Work licences removed in immigration crackdown

The removal of staff licences comes after Chief Minister Ian Gorst announced in December that tighter controls would be introduced this year after immigration soared to its highest recorded level in 2015.

And in January, ministers revealed that as part of the crackdown they would reduce the number of permits available to businesses to employ migrants.

Later this year, the States also decided to charge companies an annual fee of £50 per licence that they have for each migrant worker they employ.

The latest statistics from the Population Office show that 283 permanent registered licences have been revoked in the last six months – compared to 47 in the first six months of 2016.

Assistant Chief Minister Paul Routier said: ‘The decision to remove permanent permissions from businesses that hold more than the average for their industry, while also granting retail, agriculture and hospitality industries more seasonal work permissions, is part of a wider population policy to enhance our migration controls.

‘Unemployment is at its lowest level for more than seven years, and this does make recruitment more difficult. However, Islanders are concerned at the level of migration, which has been higher than we would like.’

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