Managing global mobility at fast-growing tech companies requires balancing compliance, vendor management, and operational efficiency. As an Immigration & Global Mobility Leader, Soren Sturup-Toft has overseen international transfers and new hire relocations while ensuring compliance in over 22 countries. In this interview, he shares insights on the biggest regulatory challenges, how automation and shared services improve efficiency, and the evolving landscape of global mobility.
Q: To start, could you introduce yourself and tell us about you and your experience in Global Mobility?
Soren Sturup-Toft: Sure! I’m an Immigration & Global Mobility Leader for fast-growing technology companies, with experience across EMEA, APAC and beyond. With tech companies, you’re shifting people between key hubs across multiple countries, and there’s a lot of movement. My job is to make sure that international transfers and new hire relocations happen smoothly, without compliance issues.
Q: What are some of the biggest compliance risks you deal with in global mobility?
Soren: I think immigration is the biggest challenge. I’ve worked with external vendors who handle the immigration, and where we have control, things are fine. But where you might have lots of folks in central Europe, particularly in France, it can get challenging. The immigration system is very opaque, and getting clear answers on permits and processes can be tricky. Sometimes we get edge cases that don’t quite fit the usual process, such as a random permit for Morocco, so you have to go back and forth with authorities to make sure everything is solid.
Q: Have you had any serious compliance issues, and how did you handle them?
Soren: I like to run a pretty tight operation to avoid major issues. But, there was one case before I joined an organization where someone lost their immigration status because of bad case management. That was a huge problem. The employee had to leave the country, reapply, and come back—it was a mess. That situation led to a big shake-up in how vendors and compliance were managed. The team was restructured, and we switched providers to make sure it didn’t happen again.
Q: How do you make sure your mobility programs meet compliance requirements across different regions?
Soren Sturup-Toft: We use a shared services model. New hires enter their right-to-work details into Workday, and our team checks them. Then we cross-reference everything against the reports from our immigration vendor. This way, we’ve got two separate sources of truth, which helps us catch any issues before they become problems. Immigration is directly tied to our license to operate, so we can’t afford mistakes.
Q: What other changes have you made to improve compliance?
Soren: When I joined, visa details were being entered manually without a clear process. Now, we’ve standardized everything through shared services, and we have country-specific protocols immigration. It's really helped us get an accurate picture of visa dates, for instance, and put it in good shape going forward.
We also track sponsored versus non-sponsored visas much more closely now. This is particularly important for US-based companies—we need a clear picture of who are foreign nationals at all times. Now, everything is consolidated properly.
Overall, I think getting good data has been one of the biggest achievements. Our new processes have ensured we get good data going forward, and we also cleaned up all our old data to make sure everything aligns across our systems.
Q: Have there been challenges with transferring data across vendors?
Soren: Oh yeah, it can be a nightmare. I’ve worked with vendors that didn’t provide documentation for around 1,000 cases. We had to dig everything up, manually verify it, and upload it into our system. It took three to four months to get it all sorted. I’ve run this process at different companies and it can take up to two years to implement these things - Doing it in five months. That's been a big win.
Q: What are some of the benefits you've seen with a shared services model?
Soren: One of the best things about it is to have a team of willing and available people who are able to help with the work. Having a shared services team based in the Americas – like Costa Rica – helps with the American cases; while a team based in India can help with EMEA and APAC, this way you’ve got this 'follow the sun' model which enables people to get help, and progress to be made 24/7.
Q: What are some of the biggest regulatory challenges in different regions?
Soren: Saudi Arabia has been really tough because of Saudization requirements—it’s hard to hire locally, and convincing leadership to adjust expectations hasn’t been easy. Singapore is another challenging one, especially with the COMPASS framework, which makes it harder to secure employment passes.
If you’re working on having a regional headquarters in Singapore, gaining extra immigration points under COMPASS is key. And, how your company is classified is also important to maximize eligibility for visas.
It can be challenging - but also a really rewarding process to implement the COMPASS framework and connect with senior leaders to implement these new strategies.
Q: How do you get leadership to support these changes?
Soren: It’s all about making a solid business case. I work closely with the Head of Talent to lay out the costs, challenges, and benefits. Then presenting findings to senior leadership, making sure they understand why these adjustments are necessary in the long run. It's really interesting and rewarding work.
Q: How do you decide what to handle internally versus outsourcing?
Soren: I run a lean model, so outsourcing as much as possible while keeping strategic oversight. Anything operational—document collection, visa applications, apostilling—that’s all vendor work. But when it comes to risk management and compliance strategy, that can stay in-house.
API integrations are also key to automate data transfers between your internal systems and vendors. That should help eliminate manual data entry and reduce errors.
Q: How do you ensure efficiency in mobility processes?
Soren: Automation is everything. Employees enter their own visa details, which are then verified by shared services. This way, you eliminate manual entry mistakes. I also like to train the shared services teams so they know what to flag before an issue gets out of hand. Essentially, if there's no impact of value to a person doing a task, I try and either automate it or outsource it.
Q: How do you balance standardization with flexibility in your global mobility policy?
Soren: We’re actually in the middle of redesigning our policy. The old model was one-size-fits-all, which doesn’t make sense—someone moving from Germany to the Netherlands shouldn’t be getting the same relocation package as someone moving from Singapore to San Francisco. A more tailored approach is needed.
Now, I like to use a tiered structure that accounts for differences in location, family size, and seniority within the business. This system makes things fairer and more personalized.
Q: Looking ahead, what challenges do you think will impact global mobility?
Soren: US immigration is a big one. If H-1B caps are lowered or green cards get harder to obtain, that’ll limit our ability to relocate key talent. Europe is another concern—political shifts could lead to tighter visa and work permit rules.
I also think more countries will introduce frameworks like Singapore’s COMPASS system, where companies have to earn points to qualify for work permits. Businesses will have to stay ahead of these changes to keep hiring top talent.
Caroline: Thanks so much for your insights, Soren. This has been really valuable.
Soren: My pleasure! Thanks for having me.
Key Takeaways for Global Mobility Professionals
- Data integrity is crucial – Cleaning up legacy data and ensuring compliance across systems prevents major immigration issues.
- Shared services can improve efficiency – A 'follow the sun' model enables global teams to support compliance and operational processes 24/7.
- Building a strong business case is key – Engaging leadership early helps drive policy changes and secure buy-in for regulatory adaptations.
- Outsourcing should be strategic – Keeping risk management and compliance decisions in-house while outsourcing administrative tasks ensures quality control.
- Adaptability is essential – With evolving regulations like Singapore’s COMPASS framework, companies must stay proactive to maintain mobility flexibility.
By focusing on these strategies, companies can create a scalable and compliant global mobility function that supports both business goals and employee experience.