Last month External Relations Minister Ian Gorst announced that Jersey was following the UK by introducing a ‘settled-status’ scheme, under which non-British and Irish EU nationals would need to register to retain their right to live and work here.
They would also be able to continue to bring close family members, such as spouses, children and parents, here after the post Brexit transition period ends in December 2020.
Anyone registered under the scheme, which will run online and operate from the end of the year, would be subject to stricter checks on identity, length of residency and criminal background.
During a seminar on Brexit trade held by the Jersey Export Club, External Relations director David Walwyn said that Jersey had a higher proportion of workers who would be affected than the UK.
‘Twenty-five per cent of the Jersey workforce come from 26 EU countries and aren’t UK or southern Irish nationals,’ he said.
‘That’s about 20,000 to 22,000 people. That will be one area where you as employers should encourage staff to register.’
Under the Jersey scheme, EU citizens who have lived in the Island continuously for five years would be able to apply for settled status. Those who had not lived in Jersey for five years would be able to apply for ‘pre-settled’ status, which would enable them to gain settled status when their five years had elapsed.
Mr Walwyn added that the development of Jersey’s scheme was progressing better than the UK equivalent.
‘We have got really good relations with the Home Office on these matters and again, in the background, Jersey Customs and Immigration are working on computer programmes that need to be modified to process this,’ he said.
‘We don’t anticipate any major problems. We are relying on our own systems rather than the UK ones, which are likely to be delayed.
‘We are doing very well.’
