Global Mobility & International Expansion
CEG handles the immigration, posting, payroll and social security requirements to ensure your team or employee can start work in another country on time. We support HR teams sending employees on international assignments and project teams deploying contractors and crews across Europe.
- 60+
- countries served
- 28+
- years of experience
- 20+
- industries
- 15+
- data centre projects globally
Where cross-border deployments go wrong
Whether transferring a specialist employee, deploying contractors to a project, or mobilising an international workforce, organisations must navigate immigration, payroll, social security and employment requirements that vary by country.
The crew arrives without paperwork
A team arrives on site, but the A1 certificates are missing and the posting notification was never filed. The site turns them away.
The permit covers the wrong country
Non-EU workers hold permits for where they live, not where they will work. They stay home while the visa is arranged.
An assignment outlives its paperwork
A two-year assignment is extended by eight months. Social security, tax and payroll are still set up for the original end date.
Payroll and tax exposure builds up unnoticed
Employees work for months in a second country without payroll registration there, and the bill arrives after the project ends.
Most of this is avoidable if the requirements are mapped before anyone travels.
What we do
CEG supports cross-border work at two levels: complete programmes for organisations moving people or mobilising project teams, and focused services for clients that need help with one specific requirement.
Programme 01
Employee mobility and international assignments
For employers transferring employees, specialists or assignees internationally. CEG coordinates the employment, immigration, payroll and social security requirements so each assignment starts correctly and remains compliant as circumstances change.
- Assignment planning and route assessment
- Immigration and work authorisation
- Payroll and social security coordination
- Extensions, role changes and early terminations
- Employer obligation and permanent establishment reviews
Clients receive a clear mobility roadmap, visibility of outstanding requirements and confidence that employees can begin work compliantly in the host country.
More detail
The programme can support a single international assignment or a wider employee mobility programme. CEG assesses the route at the outset and continues to coordinate changes that may affect the original compliance position.
Programme 02
Workforce deployment and mobilisation
For organisations that need contractors, engineers, specialists or project teams operational across borders. CEG coordinates country requirements as one workstream rather than leaving project teams to manage separate processes in every jurisdiction.
- Workforce mobilisation planning
- Contractor and specialist deployment
- Multi-country workforce coordination
- Work permit and exemption management
- Deployment-status tracking
Clients receive a coordinated mobilisation plan, visibility of country requirements and ongoing support throughout deployment.
More detail
This programme is particularly relevant where project delivery depends on specialist workers reaching the right country at the right time, including data-centre, construction, engineering and infrastructure environments.
Specific services
Core global mobility services
These services can form part of either programme above or be delivered as focused support when the requirement is already clear.
Service 01
Immigration and work authorisation
EU citizens can usually work across the EU with few formalities. Non-EU nationals often need their own permit for the country of work, so each case is checked individually.
- Work permits and exemptions
- Skilled worker and highly skilled migrant routes
- Third-country nationals working through EU employers
- Renewals and changes of employer or role
More detail
The answer depends on nationality, the countries involved and how the person is employed. A non-EU national can be lawfully employed and resident in one European country and still need separate authorisation to work in another.
For third-country nationals the route depends on the country. In Austria, for example, it can be the Red-White-Red Card, an EU Blue Card or a posting permit, and A1 eligibility is checked alongside.
CEG advises on and manages work authorisation for individuals and teams, from a single senior hire to a group of workers arriving for a project.
- Residence registration after arrival
- Right-to-work checks and documentation
Service 02
International payroll, employment and social security
Someone working abroad is subject to two sets of rules. We work out which apply to each person and set up payroll and reporting to match.
- Payroll registration in the country of work
- Shadow payroll coordination
- Social security coordination and A1 applications
- Contract review against host-country rules
More detail
Social security is normally paid in one country, and within the EU that is decided by the coordination rules and confirmed by an A1 certificate. Payroll tax may be due in the country where the work is done, and local employment law can apply as well, including minimum pay and working time.
This is the part of an assignment or deployment that finance and HR both need to get right, and that neither team usually owns.
- Permanent establishment risk from people working abroad
- Local pay, allowances and working-time requirements
Service 03
Posted workers and cross-border requirements
Sending an employee to work temporarily in another EU country usually brings a host-country notification, pay conditions and an A1 certificate. We prepare the filings and brief the employer on what applies.
- Posting notifications and tracking
- A1 certificates
- Host-country pay and conditions
- Worker documents ready for inspection
More detail
A posted worker is an employee sent by their employer to carry out temporary work in another EU country while remaining employed at home. The host country may require a notification before work starts, minimum pay and conditions may apply, and the worker generally needs an A1 certificate to show they remain covered by home-country social security.
In Austria, for example, posted workers are notified to the authorities in advance (ZKO3 for EU and EEA workers, ZKO4 for third-country nationals, including those employed through an EU entity), and each worker carries the A1, the notification confirmation, ID and wage documents for inspection. Each country has its own rules and penalties.
Case study
European data centre mobilisation
50 workers across 5 countries
CEG supported a UK-based data centre design specialist with the compliant mobilisation of professional and trade personnel across Belgium, Austria, Finland, Sweden and Germany. Each mobilisation had to meet the local immigration, social security, payroll and posted-worker rules and the client’s own platform and site-access controls. Handled separately, that would have meant five compliance processes and five sets of documentation standards.
What CEG did
- Work permit and exemption coordination
- A1 applications for cross-border social security
- Shadow payroll coordination
- Posted-worker notifications and tracking
- Document preparation for the client’s compliance platform
- Central tracking of worker status and outstanding actions across all five countries
One point of coordination
The client dealt with CEG once instead of five times.
Less rework
The route and evidence were confirmed before submissions and platform onboarding progressed.
Better visibility
Worker status, outstanding documents and country actions sat in one programme view.
Commercial continuity
The client could meet the workforce and compliance commitments in its project agreements.
Why CEG
Data centre and hyperscaler experience
We know the roles, working patterns and onboarding gates on data centre builds, and the compliance expectations and contractor controls that hyperscalers set.
Cross-border work is in our DNA
International expansion and cross-border mobility sit at the core of CEG and are some of our deepest experience, with clients served in 60+ countries over 28+ years.
Connected delivery
Permits, exemptions, A1s, shadow payroll, posting filings and platform onboarding run as one workstream.
Who we support
Data centres
Specialist electrical and mechanical crews from several countries working to a fixed build window.
Engineering and technical projects
Multi-employer programmes where each subcontractor arrives with its own workers across multiple jurisdictions.
Infrastructure and construction
Teams moving between sites and countries at short notice and in parallel.
Corporate employers
Established companies sending employees on international assignments.
Related services and specialist topics
For more granular requirements, explore the relevant service or speak to our team about the specific route, document or compliance requirement.
Service
Workforce Compliance Assurance
Contractor verification, supply chain assurance, workforce monitoring and compliance evidence for projects in the Netherlands and beyond.
View service
Immigration
Highly Skilled Migrant Visa
The Dutch residence route for skilled non-EU employees hired by a recognised sponsor.
Workforce compliance
G-account
A restricted Dutch bank account used to pay wage tax and VAT owed on subcontracted and temporary labour.
Workforce compliance
Certificate of Good Tax Behaviour
A statement of a company’s payment record with the Dutch Tax Authorities, often requested from contractors before they start.
Common questions
What is an A1 certificate?
An A1 certificate is issued by the social security authority of a worker’s home country. It confirms which country’s social security rules apply while the person works temporarily in another EU or EEA country, or Switzerland. Inspectors in the host country can ask to see it.
What is a posted worker?
A posted worker is an employee sent by their employer to work temporarily in another EU country, while still employed by the home company. Posting usually involves a notification in the host country, minimum pay and conditions there, and an A1 certificate.
Do non-EU employees need a work permit to work in another EU country?
Often they do, even when they live and work legally in one EU country. Whether a permit is needed depends on nationality, the countries involved and how the person is employed, so each case has to be checked.
How long can an employee stay in home-country social security while working abroad?
Under EU coordination rules the general limit for a posting is 24 months, and longer periods need an agreement between the authorities involved. Other countries have their own arrangements.
Tell us where your people need to work
Share the countries involved, the number of employees or contractors and the intended start date. CEG can help identify the appropriate route and coordinate the requirements involved.
Prefer to talk first? Book a call with our mobility team
Speak to an expert
Dieter Loraine
Partner, CEG
Dieter is a Partner at CEG and the public face of our Workforce Compliance work. He talks with project directors and HR teams about getting workforces deployed and compliant across European data centre and construction programmes, and he is the first person to speak to about a mobilisation.
