What does your expatriate policy manual do for employees that are ready to pack their bags?:

Did you know the expatriate "dropout rate" for U.S. citizens going to London is no better, and in some cases worse than those going to Singapore or China. Because the culture of the U.K. is close to the U.S. this does not help the chance of success and we can explain why.

The proper expatriate employee handbook can pay dividends for mal-adjusted expats, giving them resources to international EAP or even local counseling.

U.S. Expatriate Policy Manual Issues

We are of the belief that in many respects, an expat is not an expat. In many cases U.S. Expatriates cannot be lumped in with Third Country Nationals, Local Nationals, and Global Travelers. One international policy does NOT fit all.

What are the main issues that specifically concern U.S. expatriates when setting policy and creating expatriate employee handbooks?

U.S. expatriates need to be insured by an expatriate group medical plan that is both legal and compliant in the United States as well as the host country. Medical plans must be HIPAA compliant and offer COBRA continuation of coverage for individuals or family members returning to the United States.

They require a workers compensation program that will pay work related claims both in the U.S. or in the host country. For those in the U.S. longer than a certain number of weeks per year, they may require an Rx drug card that works in U.S. pharmacies. They may be considered more of a security threat or target than other nationalities depending on where in the world they are living or traveling. This is just a partial list from only two categories!

When setting international policy and procedure one has to look at the mix of U.S. expatriates to other nationalities. Does a single "expat program" meet everyone's needs equally?

Will you treat U.S. expatriates the same as other international assignees, or differently?

The answer is "it depends." However, a company that had formed the opinion that all expatriates need to be treated the same five years ago, and is in a completely different situation today, needs to reconsider this policy. What are some of the issues to reconsider?:

Do non-U.S. expatriates (third country nationals) need access to healthcare in any country other than the host or the home country? We see companies today spend thousands giving TCNs a global medical plan that allows for care in the U.S. Is this a waste of money? In many cases, yes.

Many third country national policy manuals need to discuss offshore pension arrangments to keep non-U.S. expatriates whole for the number of years they are outside their home country regarding lost social security pension contributions.

The U.S. expatriate policy manual may be quite different than the non-U.S. expatriate handbook.