An internal transfer is prepared with three people
For a transfer to a foreign subsidiary to succeed, three people must be convinced: your current manager, your future manager in the host country and the human resources department that approves the arrangement. Each has different priorities. The first fears losing a team member, the second is looking for a skill, the third watches over group policy.
Start with a frank conversation with your manager, then ask them to help you identify the right contacts at the subsidiary. Avoid approaching the future department without telling them first: it often backfires. Prepare a one-page summary of your plan, your motivations, the benefit to the group and the timetable you have in mind.
Defining the host role’s responsibilities and the measures of success
A successful transfer rests on a precisely described job. Obtain the exact title, the reporting line, the scope, the teams you will lead, the objectives and the indicators you will be judged on. A role left vaguely defined at the start quickly becomes a source of misunderstanding once you are on site.
Ask for the success criteria for the first twelve months as well: expected deliverables, milestones, key contacts. Compare them with your transferable skills, distinguishing those that travel easily from those that depend on local context, such as knowledge of a market, a regulation or a client network. The future manager will appreciate this clear-sightedness.
- Title and reporting line
- Scope and team to manage
- Objectives for the first year
- Role of the parent company in follow-up
Looking at the subsidiary’s real role within the group
Subsidiaries of the same group do not all have the same function: some manufacture, others sell, and others provide shared services or research. The weight of the entity in group decisions affects your prospects, the stability of the post and the visibility of your work.
Study the group’s publications, its careers pages and the information on the target subsidiary: size, activities, current projects. Ask the future manager how the local team works with head office. If decisions are taken elsewhere, your role may be to carry them out, which is very different from a post that decides.
Local contract or keeping your original one: the central question
Depending on the group and the country, a transfer may involve a new contract with the host subsidiary, a suspension of your original contract, a secondment or another arrangement. Each has different effects on salary, social protection, taxation, notice and the right to return.
Ask which arrangement has been chosen and why, then insist on the matching documents before you decide. Put these questions: who is my legal employer, which law governs the contract, which court has jurisdiction, and what happens to my current contract? This clarification avoids discovering after arrival that your status changed without your knowing.
Length of service, benefits and family support: what can be negotiated
A shared brand does not mean the companies in the group offer the same terms. Your length of service may or may not carry over, original benefits may disappear, and leave and health cover can turn out very different. Have a comparison table drawn up between your current situation and the host offer.
For your family, ask the group about help with removals, temporary housing, children’s schooling and a spouse’s employment. Every company has its own policy, sometimes written in an internal document, sometimes left to the discretion of the department concerned. Ask what is guaranteed, what is discretionary and what is limited in time.
Residence and work permits: do not assume automatic treatment
An internal transfer does not exempt you from the host country’s formalities. Depending on the destination, there are sometimes dedicated schemes for intra-company transfers, with conditions on seniority, qualifications or function. These rules change and depend on your nationality. Consult the competent authorities of the target country and have the company specify the route it plans to use.
Ask who files the application, who pays the fees, how long the group expects it to take and what happens if the request is refused or delayed. Do not resign, end your lease or plan your departure before you have written confirmation. A departure date must follow the permits, never precede them.
Organising the move and handover without weakening your current post
Logistics begin with a shared calendar: end date in the current post, handover of files, training of a successor, scouting trip, move, arrival, first meetings. Each step depends on the others. A delay in the residence permit can push everything else back.
Plan a serious handover: up-to-date documents, key contacts, project status. Your reputation in the original team matters, because a group is a small world and your former manager may speak about you later. Keep copies of your appraisals and the objectives you met to show your new team.
Thinking about the return from the very start
Does the group have a return policy? It sometimes specifies the timescales, the type of post offered and the conditions of reinstatement. Without a written commitment, your return depends on the needs of the moment. Ask how the careers of employees who came back from a subsidiary are handled and whether there are recent examples.
Stay in touch with your original network during the assignment: regular exchanges with your former manager, attendance at internal events, updates on your achievements. Someone who vanishes for three years risks being forgotten, while a visible colleague keeps a good chance of finding a role that fits.
Frequently asked questions
Is a transfer abroad an employee’s right?
As a general rule, no. It depends on the company’s agreement, the needs of the group and the available post. Your contract or a collective agreement may contain mobility clauses, but they do not replace a specific proposal. Read the applicable documents and ask your HR department for the written rules.
Is my length of service kept in the host subsidiary?
Not automatically. Depending on the contractual arrangement and local law, it may be carried over, suspended or reset to zero. Ask for the answer in writing before accepting the transfer, together with its consequences for notice, leave, seniority bonuses and rights on termination.
Does the company pay the relocation costs?
That depends on the group’s policy and the status offered. Some companies fund transport, temporary housing or settling in, others limit themselves to a lump-sum allowance. Ask for the list of costs covered, the ceilings, the receipts expected and the repayment conditions if you leave the group soon after.
What if the work permit is refused?
Ask the company before leaving what solution is planned in that case: keeping your current post, postponement, another assignment. Keep your application documents and make no irreversible commitment until the decision is notified. A transfer subject to authorisation only starts once it has been obtained.