What is repatriation?
Repatriation refers to the process of an employee — and often their family — returning to their home country after completing an international assignment.
Although it might sound straightforward, it is typically one of the most complex phases of the assignment lifecycle. It involves tax, immigration, social security, payroll, and logistical aspects that must all be carefully managed.
Beyond compliance, numerous practical steps are required — such as arranging temporary accommodation, managing shipment and customs, registering residence (Anmeldung), paying the broadcast contribution (Rundfunkbeitrag/ACTBS in Germany), or reapplying for child benefits (Familienkasse Kindergeld).
💡 Did you know?
According to the KPMG Global Assignment Policies and Practices Survey (2021), up to 30% of long-term assignees (1–5 years) leave their companies within two years after returning home — often due to inadequate post-assignment support and career planning.
Why does repatriation matter?
A poorly managed repatriation can lead to significant risks for both the employee and the company, such as:
Double taxation if deregistration abroad is not completed correctly.
Incorrect residency status, potentially triggering audits, fines, or back payments.
Overstaying visas or residence permits, complicating future travel.
Gaps in social security or pension entitlements.
Payroll and reporting errors if employees are not onboarded back into home payroll on time.
Properly managing this process ensures legal compliance, avoids financial risk, and supports a smooth reintegration for the employee.
How WorkFlex supports repatriation
WorkFlex covers compliance throughout the full assignment lifecycle — from planning to return. For the repatriation phase, we provide a comprehensive checklist designed to capture every compliance and practical step involved.
Our repatriation checklist guides you through:
Deregistration abroad, including residence, tax, social security, utilities, and memberships.
Re-registration at home, such as residence registration, health insurance, and local obligations (e.g., Rundfunkbeitrag or Familienkasse for child benefits in Germany).
Practical arrangements, including temporary housing, shipment of household goods, and customs clearance.
Payroll alignment, such as switching back to home payroll and processing the final bonus or relocation allowance.
This structured approach provides HR teams and employees with full transparency and peace of mind — ensuring all compliance obligations are met and practicalities are handled smoothly.
In addition, WorkFlex’s Vendor Management Portal allows you to easily initiate and coordinate vendors for relocation, move management, and settling-in services.
Status transitions
Assignments include automated status stages to better track the repatriation process:
Start Repatriation – Automatically triggered when an assignment is approaching its end, based on a predefined time threshold.
Offboarding from host – Indicates that the repatriation process has already started.
Post-Assignment – Marks that both the assignment and all repatriation activities have been completed.
Start repatriation (end an assignment)
When an assignment is approaching its end date, WorkFlex shows a banner on the Employee requests page and the assignment moves to the Start repatriation phase. Use the Start repatriation flow to plan the employee's return.
Step 1: Open the flow
Open the assignment, click Actions and select Start repatriation.
Step 2: End assignment
Answer the questions about the end of the assignment:
What the assignee will do after the assignment ends, for example Return to home country (Repatriation), Remain in host country (Localisation) or Start a new assignment (Onward move)
The planned return-to-work date
Whether the assignee is enrolled in the host country's social security system
Whether the family size in the host country has changed
Then click Next.
Step 3: Vendor services
Select any support you need for the move back, for example cancelling work permits, school deregistration, flight booking or move-out management. Then click Start repatriation. For the services you selected, our vendor management team connects you with pre-vetted vendors within 24 hours.
Assignment not ending on the originally planned end date? You can change the end date at any time, see below.
How to change the assignment end date
You can extend or shorten an assignment by updating its details.
Open the assignment.
Click Actions and select Update assignment details.
Change the end date in the assignment details, review any other details that are affected, and submit your changes.
Update assignment details is also available after an assignment has ended, so you can still correct details later. For more on what happens to documents that are already prepared, see Edits to Submitted Assignment Requests.
Bottom line
Repatriation is a critical step in the assignment journey. With WorkFlex’s repatriation checklist, employees and HR teams gain full visibility into the return process — minimizing risks, avoiding unnecessary costs, and ensuring a seamless transition home.