Senator Ian Gorst said that the long-awaited population policy would soon be lodged with the States and indicated it would contain radical proposals to slash immigration.
The Chief Minister said that a work permit system – which would restrict immigrants from working in the Island for longer than a set period such as two years – would be proposed, focusing in particular on restricting the number of migrant workers in lower income industries, such as hospitality and farming.
However, industry leaders have urged ministers to consult with them to ensure their staffing requirements are still met, with the president of the Jersey Hospitality Association describing the proposals as ‘not ideal’.
The proposed crackdown comes after the Council of Ministers promised earlier this year to get tough on immigration after net migration to the Island in 2015 was recorded as 1,500 – its highest ever level. Latest figures show that the population has increased by 16,000 since 2001 and now exceeds 103,000.
During a Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel hearing on Friday Senator Gorst was asked how the government intends to restrict immigration from the Common Travel Area – an area of free movement between the UK, Ireland and Crown Dependencies [Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man].
Senator Gorst said: ‘The current population policy regulates jobs and housing. Those people moving from the UK and the Common Travel Area fall within those regulations.
‘The new population policy proposes to introduce criminal record checks for people within the Common Travel Area.
‘It also proposes in certain sectors to move to introduce time-limited work permits, particularly those with lower economic value like farming and hospitality.’
If introduced, such restrictions would apply to all immigrants – not just those within the Common Travel Area – to the Island.
The Chief Minister also suggested that post-Brexit further immigration restrictions, on top of those he was proposing, could apply to EU migrants in line with UK policy.
‘I think all of this [the population policy] will need to be reviewed around what happens with Brexit,’ he said.
‘We all hope that there’s no change in the Common Travel Area. But there will be a change in the freedom of movement of people [from the EU].
‘There will then be a difference between those [migrants] who come from the Common Travel Area and those who have historically come here through freedom of movement.’
Deputy Simon Brée asked the Chief Minister why it had taken so long to produce the population policy, which was originally promised to be delivered during the summer.
Senator Gorst said that it was because population was a ‘very controversial issue’ which had caused divisions in the Council of Ministers.
‘At the Council of Ministers last week, there was quite a lot of disagreement about what we should be doing. About what the consequences of limited time permits might be or what what the effects of Brexit might be,’ he said.
Speaking after the hearing, Fiona Kerley, president of the Jersey Hospitality Association, said that the introduction of work permits was ‘not ideal’ for her industry, which relies heavily on migrant staff.
She said: ‘There’s not enough people in this Island to cover these roles. Our industry does not want to be responsible for over-population but this affects everyone as the hospitality industry affects everyone.
‘I would urge the States to consult with industry and local businesses and make sure we don’t get a depopulation situation.’
Peter Le Maistre, president of the Jersey Farmers’ Union said that they were ‘not opposed’ to the concept of work permits.
‘We had them a number of years ago and it worked very successfully. We have to be careful about what sort of permits might be brought in,’ he said.
‘They need to look after some of the longer term staff – those that work ten or 11 months of the year and maybe go back home for a month or two.
‘I don’t want to lose those people and be put into a position where we have to change them every 12 months because they only have a one year permit.’
