Mirela Stoia

• Master of Law (bilingual German/French) – University of Fribourg, Switzerland (2005)

• Diploma in Hotel Administration – Glion Institute of Higher Education, Glion-sur-Montreux, Switzerland (1999)

• French High School Diploma – Valmont High School, Lausanne, Switzerland (1996)

Mirela Stoia is a senior immigration advisor with over 15 years of specialist experience in Swiss and EMEA corporate immigration. She is known for her proactive, agile and hands-on approach, and has built a distinguished career advising multinational corporations and private clients on complex immigration matters across Switzerland and beyond.

Before joining Richmond Chambers Switzerland, Mirela held senior leadership roles in leading law firms and global professional services organisations. As Director of Immigration Services at PwC Switzerland, she led a multilingual team across Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich, and acted as the principal client relationship contact for major corporate clients. Under her leadership, PwC’s Swiss immigration practice was recognised by Le Temps as one of the country’s top immigration law firms in 2017.

Mirela’s practice covers the full spectrum of Swiss corporate immigration, including work and residence permits, family reunification, short- and long-term assignments, and compliance-related matters. She has worked closely with HR and mobility teams to develop and implement tailored immigration strategies, resolve high-stakes cases, and support seamless international relocations.

In addition to her client work, Mirela has served as a lead trainer and public speaker on Swiss immigration law, delivering internal training programmes, publishing alerts, and presenting at professional seminars. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a consistent commitment to legal excellence, stakeholder engagement, and client service..

In recent years, Mirela has expanded her work into high-level international migration policy. She served as Co-Lead of the Labour Migration Portfolio and Head of Stakeholder Engagement (ad interim) at the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), where she was responsible for representing the business community in global policy discussions, including leading the business delegation at the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in Geneva in 2024. She has also worked as a Consultant at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), co-developing guidance on private sector engagement in labour mobility pathways.

Mirela is fluent in French, English and German, with additional skills in Romanian, Italian, Hungarian and Spanish.