Verifying that every employee has the right to work in their country of employment is an important part of our international employee onboarding process. Our comprehensive approach ensures compliance and peace of mind for everyone involved!
If you’re unsure about an employee’s right to work, simply ask the employee if they have either citizenship, permanent residency, or a work permit/visa in the country where we’re hiring them.
As part of the onboarding process, we will ask employees to verify their nationality and right to work status. Non-nationals will need to complete a right to work check. If the employee does not currently have the right to work, don’t worry! We’ll assist you in completing the necessary right to work and eligibility checks before looking into visa sponsorship.
ℹ️ Important Information
Plane verifies each employee’s right to work status to ensure compliance.
Each employee must have either citizenship, permanent residency, or a work permit/visa in their country of work.
We can provide visa support for eligible employees through our immigration partners in most countries; fees may apply.
We are constantly expanding the countries where we can provide visa support. Currently, visa support is not available in Canada, Australia, Russia, Ukraine, and the Netherlands (other than blue cards). Please reach out to support@plane.com if you have questions about visa support in a particular country.
Types of checks ✅
Right to work
A right to work check is required for non-nationals who hold a residency permit, work permit, or visa prior to onboarding with Plane. We are required to ensure the employee does not have any limitations associated with their current permit. If the employee's visa has limitations, we will review the available visa sponsorship options.
Process: Plane requests proof of right to work documentation from the company admin and employee as applicable, then sends the proof to our visa partners for review. Once our partners receive all required documents, they can start the right to work verification process.
Timeline: 1 to 2 weeks.
Eligibility Check
An eligibility check confirms whether an employee is eligible for visa sponsorship in a country. The information and documentation required may vary from country to country. The eligibility check will also analyze how likely the success of the visa application will be.
Process: Plane requests all required documentation, then sends it to our immigration partners for review. Once the company approves the fee and our immigration partners receive all required documents, they can start the eligibility check.
Timeline: 2 to 3 weeks.
☑️ Required information and documents for eligibility check
Job title and salary per annum
Detailed job description
Highest level of education, name, and type of degree
Copy of CV/resume
Copy of passport
Visa sponsorship 🎫
If an employee requires visa sponsorship in order to work in the country you’re hiring them in, we may be able to provide assistance through our visa partners.
Here’s what our visa sponsorship process looks like:
If our visa partners determine that the employee requires visa sponsorship, Plane will gather relevant documents from the employee to share with our visa partners.
If applicable, a member of the visa team will connect with the employee to start the visa application and gather additional information.
Once the employee is granted the right to work, we will be able to legally hire and pay them in their country of work.
An employee will need to provide an address in their country of sponsorship as well as their social security number, tax identification number, etc., to be fully onboarded.
Timeline: Varies from country to country. Generally, about 3 months or more upon submission of a visa application to the appropriate local authority.
Costs 💲
Please refer to the Immigration Fee Structure article for more detailed information about the cost
Frequently Asked Questions
The employee says they have the right to work. Can I hire them?
If the employee is a non-national, we will need to conduct a right to work check to verify their right to work.
Can Plane guarantee the employee’s start date?
We cannot guarantee an employee’s start date because it will depend on when the local immigration authority issues their permit or visa. Additionally, the employee must sign their employment contract and submit all of their onboarding documents prior to their start date. We can move the start day if necessary.
Can Plane guarantee the visa application will be successful?
Plane cannot guarantee whether a permit or visa application will be successful. The success of an application ultimately depends on the employee's ability to provide the correct documents and the final decision made by local immigration authorities.
The process is taking longer than expected. Why is that?
Visa processing timelines are guidelines. Delays can happen for a number of reasons, such as missing documentation, or processing delays with the local authorities.
Can I hire the employee as a contractor while we wait for their permit/visa to come through?
We do not recommend that you hire an employee as a contractor in the interim. An employee should always have the right to work in a country in order to be employed or contracted there. Additionally, contractors are responsible for their own taxes, and should the immigration authorities become aware that the employee is working without having the correct permit, it may negatively impact any future or in-progress applications for a permit or visa.
Why can you sponsor visas in some countries but not others?
In order to sponsor visas as an employer, we are required to be registered and have licenses to apply for permits and visas on behalf of employees. We use a visa partner who holds the required licenses to assist us with these applications. Our visa partner is currently expanding the list of countries where we can provide this service based on demand.
What do the fees cover?
The fees go toward a number of areas associated with visa sponsorship. These include:
Maintaining the licenses to sponsor visas
Immigration legal fees
Application fees
Fee for our immigration visa partner
Can you support permits/visas for contractors?
Permit/visa sponsorship is currently only available to full-time employees.