Global careers don’t need a visa anymore

For years, the global career playbook looked the same, get a visa, move countries, build a life overseas. Today, that script is being quietly rewritten.

“Global careers haven’t become less attractive, they’ve become less linear,” says Sashi Kumar, Managing Director, Indeed India. “What we’re seeing is a shift from ‘move first, build later’ to ‘prepare first, move later or not at all’.”

According to an Indeed report, 61% of Indian professionals now prefer global remote roles over relocating, while 49% would stay back if visa pathways don’t work out — though 44% still aspire to international careers.

Visa dream isn’t as simple anymore

What’s driving this shift is not just opportunity, but uncertainty.

With over 35 million Indians living overseas and a dominant share of US H-1B visas, confidence in navigating visa systems remains low. Indeed’s data shows only 15% of professionals clearly understand visa rules.

For early- and mid-career professionals, that uncertainty is a deal-breaker.

So instead of waiting, they’re recalibrating. Indeed notes that working on international projects from India is now the most preferred route to global exposure, ranking higher than overseas education or short-term assignments. At the same time, 39% of professionals are actively upskilling, often without expecting immediate relocation.

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Real shift is happening inside companies

This is more than individual choice, it’s a structural shift in companies.

“This is not a short-term response to visa pressures, nor is it driven by cost or macroeconomic conditions,” says Karthik Padmanabhan, Managing Partner at Zinnov. “It is an early signal of a deeper structural shift in how global enterprises are organising work, leadership, and ownership.”

The biggest driver? The Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India.

“GCCs were never set up as cost arbitrage engines alone,” he explains. “They were designed to leverage deep local talent and technology expertise to create value for the global enterprise.”

Simply put, India is no longer just executing global work, it’s owning it.

“A growing number of GCCs in India have moved from executing global mandates to owning them,” he says. 
Leaders here are running enterprise-wide functions, products, and transformation programmes, managing global vendor ecosystems and decision-making forums.

“Global careers are being built through ownership of global charters anchored in GCCs, rather than through movement to headquarters,” Padmanabhan adds. “Visa regimes may accelerate this transition, but they are not the cause.”

He points out that the real drivers run deeper, “Capability density, digital operating models, and the need for distributed innovation at scale.” The more relevant question now is not where talent is located, but where global ownership and decision-making authority sit.

“Global roles from India are not emerging, they are already operating at scale. Zinnov tracks over 6,500 such roles where leaders based in India hold enterprise-wide mandates across products, platforms, and transformation.”

What’s changing is not just the number of roles but their depth and spread, he adds.

Leaders are moving beyond single functions, owning end-to-end products, leading cross-market transformations, and driving global charters from India. These roles are no longer limited to the top.

Global roles are now embedded two to three levels below leadership, making them more systemic and scalable.

In areas like AI and data, mandates are increasingly anchored out of India.

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“As this model evolves, progression is becoming more outcome-led than location-led,” he says, reflecting a broader shift in how global leadership itself is being built.

Companies redesigning careers

Career growth today cannot only be linear or bound by geography, says Reshma Parida, Head of People Experience, Pfizer India.

“At Pfizer, we recognise that meaningful growth often happens through zig-zag journeys across functions, markets and capabilities.”

And it’s not just talk.

“Today, 600+ colleagues in India are in ‘above market’ or ‘above country’ roles and are integral members of global teams,” she says, across R&D, technology, manufacturing, and people functions.

“Many of these roles don’t require relocation. We enable global opportunities through mobility or from home,” Parida explains, adding that they ensure exposure while sustaining career growth.

Companies are also rethinking how careers are built.

“Through initiatives like Growth Gigs and project-based opportunities, colleagues can upskill and explore adjacent paths,” she adds. “We’ve also introduced AI-enabled talent marketplaces to match skills with opportunities across markets.”