Intra‐company transfers: The government/corporate interface in the United Kingdom

Abstract

This paper explores the role of intra-company transfers in the United Kingdom government's labour immigration policy over the last quarter century. It demonstrates their role in determining the number of non-European Economic Area foreigners working in the country and examines the way policy, both generally and specifically, has developed. It presents new statistical data and uses that evidence to examine the interplay between the government and multinational corporations in the determination of a significant element of foreign labour immigration. Its findings demonstrate that intra-company transfers have consistently played a major role in the management of UK labour immigration with a small number of occupations and countries of origin characterizing the system at various times. It concludes that the system has operated through a symbiotic relationship between government and major companies to the mutual benefit of both. However, 'Brexit' and the COVID-19 pandemic are leading to reassessment of political and corporate objectives.

The community of Chinese “expat-preneurs”: understanding the challenges of doing business abroad

“…Furthermore, bridging the migration and expatriate literatures will bring to light new experiences and understandings of international mobility (Brewster et al ., 2021) as a global phenomenon. In a time of change and with an intensive increase in migration flows, exploring the diverse contours of migratory movements is of utmost urgency to national governments and international political institutions as to companies and consulting firms (Salt and Brewster, 2022).…”