Changes to Jersey's Control of Housing and Work Law approved

Broad changes to the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012 (the Law) were approved by the States Assembly on 30 March 2022.

The Law controls access to housing and employment in Jersey. It affects everyone who wants to live, work and employ people in the Island, regardless of their nationality.

The current system of Entitled, Entitled for Work, Registered and Licensed permissions will be replaced with long-term and short-term permissions to give the Government more control over the number of migrants receiving permission to work and live permanently in Jersey.

The existing permissions will be replaced with nine-month, four-year, 10-year and long-term permissions. The amendment will also remove the ability for a business to "recycle" a permission between employees and tighten the criminal record checks required.

The intention is to allow more responsive migration controls so that the law can align with population policy changes over time, allowing the Government to manage the flow of people into the Island.

We are now unlikely to know anything more about the proposed changes to the Law until after the election on 22 June 2022. Further legislation providing more details about the new system is expected to be developed during this year and lodged by the end of 2022. We will provide an update when those regulations become available.

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Disclaimer

This client briefing has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Ogier. The information and expressions of opinion which it contains are not intended to be a comprehensive study or to provide legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for specific advice concerning individual situations.

Regulatory information can be found under Legal Notice