Aon’s 2025 International People Mobility Report heard from over 360 human resources leaders in 49 countries, representing 16 industry sectors. This included human resources executives, global mobility managers, and risk/insurance managers, with the aim of better understanding their key challenges as they work to support their international colleagues. Equipped with the added insight from our industry-leading mobility teams, this report offers invaluable information on how strategies can evolve to navigate the complex landscape of international mobility.
The report highlighted eight key trends across international people mobility in the last year:
1. Regulatory changes and compliance: As global mobility increases, compliance with local laws, tax implications, immigration rules and labor regulations become more complex, necessitating expert legal guidance. Companies should stay agile to adapt to changing immigration policies that can impact international assignments.
2. Data analytics: Companies are leveraging data analytics to make informed decisions about talent management and relocation strategies. This includes focusing on cost containment, benchmarking, policies, benefits, insurance and services that contribute to the health, wellbeing and safety of their international mobile staff. This increased use of data analytics also informs the use of technology and safe travel tools (e.g., pre trip advice and travel tracking).
3. Geopolitical and economic developments: The unrest in different regions, global tariffs and high inflation (especially on medical expenses) have all made cost containment an increasingly important area of focus for employers. The changing global environment could also lead to new collaborations and opportunities between countries, markets and regions, which could also have an impact on global mobility.
4. Greater interest but fewer opportunities: Employers would like to offer remote work mainly to attract and engage international talent. We also see that certain countries are introducing visas tailored for remote workers, facilitating easier relocation and stimulating work across borders. At the same time, we are seeing a reduced number of employers permitting ‘workcations’. This is likely due to the complicated compliance and regulations associated with this benefit.
5. Support systems: Companies are providing enhanced support structures such as relocation assistance, cultural training, (preventive) assessments and mental health resources as standard benefits. Technological developments and artificial intelligence (AI) are providing new types of services such as online doctors, physical therapists, mental wellbeing support and proactive security alerts. These all contribute to the employer creating a safe and healthy place to work.
6. Personalised mobility programs: Companies are increasingly customising their mobility offerings to meet the personal needs and preferences of employees and their dependents, ensuring a smoother transition to their new location, better integration and successful assignments.
7. Sustainability and corporate responsibility: There is an increased focus on making relocations more environmentally sustainable, with companies exploring eco-friendly travel options and reducing carbon footprints. Employers are upgrading their mobility strategies, emphasising ethical practices and community engagement in host locations. This focus has led to greater consistency and equity concerning benefits and services that contribute to the health, wellbeing, safety and engagement of staff.
8. Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives: Organisations are focusing on diversity in their expatriate programs to eliminate biases in selecting candidates and to ensure equitable access to global opportunities for employees from various geographies, roles and levels.
Employee safety the top priority across business travel
Concerning business travellers (defined as those that may travel for up to six months as part of their work, whether domestic or internationally), the number one challenge for respondents for the second consecutive year is employee safety and wellbeing, at 45 percent of respondents. Cost containment was ranked the second highest challenge, while compliance with regulations rounded out the top three.
The survey made clear that, while only a small percentage (18 percent) are travelling to high-risk locations, 35 percent of respondents indicate that it is not clear what constitutes a high-risk location. This presents a risk to employees around coverage: without clearer guidance, companies may unknowingly put employees at risk. Effective risk management strategies remain important to successfully uphold employers’ duty of care, protecting employee health, safety and wellbeing while travelling.
However, there remains a clear opportunity for organisations to go further to meet the needs of their workforce. 45 percent of respondents stated that they support safe travel measures, while 28 percent provide globally accessible wellbeing facilities to employees. Offering such initiatives plays a key role in organisations’ social strategies, protecting their staff while they travel.
Offering tax and social security advice to remote workers is a key challenge
54 percent of respondents noted that their ability to provide accurate advice to remote working employees around social security and taxes was a challenge for their business, while offering immigration advice was the second highest noted challenge, at 23 percent of respondents.
Interestingly, 38 percent of all employers offer no benefits, insurance or services that contribute to risk mitigation, wellbeing or safety while permitting remote working. Of those that do offer benefits to these employees, health insurance plans (33 percent), business travel insurance (31 percent) and life insurance plans (21 percent) were the most common. In particular, we noted that organisations commonly assume that business travel insurance will cover voluntary travel for remote work when it generally will not unless specifically agreed.
International health insurance rises to most commonly offered benefit to international assignees
For international assignees (representing less than 10 percent of the workforce for 84 percent of respondents), international health insurance rose to the top valued benefit in this year’s survey. The most common purposes for initiating international assignments relate to “management/leadership” and “technical/expertise”, highlighting ongoing global challenges around talent recruitment.
We have seen that employee assistance programmes (EAPs) are becoming a more common feature of benefits and services offered to international assignees, with 54 percent of respondents stating they have EAPs in place. Providing mental wellbeing support to an employee and their family pre-, during and post-assignment to assist with the added pressure and success of an assignment is essential.
You can access the full report here.
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This document has been compiled using information available to us up to its date of publication and is subject to any qualifications made in the document. This article has been compiled using information available to us up to 2025. Aon UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 00210725. Registered Office: The Aon Centre, The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, London EC3V 4AN. Tel: 020 7623 5500.
About the author
Linda has over 30 years’ experience in the Employee Benefits market covering International Medical Insurance, International Group Risk, Business Travel, Global Employee Assistance Programmes and associated global programmes such as Virtual physiotherapy and Family Building programmes.
Linda has been at Aon for over 13 years having previously worked at both a medical insurer and other consulting firms.
Linda leads the Global Mobility practice at Aon with a network across the globe, including four hubs in UK, US, Singapore and Dubai. The network covers strategic consulting to placement of International Employee Benefits plans for clients
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