Corporate Relocation & Immigration

Every relocation we've worked on comes down to the same handful of moving parts: the right permit for the right role, a spouse and kids who need their own status sorted alongside the employee's, and a household that actually works once everyone lands — somewhere to live, a bank account, a school place, cover if someone gets sick.

None of that is complicated on its own. What causes problems is when it's treated as separate jobs handled one after another by different people, so the employee is cleared to work while their family is still stuck waiting on a lease or a school response.

We manage it as one coordinated process, from the first assessment of what pathway an employee needs, through to their family settled and the household running. For companies moving one relocating executive or scaling a whole team's immigration and relocation at once.

Who This Is For

• HR and global mobility teams managing relocations for foreign directors, executives, specialists or intra-company transfers

• Companies without an in-country entity yet, relocating a first employee ahead of or alongside market entry

• Organizations relocating multiple employees at once, where consistency and sequencing across the group matters

• Individual executives and their families, where the company wants a single point of contact managing the whole household's move

Where We Add Depth

1. Work Permits & Visas, Matched to the Role

The right immigration pathway depends on the role, the individual's nationality, the length of their expected stay, and your company's structure in the country. A foreign director, a specialist hire, and a short-term intra-company transfer each typically follow different routes, with different documentation and different processing timelines — and getting the classification wrong can delay a start date or leave both the company and the individual exposed.

We assess this per employee rather than applying one template across your whole team, and manage the process from application through to approval, coordinating with your company's registration and hiring plans so no one starts working before their status allows it.

2. Dependent Passes & Family Immigration

Spouses and children moving with a relocating employee need their own documentation, handled alongside — not after — the employee's permit. We manage dependent passes as part of the same process, so a family isn't left waiting on paperwork after the employee has already started.

A detail that catches families out: a dependent pass usually covers the right to reside, not the right to work — in most of these markets, a spouse who wants to take up their own job needs a separate work permit application in their own right, not an extension of their dependent status. We flag this early rather than let it surface as a surprise once someone's settled in. Children are typically covered as dependants only up to a set age (commonly 18), after which they'd need their own status if they're staying on.

3. Pre-Move Planning

Before anyone travels, we work through role classification, realistic timelines given each country's processing patterns, and a documentation checklist tailored to the individual — so families and HR teams know what to expect and when, rather than discovering requirements as they go.

For companies relocating several employees at once, we build this into a shared timeline across the group, flagging where sequencing or resourcing needs attention so one relocation doesn't quietly delay another.

4. Settling-In Support

Once status clears, we handle the household side of the move — banking, housing, schooling and insurance — in whichever city the family is landing in. How well someone settles in their first few weeks has a real effect on how quickly they're productive at work, and on whether they and their family stay for the long term.

That's as true for a spouse finding their footing and children starting school as it is for the employee starting work, which is why we treat the whole household's settling-in as part of the job, not a set of logistics handled on the side.

5. Ongoing Compliance & Renewals

Work permits and residence permits are typically issued for a fixed period, and status can change — a promotion, a role change, a permit approaching renewal, or a family member joining later. We track this across your relocated employees and manage renewals and status changes proactively, rather than leaving HR teams to notice a lapse after the fact.

Where Relocations Actually Slip

Processing times differ enough across these four countries that a plan built around one country's experience often runs late in another. Renewal timing is the other common trap: permits are issued for a fixed period, and applying close to expiry — rather than well before it — can mean a gap in status, penalties, or in some cases a requirement to leave and re-enter. We track renewal windows proactively across your whole team rather than leaving each employee to notice their own expiry date.

The other pattern we see often: a company plans the employee's timeline and forgets the family's. If a dependent pass, a school application, or a spouse's own work authorization isn't started alongside the employee's permit, the employee can be working while their household is still in limbo — which tends to undo a lot of the goodwill a relocation package was meant to build.

East Africa Immigration at a Glance

A simplified comparison of how the main employer-sponsored route works in each market. Exact classes, fees and timelines shift as each country updates its systems, so we confirm the current position for your specific case before filing anything.

Our Process

1. Discovery We start by understanding who you're relocating, their roles and nationalities, your timeline, and whether this connects to a broader market entry or hiring plan. No recommendations at this stage — just listening.

2. Assessment We assess each individual against the immigration pathways available, and identify the route, documentation and realistic timeline for their specific situation.

3. Recommendation We come back with a clear plan per employee (and per household, where dependants are involved), including timelines and any risks worth flagging, before anything is filed.

4. Implementation We manage the full process — permits and dependent passes submitted and tracked through to approval, then housing arranged, schools confirmed and banking set up. You get regular updates from one source: us.

5. Landing & Settling Your employee and their family are in-country, documented, and set up to function — home, schooling, banking, insurance all in place.

6. Ongoing Support We continue tracking permit renewals, status changes, and support any additional relocations that follow — many clients retain us for this on an ongoing basis rather than one relocation at a time.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How long does a work permit take, and what's involved?
Work permits for foreign employees can take a few months to process and are typically issued for a fixed period with the option to renew. The exact pathway depends on the employee's role, qualifications, and your company's structure in the country. We coordinate this from start to finish, including any accompanying dependants.

Can family members move at the same time as the employee, or do they need to wait?
Where possible, we process dependent passes alongside the employee's own permit so the family isn't left waiting behind. Timing can still vary by individual case, which we'll flag early rather than assume.

We don't have a local entity yet — can you still relocate someone?
Yes, though the available pathway depends on how your company plans to operate locally. We'll work through this alongside your market entry planning if you don't yet have an entity in place.

What if the employee's role or seniority changes after they've relocated?
We track this — a change in role can affect permit status or renewal requirements, and we handle that proactively rather than waiting for it to surface as a compliance gap.

What if our plans change partway through — timing, headcount, or destination country?
They often do. We work with you as things evolve and adjust the roadmap accordingly, whether that means a delayed start date, an additional employee added to the relocation, or a change in which country someone is heading to.

What does this cost?
We charge a professional fee for our advisory and coordination work, scoped to the number of employees and the complexity of each case. Separately, there are third-party costs — government fees, legal fees, and costs like housing or insurance where relevant. We're upfront about what's included in our fee and what isn't, from our first conversation.

What happens after our employees are settled?
Many clients retain us on an ongoing basis for permit renewals, additional relocations, or planning the next phase of their team's move into East Africa.