Support employers and displaced talent to plan for successful relocation, settlement and integration
When a displaced person relocates through a refugee resettlement program, they are often entitled to a series of government-funded benefits and supports that recognize their unique circumstances. When displaced people move instead as workers, the benefits they access will vary widely by destination country. Governments can include settlement services in the design of labour mobility pathways as encouraged by the guiding principles and recommended attributes of refugee labour mobility pathways. In countries where displaced people have access to fewer benefits, organizations and employers can collaborate to ensure that the support individuals and families need to thrive is still provided. The goal is to make the relocation process for a displaced person and their family as smooth as possible while setting them up for long-term success in their new job and country.
This article refers to the plan to assist a displaced worker and their family as a “settlement plan.” Some countries may refer to this by a different name such as an integration plan.
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Creating a settlement plan
Settlement planning can begin even before a visa application is approved. In many cases, it makes sense to begin preliminary research, relationship building, and conversations about relocation and settlement during the visa processing period. Beginning the planning process as early as possible can help minimize delays if and when a visa is ultimately granted. If settlement planning is begun before a visa is officially approved, it is important to manage employer and visa applicant expectations.
Different visas entitle their recipients to different kinds of public services. Every country also has a different ecosystem of settlement service providers and available services for newcomers. Some countries will also have well-established communities of private sponsors who are well-equipped to support newcomers’ integration. Part of a successful settlement plan will include researching the stipulations of the visa as well as available services in the destination country to which a displaced person is moving to tailor the plan to a family’s particular circumstances.
See resources for relocation, settlement and integration of displaced talent for country-specific settlement plans and resources.
A comprehensive settlement plan could include the following:
Before departure
| Task | Notes |
|---|---|
| Establish relevant contacts | Options include taxis, rides from friends or family members, or a managing organization. |
| Arrange flights | Consider departure and arrival dates, as well as layovers. Visit our article on addressing barriers to exit for more information. |
| Arrange exit plans | Since exit arrangements may take time, plan ahead for securing needed permits and paying any required fees or fines. Visit our article on barriers to exit for more information. |
| Arrange airport pick-up and transit to lodging | Arrange transit to the airport |
| Arrange airport pick up and transit to lodging | Employers and managing organizations often welcome people when they arrive at the airport and transfer them to their temporary lodging. |
| Arrange transitional housing | Ensuring a family has basic, culturally appropriate food supplies for a few days after a long flight is a small gesture that goes a long way toward supporting a smooth transition. |
| Stock the fridge | Ensuring a family has basic, culturally appropriate food supplies for a few days after a long flight is a small gesture that goes a long way towards supporting a smooth transition. |
| Agree on a work start date | Settling into a new country has many upfront costs – for example, security deposits or first and last month’s rent. Displaced people may have little or no savings available to cover these costs in the short term. A pay advance or sign-on bonus from an employer can help cover start-up costs before they have begun to receive their salary. As candidates generally will not have a bank account when they arrive, prepaid cards might be helpful in sharing the funds with the new employee. |
| Plan for healthcare coverage | Requirements and options will vary significantly by country, but it is important to ensure families will have appropriate healthcare coverage upon arrival in the country. |
| Consider a pay advance | Many national and subnational governments have orientation materials for newcomers available online. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) also has a long history of providing pre-departure orientation to refugees and migrants. Orientations can help set realistic expectations and answer outstanding questions about the destination country, including laws, rights of the new employee, work culture and other aspects. |
| Deliver pre-departure orientation | Many displaced people who have moved for international work report that language comprehension was among their greatest challenges upon arrival. Displaced people can make full use of protracted visa processing times to improve their language skills. Employers can also provide skills-building materials which may help employees prepare to excel on the job. If the employee is relocating with dependents, they might also benefit from language classes to prepare for their new life. See article on language resources. |
| Build language and job skills | Many displaced people who have moved for international work report that language comprehension was among their greatest challenges upon arrival. Displaced people can make full use of protracted visa processing times to improve their language skills. Employers can also provide skills building materials which may help employees prepare to excel on the job. If the employee is relocating with dependents, they might also benefit from language classes to prepare for their new life. See article on language resources. |
| Establish ties to local settlement service providers | Many countries and communities have a robust ecosystem of service providers that specialize in supporting newcomers to navigate their new communities. This includes professional settlement organizations and community and private sponsorship groups and their associations. These service providers can be particularly helpful with supporting families to enroll children in childcare or school, understanding their entitlements to benefits, linking spouses to further education or employment opportunities, and providing ongoing case management as challenges arise. There are a few models to establish ties with settlement service providers depending on the local infrastructure: 1-Business contracts settlement provider directly on advice/recommendation from managing organizations. 2- Business contracts managing organization, managing organization, then contracts settlement provider 3. Managing organizations partner with settlement providers to deliver services (paid by third parties such as the government). In practice, different models can be used in combination. |
After arrival: community orientation
| Task | Notes |
|---|---|
| Purchase phone and/or SIM | Develop a plan to make sure the new arrival can easily be in touch with their employer, other organizations, and family back home. Often candidates already have a working phone handset but may need assistance or access to funds to purchase a SIM. |
| Enroll in banking | In their early days in the country, people may need to fill out official paperwork to establish official residency, begin the process of securing IDs, enroll in taxation programs, or other country-specific requirements. An organization well-versed in the destination country’s administrative and bureaucratic systems can help families take all the necessary steps. |
| Orientation to community | Make a plan to walk the new arrival through the basics of navigating their new community – public transit options, grocery stores and shopping options, post offices, police offices, schools, places of religious worship, community centers, libraries, doctor’s offices, etc. |
| Complete essential government registrations | Planning to bring the remaining family. |
| Support search for long-term housing | Securing suitable long-term housing is a high priority for new arrivals. Individuals and groups familiar with the local housing market can help explain what the family should expect, and help with identifying housing options. |
| Orientation to financial and legal systems | Building on any pre-departure orientation, employers and organizations can take concrete steps to brief newcomers on their rights and responsibilities in the destination country, as well as cultural, legal, and financial norms. Financial systems in particular, are often unfamiliar and newcomers may benefit from referrals to further opportunities to build their financial literacy. |
| Links to community | Newcomers can feel more at home when they are connected to relevant diaspora or religious communities. Their supporters can help by pointing them towards relevant community organizations. |
| Plan for transition of legal status | Building on any pre-departure orientation, employers and organizations can take concrete steps to brief newcomers on their rights and responsibilities in the destination country, as well as cultural, legal, and financial norms. Financial systems in particular, are often unfamiliar, and newcomers may benefit from referrals to further opportunities to build their financial literacy. |
| Planning to bring remaining family | Many displaced people who relocate as workers have a long-term goal of securing citizenship in their new destination country. Some are arriving on temporary visas and seek to transition their status to permanent residency. Organizations can help them understand the process involved in transitioning status and connect them to appropriate legal services providers. |
After arrival: workplace orientation
It is recommended that the employers start planning for orientation activities before candidates relocate.
| Task | Notes |
|---|---|
| Employers can support their new employees in filling out necessary paperwork to get integrated into workplace systems and receive their first paychecks, taking time to explain unfamiliar requirements. | Employers can set their current employees up for success by undertaking their own education about how to create a supportive and inclusive workplace, particularly for displaced people or people from different cultural or religious backgrounds than much staff or leadership. This kind of training may be available from local refugee-led organizations or organizations that support domestic refugee employment. |
| Complete necessary paperwork | Like any new recruit, employers need an onboarding process that sets them up for success, including essential training and office orientation. This is especially the case for candidates who have been, until very recently displaced and are working in a completely new cultural and professional environment. |
| Plan a structured onboarding | Employers can support their new employees in filling out the necessary paperwork to get integrated into workplace systems and receive their first paychecks, taking time to explain unfamiliar requirements. |
| Provide flexibility during the onboarding period | This phase is when new recruits will be simultaneously setting up their new lives, finding permanent accommodation and schooling for their children, and dealing with a major life change. Many employers are willing to provide flexibility during this period to accommodate the needs of their newly arrived recruits and minimize the initial transition shock. This includes working part-time hours or flexibility to change working hours to accommodate housing inspections, etc. |
| Assign a buddy | A designated colleague who can be a ‘buddy’ is a different type of support than supervisors and managers can provide. A buddy is a peer who can also provide informal guidance on the workplace culture, introductions to other colleagues, and in general, serve as more of a friend. |
After arrival: ongoing
| Task | Notes |
|---|---|
| Regular check-ins | As a newcomer settles in, employers and organizations can work together to support them to thrive on the job. Both employers and managing organizations should develop separate check-ins with the employee to keep lines of communication open and respond proactively to challenges. These check-ins are also an opportunity to conduct surveys as part of comprehensive monitoring and evaluation. |
Confirming roles, responsibilities, and cost coverage
A settlement plan is often developed with close coordination between an employee, an employer, a managing organization, and, if appropriate, a settlement services provider or private sponsor group in the destination country. It is important to clearly establish roles and responsibilities early and to maintain open lines of communication.
Typically, employers will play a leading role in offering a standard relocation package to their new employees alongside a benefits package. Larger employers tend to offer more standardized, comprehensive packages, whereas smaller employers may not have a standard package.
Managing organizations and settlement service providers can help educate employers about the unique circumstances their new employees may face because of their displacement and support them in building out a plan that meets all relevant needs.
Many steps in the settlement process, both before departure and after arrival, cost money. For considerations on cost coverage, visit our article on financing displaced talent mobility.
Re-setting expectations prior to departure
Often the organization that supported a displaced person through the recruitment and visa application phase in their host country will be different than the organization that is going to be responsible for supporting them in the destination country. Organizations can make the transition as smooth as possible for displaced talent by re-setting expectations about what organizations will be supporting them and in exactly what manner.
Organizations can also build on pre-departure materials to help set realistic expectations about the challenges involved in relocating to a new country. This could include reviewing the information covered in the informed decision-making process, particularly around cost of living. It is also a chance to address any misconceptions people have about their destination country that may be perpetuated by media, rumors or other misinformation.
Visit our article on managing expectations for more information.
Supporting spouses throughout settlement
When families move via displaced talent mobility, it is often the case that one spouse has secured a job, and the other spouse and any children move as their dependents. Managing organizations and settlement service providers should pay special attention to the experiences of spouses, which are often markedly different from those of the primary applicant who secured the job.
Shortly after arrival in the new country, the spouse who has secured a job is integrated into a workplace where they quickly establish new social ties, improve their language skills, and earn an income. A spouse without employment can be left more socially isolated in an unfamiliar place and face heightened responsibility to navigate settlement and family responsibilities. The spouse’s language skills may be less strong, and they may feel urgency to begin earning an income to complement their partner’s. Because the family has moved as workers rather than as refugees, they may also have limited access to things like subsidized language classes or childcare which could improve the spouse’s experience.
Managing organizations and settlement service providers can support the spouse and children specifically by:
- Making a special effort to connect the spouse to existing community, diaspora, or religious groups to reduce their social isolation
- Supporting them to connect with affordable childcare options
- Providing briefings on the educational system to support the enrolment of children in school
- Supporting them to connect with affordable language training options
- Supporting them to connect to affordable further education opportunities
- Conducting check-ins with them as well as the primary applicant
- Supporting their job search in the local labor market
- Supporting them in connecting with other spouses in similar situations, particularly those from a similar cultural background, as a support network.
Being responsive to mental and emotional health challenges during settlement
Relocating to a new country can be a major stressor for migrants of all kinds, who may experience culture shock, feelings of withdrawal, fatigue, or isolation. The distance from family and traditional support systems can leave people feeling unmoored, lonely, or guilty for missing out on important events in the lives of their loved ones. Settlement plans are an opportunity to ensure people are as prepared as possible to navigate the incredible challenge of international migration.
For people who have been displaced, relocation to a new country is often seen as the endpoint of a long and difficult journey. Often people are excited and enthusiastic in the months immediately after relocation, but as the realities of life in a new country settle in, people might begin to experience mental health challenges. Many people face adverse experiences during their displacement – whether exposure to violence, torture, or other kinds of trauma – but have little to no access to supportive care during their displacement.
Managing organizations, employers and settlement service providers can act early and often to normalize or destigmatize access to mental health services. They can provide comprehensive and accessible information about different options to connect to culturally appropriate and skilled mental health service providers. Taking steps to support people to build community and to settle into safe and stable environments can also support their well-being.
Gathering information for monitoring and evaluation purposes
To understand the impact that moving for work has on the lives of displaced people and their families, it is important to gather “pre-departure” information about the worker’s living situation that can later be compared to “post-arrival” information. Visit our article on monitoring and evaluating displaced talent mobility programs for more information.
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