The FIFA World Cup returns this summer, and with a reported 3.5 billion football (or soccer!) fans worldwide we can expect to see people travel from all corners of the globe to watch the 48-team event unfold.

Yet, while an exciting time for many, we can also expect to see disruption to immigration processing timelines, housing options, and traffic ahead of and during the competition.

With just over five months to go, it’s time to start preparing your team of assignees ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

When and where is the next FIFA World Cup?

The tournament runs from 11 June – 19 July, with matches being hosted in sixteen cities across three countries in North America:

 COUNTRY

CITIES
USA Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle
Canada Toronto, Vancouver
Mexico Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey

What areas of global mobility will be impacted?

Immigration

Visitors traveling from a Visa Waiver Program country will need to travel under a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). That means that many international fans will need to apply for a B1/B2 visitor visa.

Those who have match tickets can apply using the FIFA Pass for prioritized appointments. The process involves attending an interview and fans are advised to apply early. The plan is to expedite processing these applications which will likely elongate the processing time for all other visa types.

Housing

Inventory will be lower than usual, and costs will be higher in host cities.

One of our service partners in the USA say they are already seeing price increases from 30% to 150%, stricter booking conditions, and low availability in June and July. They recommend planning and booking early.

Additionally, another of our USA-based service partners cautions that people should be particularly vigilant about housing scams. If the Qatar FIFA World Cup in 2022 taught us anything, these large international events are a prime target for fraudsters – the volume of malicious emails with the intention of financial fraud doubled across the Gulf countries during the previous competition.

Consequently, our service partner suggests looking out for things that seem unusual, such as:

  • Property photos that look too “clean”
  • Property photos that do not match the description
  • Listings that have zero reviews
  • Landlords that request payment outside of an official payment system
  • Pressure tactics like “book now or you’ll lose out”
  • Landlords that do not answer questions properly or are vague
  • Pricing that is well below other similar listings

Air and Road Travel

A third service partner advises that airports and cities will be more congested than usual likely causing travel delays for assignees – and possibly elevated travel costs.

Again, if we take the 2022 competition as an example, routes to Doha saw airline fares skyrocket by 300% or more for dates throughout the tournament. While North America may not quite see these extremities due to its larger capacity and multiple host cities, presume to see some inflation on travel costs.

Our service partner recommends avoiding travel during the competition where possible. That’s not just the actual relocation, but the likes of home finding trips and school searches, too!

Advice and how we can help

In short, guidance to clients and customers is to plan early … and pack some patience!

If you’re looking for help navigate these challenges as you look to move employees around the world:

Contact us here