Crisis Preparedness Amidst Geopolitical Uncertainty

In today’s climate of global political instability, organizations are increasingly faced with unpredictable circumstances—particularly when there is a sudden need to assist employees in evacuating to safety, followed by the complex task of determining appropriate long-term work authorization strategies.

Recent events, such as the situations in Russia and Ukraine and Israel and the Palestinian Territories, have underscored the importance of proactive planning. These crises serve as critical reminders that companies must be prepared to act swiftly, with well-developed contingency plans that prioritize employee safety, ensure workforce continuity and uphold business operations.

Proactive preparedness is essential to navigating these challenges effectively. Monitoring ongoing crises, staying informed of political sanctions, legislative changes and closed air spaces is imperative, but companies can do more to bolster their preparedness when emergency situations arise and employees must evacuate immediately. Due to the volatile nature of intensifying political situations, employees both local and foreign can be left in precarious conditions.  

Regardless of whether an organization adopts a comprehensive policy that covers immigration and relocation expenses for employees under an evacuation plan or opts for a more limited support model placing greater responsibility on individual employees, Fragomen strongly advises that companies review the following guidance. Taking such steps will help ensure a proactive and well-prepared response in the event of an urgent employee evacuation.

Determining Your Policy  

The most important step in advance of any political disruption is to outline the policy so that immigration and relocation support is clearly defined, and employee expectations are managed. Internal alignment on the scope of support offered to employees is important, as this will be critical to any future contingency plan that may be needed. Companies may take a blanket approval approach to their policy or an individual policy approach. Key aspects to consider are as follows:  

• • • The cost of immigration support and the viability of the company sponsoring applications in multiple locations  

• • • If required for immigration strategy, whether local host entities will be able to accept displaced employees onto local payroll  

• • • The scope of relocation support, which may include accommodation, schooling costs for accompanying children, medical insurance, social security and daily living costs if employees are moving to a more economically developed destination   

• • • The scalability of long-term residence or permanent residence pathways if the political situation remains volatile and it is not feasible nor safe for employees to return  

• • • Whether support will be capped at long-term support or if the policy will include employees able to travel on  

• • • If support will be attributed to a single destination country or several countries as options  
    • The personal preference and/or circumstances of the employee  

In the event of a crisis, employees are likely to turn to their employer for support and guidance. These situations are often highly stressful, with numerous considerations occupying employees’ thoughts. Moreover, individual circumstances can vary significantly, requiring a nuanced and empathetic approach to support.

Having an established policy will aid both the company and its employees in navigating the situation and will also guide the company’s immigration service provider in managing direct requests and questions from employees who will be looking for immediate answers.  

Understanding Your Population  

Organizations that maintain accurate and up-to-date records of their employees are better positioned to promptly identify and respond to those affected in times of crisis. At a minimum, tracking key data points—such as employee location, nationality and, where applicable, immigration status—greatly enhances the organization’s ability to rapidly formulate and implement a safe departure strategy.

There are several data points which, in the past, would not have been typical employee data to track. However, if companies wish to be as comprehensive as possible, it is advisable to consider expanding their existing record or creating a separate emergency database to include the following on behalf of local employees, foreign national employees and their dependents respectively:  

• • • Third country nationality or second passport holders  

• • • Valid third country visa status (such as having Schengen visa status)  

• • • If a foreign national employee, accurate work permit expiry data particularly in the event the employee needs to evacuate and is not able to process their renewal  

• • • Potential exemptions or permissions based on family located in other jurisdictions 

• • • International property ownership as this may drive a potential destination to safety  

• • • Details on accompanying dependents and pets (e.g., school going age children, non-biological children, elderly parents, etc.)  

• • • Record of, or at least confirmation that employees have valid passport and vital records on hand  

Understanding the personal circumstances of each employee and gathering the above information is a time-consuming process—one that is not ideal to perform reactively. As such, building a database with these details in advance could save critical time in a fast-moving and unpredictable political situation.   

Develop an Immigration Contingency Plan 

Once a clear policy is established and key employee information is accurately documented, the next critical step in the event of a crisis is to align on a comprehensive contingency plan.

Fragomen recommends that companies create internal working groups and designate central points of contact to act as the decision-making center.

This will help the company coordinate the chosen strategy, disseminate information effectively amongst staff and respond swiftly to disruptions that may further affect mobility, such as intensifying political unrest affecting employee safety, travel restrictions, changes to border control policies and enforced sanctions.  

Immediate travel

Identifying jurisdictions where impacted employees are visa-exempt will determine the options for urgent travel in the event they need to evacuate immediately to safety. Visa-free jurisdictions are particularly ideal if foreign diplomatic posts in the impacted country of residence no longer operate or accept new visa applications. There are some important aspects to take into consideration as part of this:  

• • • Are borders and air space still open for travel and, if not, are alternative options, such as sea or private charters, being reviewed? 

• • • Are the displaced employees work authorized whilst on visa exempt status and, if not, are they able to convert to work status in-country? 

• • • Is there a possibility for digital nomad and/or remote work pathways?   

• • • What is the feasibility of renewing the visa-exempt status, and what is the maximum duration displaced employees are permitted to remain in the country under this status?

• • • Has the destination jurisdiction or any others taken a position on supporting displaced employees and offering a waiver to impacted individuals?  

Relocating as part of a long-term plan  

If the situation does not require an emergency evacuation but rather a back-up plan in case the situation intensifies, strategizing a long-term immigration plan for impacted employees will be using this time wisely.

With the support of an immigration services provider, companies can carefully review the available work authorization destinations. At a more basic level, this can depend on the turnaround time of the process, the main qualifying eligibility criteria, as well as the complexity of the document requirements.  There will, however, be other determinant factors that companies may consider, namely:  

• • • The individual circumstances of employees and their accompanying dependents  

• • • Entity locations and where business continuity makes most sense (e.g., sponsorship abilities, time zones, etc.)  

• • • The end-to-end cost of the relocation in the new jurisdiction

The above list is not exhaustive but rather serves as a starting point to narrow the appropriate options. For instance, an immigration destination may suit the personal circumstances of the impacted employees and meet practical requirements from a corporate location standpoint but perhaps the destination country is high in cost for day to day living which may not be sustainable for a long-term plan. This is where a clear policy and accurate employee information will be crucial in developing an immigration strategy.   

Need to Know More?

Fragomen closely monitors global political activity and has extensive material on business continuity and workforce planning. Our Magellan Series of products and services is designed to support clients in navigating complex challenges by fostering workforce resilience—empowering them to respond decisively and effectively to unforeseen events and disruptions.

Our professionals can provide support with crisis management and mapping out bespoke contingency plans to support clients with managing internal employee communications, pooling emergency travel solutions to aid employees in getting to safety and advising on the appropriate immigration pathways for longer term relocation. 

Additionally, as the ongoing situation in the Middle East evolves, Fragomen will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available and has a dedicated external microsite covering developments and guidance. For further information, please contact [email protected].  

This blog was published on June 18, 2025, and due to the circumstances, there are frequent changes. To keep up to date with all the latest updates on global immigration, please subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram.