing a clear travel policy with pre-approved budgets, select suppliers, and set limits on expenses. Using corporate travel management platforms can enhance risk control by offering real-time tracking and consolidated invoicing. Encouraging advanced booking and providing guidelines on acceptable outflows help prevent financial risks.
- Providing secure transport and accommodation, encrypted communication tools, personal security awareness training and ensuring strict cybersecurity protocols are followed can help reduce security risks associated with immigration.
- Providing 24/7 emergency assistance, maintaining updated contact details, and ensuring employees receive relevant safety training will minimise immigration-related political risks. A robust travel risk assessment before each trip and staying informed about government travel advisories is essential.
- Scheduling efficient itineraries, allowing sufficient rest between trips, will prevent burnout among employees and minimize the exposure to health risks. Officials should be advised on vaccinations and medical precautions in advance. Comprehensive travel insurance is essential to cover medical emergencies. Policies should be regularly reviewed to ensure they provide adequate protection, including pandemic-related coverage.
- Having a contingency plan in place, to be able to react promptly when new immigration regulations are announced, so as to minimize any negative impact on operations.
- Having a strong peer network, where emerging difficulties in immigration affecting processes and strategies are discussed, is an effective way to identify and mitigate risk.
- Business leaders must share their views and recommend changes to immigration regulations introduced by Governments in order to positively influence policies.
- At an individual level, immigrants can familiarize themselves with local laws and report any changes to immigration authorities in a timely manner to avoid unexpected liabilities. Staying risk-prepared by planning for sudden changes – such as changes in visa rules or work permits – will help navigate turbulent times.
India’s Immigration and Foreigners Bill – How does this reform strengthen risk management?
The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, is a step in supporting a risk management-enabled immigration ecosystem. With the establishment of the National Immigration Authority (NIA), and powered by a tech-driven Integrated Immigration Management System aimed at improving visa processing and cross-departmental coordination, the bill supports responsive risk management protocols for enterprises operating in or with India. Provisions introduced by the bill include –
- New visa categories – Investor, Transit, Business Plus, Startup, Skilled Talent, and Digital Nomad visas. This addresses the risk of legal ambiguity in visa types and will prevent the misuse of tourist visas. This fosters better talent mobility, improves compliance and reduces operational frictions.
- Digitally registering through the National Foreigner Registry (NFR) for foreigners staying beyond 180 days. This move will reduce the risk of foreigners overstaying and prevent identity or document fraud thereby strengthening compliance and data governance.
- Single-window clearance mechanisms – This addresses the risk of bureaucracy in obtaining various approvals, prevents inconsistent or conflicting decisions from different regulators. This mechanism reduces operational and compliance costs and improves transparency.
- Increased corporate oversight – This prevents security planning gaps and violations due to absence of coordinated enforcement thereby helping Indian states plan mobility, security, and contingency responses.
Conclusion – The risk-managed path to global business success
Knowing risks is a necessary step to better combat them. This applies to immigration stakeholders as well as to immigrants. By proactively implementing enterprise risk management to manage immigration risks, organizations can minimize disruptions, protect their employees, and achieve their global business objectives.
The author of this blog is Bhairavi Naganath, Assistant Manager – Research & Marketing at IRM India Affiliate.
