For years, the government has failed to hit net inward migration targets – set at 325 people per year – and criticism has been levelled at the States for failing to control the population.
Today Chief Minister Ian Gorst formally put forward a series of proposals to control population growth.
Among the measures is a work permit system for low-skilled and low-paid immigrant workers.
Under the system firms would be granted permits to employ seasonal or temporary workers for up to ten months.
Permits for up to four years would also be available if the work was year-round. When the four-year period expires, the worker would have no rights to work in the Island unless the firm could justify a significant need.
Outlining the proposal, Senator Gorst said: ‘The short-term work permits means seasonal staff can come without creating an entitlement to long-term benefits.
‘We are creating work permits so those sectors, such as agriculture and hospitality, can meet their staff requirements without it creating the long-term infrastructure issues.
‘Also there is a more intermediate one for four years so people can come and don’t tip over into the five-year bracket [for residency].’
He argued that this would mean a long-term reduction in overall population levels and would reduce the economic impact of people settling and retiring in the Island.
‘It is about trying to manage the long-term resources of the Island in a sustainable way,’ he said.
Senator Gorst added that it was important to ensure that the requirements for highly skilled staff could still be met by the proposed new policy.
He said employees in the digital and finance sectors would continue to be able to apply for licences in the same way, while socially beneficial staff, such as teachers and medical professionals, would still be granted licences.
The proposition will ask States Members to agree that annual net immigration for the next 20 years should be lower on average than it has been since 2001. The average inward migration levels since 2001 are estimated to be a little over 700.
Senator Gorst said that the States were working with large employers, particularly in finance, to employ local staff rather than bring in employees from outside the Island.
He said: ‘We know in the future we are going to need to have the right skills for the changing economy.
‘Brexit is a driving force. The UK government are still working towards Brexit and we do need to get on and start having some of those levers in place so that we can start using them post-Brexit.
‘These areas have also been talked about by the UK. We have been joining with them in that thinking.
‘Nothing that we are proposing here would be at odds with the thinking they are currently doing.’
Senator Gorst said he hoped to be able to debate the proposals in the States by March.
