Conference programme

2024 has seen business travel resume at pre COVID Pandemc levels and employers value the impact of in person meetings, and work experience overseas. However , costs are a significant concern to business and with visa fees and processing times rising more business travellers are sent on short term trips. With more digitalised and integrated Government systems and more stringent border control this is creating a perfect storm for compliance which global mobility leaders must navigate. In addition remote and hybrid working are also creating new challenges as well as the current geopolitical landscape. The panel of speakers include some of the world’s leading global mobility and HR professionals. They will explain their current challenges and opportunities. We will also hear from experts and challenges impacting those seeing asylum and the war on talent.

The panel will look at the following questions

• Has your country’s employment based visa policy become more open or more restrictive in the last 1-2 years?
• Have issues such as refugees and irregular migration made policy making on regular migration for skilled workers more complex?
• Have any categories of work visas been restricted?
• Are there any new categories?
• Are the numbers of visas for skilled workers up or down
• Are you seeing more short term business travel rather than longer postings?

We hear about the productivity and profitability gains of generative AI. But how are Immigration lawyers harnessing this new technology and using in practice in their firms? This panel will look at real examples of AI use cases in practice, what technologies are being deployed in client work, RFPs and client relationship management. We will explore some of the ethical issues which arise for immigration lawyers, to what extent clients know that AI is being used, as well as GDPR/Data Privacy issues involved and practice management implications on,for example, the training of junior staff.

Irregular arrivals at borders are a feature of 21st century migration. While their overall numbers remain a small proportion of those applying for international protection, many governments, both national and supranational have sought to find new solutions, often with the clear intention of stemming the tide of populist anti-immigrant sentiments being converted into votes for far-right parties. But how far can these solutions go without taking away the very essence of the right to asylum?

With many countries in turmoil in the developing world and with increasing barriers to travel and gaining residence, tracing citizenship by descent has become a very popular alternative to move abroad or gain visa-free access, work privileges and residency in developed economies. A panel of experts will discuss the rules that apply and processes to follow in determining qualification for citizenship by descent.

This year, the European Court of Justice heard the EU Commission’s arguments against Malta’s Investor Immigrant Programme (IIP) and an Advocate General’s Opinion was published in October. Will this change countries approaches to whether there needs to be a genuine link through residence as well as the required investment before citizenship is offered? How does the EU’s opposition to citizenship and residence by investment play out in countries with these programmes? And how are established Caribbean and other programmes affected by the risk responses of banks and other financial institutions to these citizenships. Finally, will counties that closed their investor programmes ever bring them back?

This panel will look at the challenges of moving from the comfort of providing inbound immigration services to growing a successful global immigration practice. Our panel of seasoned global immigration practitioners will look at some of the key issues including different service models, selecting, building and maintaining relationships with global co-counsel, coordination and quality control, pricing and fee structures, technology and data privacy requirements and many other issues encountered along the way.

As nations try to modernise and diversify their economies, they are trying to attract the technology entrepreneurs of the future to create employment and capital influx and improve the living standards of their population. An array of legislative and policy initiatives has been created in many jurisdictions to capitalise on both local and international talent, including special immigration programs, tax incentives, government support and educational facilities to capture and retain entrepreneurs and workers. The panel will discuss what programmes, incentives and policies have been put in place, which ones have succeeded and which ones have failed in their goals to create technology incubators for both local and immigrant entrepreneurs.

A fast-paced update on new immigration policies on temporary visas, permanent residence options and hot topics including:

• New US immigration policy changes as a result of the November 2024 US presidential election (Harris vs Trump)
• Canada immigration update
• Mexico immigration update
• Current leading strategies to obtain temporary work visas
• Update on the latest developments on permanent residence options for professionals and skilled workers based on employer sponsorship, self-sponsorship or investment
• A look ahead at possible changes in Canadian, Mexican and US immigration policies in 2025 and beyond