It’s becoming easier to think of Europe as a connected hub-and-spoke mobility ecosystem rather than a patchwork of individual destinations. 

In this model, a “hub” country such as Germany or the Netherlands becomes the anchor point where non-EU professionals begin their European journey under stable visa frameworks. From there, they can move into surrounding “spoke” markets, taking on short-term projects, rotational assignments and eventually transfers across the Schengen region. 

It’s a flexible structure that mirrors how global companies already operate: one regional base, multiple points of collaboration. And it’s reshaping what global mobility can mean. 

Under the EU Blue Card, a skilled professional can start in one country and, after a year, take on new opportunities elsewhere in the region. The Intra-Corporate Transfer (ICT) Directive adds another layer of flexibility, giving multinational employers a clearer framework to move talent between offices in different countries.  

For mobility teams, that changes everything. We’re no longer just moving employees- we’re designing career corridors that allow people to enter through one hub, rotate across markets, and build the kind of regional experience that drives both business value and personal growth. 

This evolution is already underway. The Brussels region in Belgium, for example, introduced a rule this year that exempts EU Blue Card holders from needing a separate work authorization for short-term assignments if their Blue Card was issued by another Member State. 

That may sound like a small administrative change, but its implications are big. It means an engineer hired in Germany could take on a project in Belgium without restarting the visa process. Europe’s mobility framework is quietly catching up to the way global work actually happens: fluid, project-based, and regional in scope. 

 Rebuilding policies for a regional workforce

Traditional mobility policies were designed for single-country moves: one host location, one benefits package, one set of rules. The Schengen reality requires something broader- a regional mobility framework that treats Europe as a single talent zone.

Mobility teams should now be asking:

• Are our policies harmonized across Europe, or still country by country? 
• Do our visa, tax, and relocation partners operate as one network?
• Are our benefits packages designed to encourage movement or limit it?

If work becomes regional, benefits must evolve too. Leading organizations are redesigning their programs to move talent, knowledge, and innovation seamlessly across Europe. When benefits are aligned to regional goals, mobility shifts from a relocation process to a business growth strategy.

A forward-looking European package should include:

• Integrated tax and immigration: Schengen-specific guidance that helps employees and business units navigate complex cross-border requirements and maintain compliance as mobility increases. 
• Settling-in support: assistance with essentials like home finding, local registrations and healthcare to accelerate productivity from day one. 
• Language and cultural immersion: structured onboarding that builds cross-market fluency and confidence. 
• Family and partner support: career counseling, school placement, and community connection that sustain long-term engagement. 
• Assignment and repatriation planning: coordinated transitions between locations that protect business continuity and talent development. 

For global mobility leaders, the opportunity now is to create new paths- not just for where people work, but for how they build careers that connect markets and ideas across Europe.  

A data scientist starting in Berlin might join a short-term project in Amsterdam, then transition to a pan-European innovation role in Brussels, all within a unified policy ecosystem. 

To make that possible, organizations need structure behind the strategy: 

• Standardize benefits and relocation policies to ensure consistency and equity across regions. 
• Integrate immigration, tax, and relocation services under one governance model to streamline compliance and deployment. 
• Leverage data and technology to track eligibility, cost, and cross-border trends in real time. 

Europe’s competitiveness in the next decade won’t be defined by how many visas it issues, but by how easily talent can move once they arrive.

For HR and mobility leaders, this is both an operational challenge and a strategic opportunity. The infrastructure is in place- the hub countries, the legal frameworks, and early signs of regional alignment like Belgium’s Blue Card reform.

The goal is simple: make moving between Munich and Amsterdam as seamless as moving between New York and Chicago. What comes next is execution.

Sources:

https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/eu-immigration-portal/eu-blue-card_en

https://kpmg.com/xx/en/our-insights/gms-flash-alert/flash-alert-2025-154.html