Key Takeaways

Visa sponsorship persisted in 2020 despite challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the demand for foreign talent is expected to increase as employers seek to fill open roles and foster innovation as the economy recovers.

Visa sponsorship remained an important talent acquisition lever for employers in 2020, despite travel restrictions and an economic slowdown. Eighty-two percent of respondents in our survey said that they expect their foreign national headcount to at least remain the same over the next year (Q1025), and 59% expect it to explicitly increase, compared to 53% of respondents last year. Moreover, 71% of respondents said the widespread adoption of remote work would either not impact the number of foreign nationals they sponsor, or lead to increased sponsorship (Q5010), largely due to the still constrained domestic supply of skilled talent (Q5012).

Demand for Global Talent

Visa sponsorship persisted in 2020 despite challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the demand for foreign talent is expected to increase as employers seek to fill open roles and foster innovation as the economy recovers.

Demand for Global Talent

Visa sponsorship persisted in 2020 despite challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the demand for foreign talent is expected to increase as employers seek to fill open roles and foster innovation as the economy recovers.

Demand for Global Talent

Visa sponsorship persisted in 2020 despite challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the demand for foreign talent is expected to increase as employers seek to fill open roles and foster innovation as the economy recovers.

Demand for Global Talent

Visa sponsorship persisted in 2020 despite challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the demand for foreign talent is expected to increase as employers seek to fill open roles and foster innovation as the economy recovers.

Demand for Global Talent

Visa sponsorship persisted in 2020 despite challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the demand for foreign talent is expected to increase as employers seek to fill open roles and foster innovation as the economy recovers.

Visa sponsorship remained crucial to meeting hiring goals for employers in 2020, even with travel restrictions, the economic slowdown created by the COVID-19 pandemic and related shutdowns. Eighty-two percent of respondents in our survey said they expect their foreign national headcount to increase or remain the same over the next year. Within this group, 59% of respondents said they expect it to explicitly increase, compared to 53% of respondents last year (Figure 1).

82% of employers expect their foreign national headcount to increase or stay the same in the next year and 59% said they expect it to increase

Q: During the next year, do you expect your company’s foreign national headcount to:
Figure 1

82% of employers expect their foreign national headcount to increase of stay the same in the next year

Q: During the next year, do you expect your company’s foreign national headcount to:

Only 28% of employers surveyed indicated that remote work lead to sponsoring fewer foreign nationals for employment

Q: How do you expect the adoption of remote work to impact sponsorship levels at your organization?