Mobbeal Playbook: keep your job, change your life.

Your best backend engineer just told you: "I want to live in Japan for a year, otherwise I'm leaving". You have two options. Let them go and lose them. Or find a structure that orchestrates the expatriation without breaking client billing. Mobbeal is exactly that: since 2021, we've sent 50+ talents on international mobility, with zero operational impact on any client.

The problem nobody wants to solve

A consultant who wants to live 12 months in Tokyo: visa to assemble, local portage contract, housing search, Japanese bank account opening, bilateral taxation, social security, health insurance, plane ticket, move management. That's 4 months of part-time paperwork. Most consulting firms refuse. The consultant resigns. Everyone loses.

The Mobbeal process in six steps

1. Joint decision consultant + Abbeal: country, duration, compatible client project.
2. Visa: we assemble the file. Japan HSP/Engineer (~3-4 months), Canada Francophone Mobility (~2 months).
3. Local portage: Abbeal Japan entity or structuring partnership in Canada. The consultant has a local employment contract compliant with the country's law.
4. Housing: network of partner agencies in Tokyo and Montreal, file prepared upstream, housing available D+0 on arrival.
5. Banking, social security, taxation: full checklist, support during the first two weeks on site.
6. Monthly follow-up throughout the expat duration. A local Abbeal point of contact, reachable in local hours.

Concrete cases

Grégoire, fullstack TypeScript/Rust engineer. Tokyo, 18 months. Day rate 600 euros. Engagement at a Japanese SaaS vendor sourced by Abbeal. HSP visa obtained in 3.5 months. Shibuya housing reserved before his arrival. Mizuho account opened on D+5.

Kevyn, lead data engineer Python/Spark. Montreal, 12 months. Engagement at a Québécois industrial client. Francophone Mobility visa (simplified procedure, 6 weeks). Temporary housing one month in the Plateau, then long-term lease.

Alex, ROS 2 robotics engineer. Tokyo, 6 months (short engagement at an automaker). Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa. Housing in partner sharehouse in Roppongi to optimize cost.

For the client, zero friction

The end client has no administrative change to manage. The service contract stays with Abbeal France (or the initial billing entity). The consultant keeps delivering in the same Slack team, on the same tools, with the same deliverables. The only visible change: their time zone shifts, and that's often an advantage (extended coverage, follow-the-sun support).

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# Check-list expatriation Mobbeal (vue consultant)

## J-120 : décision et lancement
- [ ] Validation projet client et durée
- [ ] Constitution dossier visa
- [ ] Pré-réservation logement

## J-30 : finalisation
- [ ] Visa obtenu (passport stamping)
- [ ] Billet avion réservé via Abbeal
- [ ] Compte bancaire local pré-ouvert (Mizuho/Desjardins)
- [ ] Assurance santé internationale activée

## J+0 à J+14 : arrivée
- [ ] Accueil aéroport par référent local
- [ ] Inscription mairie / sécu locale
- [ ] Carte SIM, NFC transport, premiers achats
- [ ] Onboarding bureaux Abbeal Tokyo/Montréal

Why it changes retention

Across the 50+ consultants who went Mobbeal since 2021, the three-year retention rate is 78%, versus 52% for the same seniority bracket in our non-Mobbeal population. It's not magic: an engineer who lived a personal dream with their employer doesn't quit the following month. And they become an ambassador.

The cost for the company (the real question)

For Abbeal, the cost of a complete Mobbeal file is around 8,000 to 14,000 euros depending on country and complexity. Compared to the replacement cost of a Staff Engineer (recruitment + ramp-up + project risk: 80,000 to 150,000 euros), ROI is unequivocal. For the client, cost is zero.

If you have consultants or employees on engagements dreaming of expatriation, and your structure doesn't know how to orchestrate it, now is exactly the time to discuss Mobbeal. Worst case: you keep your best talents without breaking your delivery.