The more you know about the customs, rules, and laws of the target country, the better equipped you will be in protecting yourself from potentially irreversible legal repercussions. Thoroughly researching the country, it’s laws, and the company will be the only way you can fully safeguard yourself. For tips on how to conduct research online, refer to our post How to Google hack a Foreign work visa.
As previously mentioned, if you can convince the employer that you are worth the investment, most large companies will cover your visa costs no questions asked. They will most likely have human resource people and lawyers in place to facilitate the process. It will be the smaller companies who will be more reluctant and cause you the greatest problems.
Working contract
Thanks to your understanding of the target language and the research before hand, you will be able to read over the working contract and know if it is a legitimate and fair contract. All discrepancies should be dealt with before the contract is signed. Special attention should be paid to net salary, and how either party may terminate the contract.
Visa trafficking
In nearly every country, when a company agrees to hire you, they are, by law, accepting to cover all costs incurred to obtain your visa and legal right to work in that country.
A company may negotiate to pay you less money to compensate for the cost of your visa, or hire you contingent on an “off the record” verbal agreement or understanding that you will reimburse them for the cost of your visa, or they may approach you after the fact with the bill and ask you to pay it. If it is the former and you are happy buying your visa and right to work, then so be it. But if it is the latter, then regardless of what the company tells you, or what “arrangements” were made, you are only lawfully bound by what is contained in the contract that you signed with the company. To force you to out-rightly reimburse them is against the law.
Money laundering
If your employer does insist on a reimbursement, they will attempt to obtain it off the books: either by demanding that you pay cash, or by forcing the numbers of your monthly salary, etc. Depending on the country’s laws (which you should have researched beforehand), the company may be guilty of laundering, and defrauding the government, and violating tax and other laws.
Contract hostage
Before your visa and working paper’s expiration, and a few weeks prior to your date to renew when you need updated or special documentation from your employer would be the ideal time for the company to push for their reimbursement since, in order to renew your working visa, you will need them or your visa may be rejected. Whether openly or implied, a company may threaten not to renew your contract unless you pay for your visa.
How to protect yourself
Depending on your personal goals, financial situation, etc., you must decide how far you want to go to defend your rights. If you do not feel it is worth the trouble to defend yourself, and prefer to just pay the bill and appease their demands so you can continue working without escalating the tension between you and your employer, then do so. It would be imprudent to come this far only to give up because of a visa bill. As a last resort, if the cost of the visa is the only thing keeping the employer from hiring you, then offer to pay for it, or negotiate sharing a percentage of the bill. This should be used ONLY as a last resort, as it may degrade your perceived worth you have demonstrated to them thus far, and the employer may accept your offer, and then begin demanding more compromises from you.
You must also consider larger picture when choosing your action. Just because you now have a working contract and a monthly income doesn’t mean you are taken care of. To protect themselves, companies will give you the most basic form of contract and for as long as possible, allowing them to terminate your employment if you do not turn out to meet their expectations, or the expectations you promised them. Therefore consider a contingency plan. What would you do if suddenly you lost your job?
Because you are a foreigner, your landlord may require a three month deposit and a three month notice before allowing you to rupture your contract and vacate your apartment. What are you going to do if, shortly after signing a lease that requires a three month caution with a landlord, your company changes their mind and hands you your two weeks notice because they either received the bill for your visa in the mail and decided they didn’t want the hassle, experience buyer’s remorse, because you refused to reimburse them for the money they paid for your visa, or for any other reason? If you have nothing to bring to the negotiation table as a counter proposal to their firing you, then they have an easy out of their contractual obligation, and you are left in some serious financial trouble.
First, consider the fact that, by demanding you reimburse them, they will naively feel that they are in the position of advantage because:
- You are depending on them to provide you with a pay check to cover your bills and cost of living.
- You are depending on them for your legal status, and without their support you must legally return home.
- They are not expecting you to have done your research, and know about your rights.
- While by demanding you reimburse your visa they are abusing you and breaking the law, they are not expecting you to retaliate, or have the means to pose a threat to them.
- And most importantly, they will not be expecting you to have any incriminating evidence against them.
Remember that the company is in business to make money, and as soon as you are no longer useful to them, or are causing them more damage than good, they will logically let you go. Being that you are living in a foreign country, and dependant upon them to provide you with a salary and working papers, your loss of job will do more damage to your life than theirs, and you must plan for this.
IF the company forces you, are you going to fight or give up and return home?
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