Fragomen, the global immigration firm, has acquired a specialist travel technology business with strong north-east connections.

Fragomen says its acquisition of Nomadic – which provides innovative solutions for short-term travel compliance – bolsters its capabilities to meet clients’ modern-day immigration and mobility needs.

Aberdeen businessman Neil Thomson played a central role in Nomadic’s growth strategy after his city-based company The Visa Team was acquired by the technology firm in 2020. 

This latest deal positions Fragomen to leverage new technological advances to enhance business travel management, from pre-travel assessment through to visa applications – and including compliance filings in the travel destination if required. Both companies have their headquarters in New Jersey, USA.

The companies will now work together to develop service models that augment Fragomen’s in-house immigration functions – and the new proposition could deliver significant gains for oil and gas industry clients in particular.

Neil, EMEA director with Nomadic, said:
“Companies are increasingly looking for an all-in-one solution for the entire immigration compliance ecosystem and Nomadic has already proven its value in that respect.

“Our digital platform is used by oil and gas industry firms – including one with more than 50,000 staff worldwide – and we believe its application under the Fragomen umbrella is another step-change in the delivery of efficiency-led, short-term travel support.

“Its value to the energy market has become increasingly relevant. We’ve witnessed a marked rise in the volume of travel applications from Aberdeen-based oil and gas firms in recent weeks.”

Neil, who is based in Westhill, was responsible for integrating the UK and Middle East offices of The Visa Team into Nomadic and helping to elevate the market performance of the latter over the past 18 months.

The Nomadic technology effectively ensures users are ‘travel-ready’. Key features include:
•    Pre-travel compliance assessment that draws on Fragomen knowledge with data points from over 170 countries 
•    Automated filing of online applications using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and other processes to ensure a precise and accelerated process
•    Unique traveller profile that securely retains traveller history and data, removing the need to re-enter information 
•    GPS functionality, where desired, can be enabled to monitor the traveller's real-time location in the current immigration jurisdiction
•    API integration that can incorporate data in the tool into client systems and reporting tools
•    New post-pandemic travel requirements will be incorporated as jurisdictions emerge from the global health crisis
•    Regional enhancements will be released that address specific local compliance needs (including Posted Workers in Europe)

Nomadic has become part of Fragomen Technologies Inc to enable the delivery of holistic, best-in-class travel and immigration solutions. Through its Technology Innovation Lab and other programmes, Fragomen is a pioneer in the bringing advanced technologies and new thinking to the immigration sector.

Nadine Goldfoot, UK Managing Partner with Fragomen, said:
“The combination of the respective strengths of the two organisations – Fragomen’s worldwide reputation for excellence and innovation and Nomadic’s smart technology – creates an entirely new end-to-end market offering that directly addresses many of the travel-related issues facing businesses today.

“Amid challenges ranging from Covid-19 restrictions and Brexit to ever-changing immigration rules, they want confidence that their staff travel programmes are robust and efficient. Those are precisely the principles behind our work with Nomadic.”

Fragomen, a member of the Am Law 100 and Am Law Global 100, is a leading firm dedicated exclusively to immigration services worldwide. The firm has more than 4,200 immigration professionals and support staff in more than 50 offices across the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. 

Nomadic’s UK offices are in Westhill, near Aberdeen, and London. 

Fragomen and Nomadic will be hosting a webinar on the key considerations for EU-wide short-term travel and posted worker compliance. The free event takes place tomorrow (Wednesday, June 23 - 2pm-3pm). 

Pre-registration is required: 
https://pages.fragomen.com/ON2021-06-23EMEAPostedWorkersWebinar_OnlineEventRegistration.html