The latest statistics from Jersey's Population Office show that new measures to reduce the number of employment permissions for newer migrants have led to 283 permanent registered permissions being revoked in the past six months. This compares with 47 such permissions revoked in the first six months of 2016.
The figures also show that in the past six months 161 seasonal permissions have been granted for recent migrants. This reflects the government’s continued support for the traditional industries of hospitality and agriculture.
The sectors that hold the most registered permissions are hospitality, agriculture and fishing, and financial and legal.
The new measures were announced in January as part of an initiative to focus migration on delivering the greatest social and economic value, and to allocate permissions more fairly across businesses.
Assistant Chief Minister, Senator Paul Routier (pictured), 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.”
This year has seen a drop in the number of newly arrived people applying for registration cards. The number for the first six months of 2017 is 16 per cent, down on the same time last year from 1,902 to 1,595. These figures are for new registrations and exclude Jersey born people and resident under-18s registering for the first time.
A draft Population Policy is being finalised, which will continue to enhance migration controls. As well as the work already begun on removing permissions, increasing fees and investing in skills, the policy explores the selective use of work permits, criminal record checks for all new migrants, and photographs on new registration cards.
The States Assembly is due to debate the policy in the autumn.