Permits Foundation’s latest sponsor roundtable was held on 10 June. These in-person events are an opportunity for our network to get together in an informal setting, hear insightful updates from experts, learn about the Foundation’s latest and upcoming global activities, and discuss any issues where the Foundation can be of help. Our roundtables are held in different international locations, several times each year.
Permits Foundation’s London roundtable, kindly hosted at Amazon’s UK Headquarters, allowed us to bring focus to the recent UK immigration proposals. Our keynote speaker was Lord Moraes, who has an extensive background in immigration and employment, formerly as a Member of the European Parliament and currently a member of the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee Inquiry into Settlement, Citizenship and Immigration.
Permits Foundation Chair Gill Gordon gave attendees an update on the Foundation’s response to the UK Government’s settled status consultation, our advocacy work now and next, and how our collaborative approach helps to bring about tangible improvements. Gill also invited expert insights from members of our country networks – Marisa Jacobs of Xpatweb South Africa, who also sits on the government immigration advisory board and Reshma McCann of Deloitte Ireland. Gill emphasised that the employer survey we are currently running will be instrumental in our upcoming activities in India and Singapore and encouraged participants to take part in the survey which takes only 15 minutes to complete and is confidential. Access the survey here.
Taking a big-picture view from a corporate perspective, Kate Fitzpatrick of Mercer spoke on the changing face of global mobility in 2026. Kate outlined how this is bringing new challenges for business, for HR looking to strategically manage their global workforces, and for employees looking to navigate international careers.
Fittingly, as part of our 25th anniversary celebration, we then heard from one of our Founding companies. Chibueze Uduanochie of Shell shared his perspective on why supporting dual careers is not just a benefit, but a strategic imperative. With decades in the field, Chibueze has helped shape Shell’s partner employment policies while having experienced the dual-career challenge firsthand as an international assignee.
Our event was guided by Permits Foundation Board member and Fragomen Partner Julia Onslow-Cole who also moderated the insightful discussion session with plenty of views shared. While the event was held under Chatham House Rule, a clear takeaway message was the importance of reminding governments about the economic benefits of highly-skilled employees and their partners to the economy. We fully understand that individual organisations, worried about the impact of potential policy change, may prefer to voice their concerns through umbrella initiatives like Permits Foundation. Where this is the case, we encourage companies to get in touch with the team.
We left the day with appreciation for the ongoing and vital support we have received from employers for our cause and renewed resolve for continued success in countries around the world. Enabling partner employment helps companies to move talent where and when needed more easily, and enables families to integrate, contribute to the host country, and feel fulfilled in their careers. We give special thanks to Andrew Jones and Amazon for introducing our event, for providing the wonderful venue for our roundtable and for highlighting how the Foundation’s work helps to enable dual careers in the global workplace.
Take part in our employer survey here – we encourage all global mobility professionals to respond, the survey is confidential and questions that do not apply can be skipped.