A new population policy won't be in place until after the next election, but the government has announced plans to overhaul the Jersey Housing and Work Law to gain more control over the number of workers who get permission to live in Jersey permanently.
It includes nine-month, four year, ten year and long-term permissions and would remove the automatic graduation of migrant workers into “entitled to work” and then “entitled” status.
The nine-month and four-year permissions would not lead to permanent residency. The ten-year permission allows workers to apply for permanent residency, while those on long-term permission does allow them to live here permanently.
If approved, the new policy will require all new applicants to declare any unspent criminal convictions.
The current law has been described as lacking effective controls and data - so a new integrated IT system has been proposed to give the government a clearer picture of the island's population issues.
The Chief Minister says this will lead to a population policy this island needs.
"These proposals do give the foundations upon which to build a population policy. If approved, for the first time we will be in a position to develop a population policy that will take into consideration all the areas of ministerial responsibility, and will be backed up by political, legal and IT structures to control the rate of net inward migration and access to permanent residency to suit the needs of current and future generations."
The number of jobs in Jersey has risen drastically since the Housing and Work Law was passed in 2013, with 61,500 recorded in December 2019.
That's combined with an estimated population-high of around 107,800.
This policy means a long-awaited population policy will not be forthcoming until between July and December 2022, following the next election.
"By coordinating our migration and immigration processes, streamlining decision-making and creating a simpler, more transparent application process, we will have the migration controls we need while keeping Jersey an attractive and welcoming place to live and work." - Deputy Rowland Huelin
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