Exemption to '9/3' permit rules extended

Wednesday 13 October 2021

Guest workers on a '9/3' permit will be able to stay in Guernsey without spending three months outside of the island after a temporary exemption was extended until the end of 2022.

Home Affairs has made changes to Population Management policies, including the extension of two temporary policies designed to help businesses retain staff who would otherwise be due to leave the island as their employment permit expired.

The Employment Permit Extension Policy allows all roles granted under the policy to be extended from the previous maximum length of five years, to seven years. 

The current three-month break exemption allows individuals on a 9/3 pattern and approaching their three-month break to remain in Guernsey without breaking their residency pattern. 

Home has also introduced a temporary fee exemption for new arrivals coming to the island to work on a short-term employment permit. The Committee has agreed to temporarily waive these costs for employers, which are £120 per application.

Pictured: Home Affairs President Rob Prow says there is flexibility within Guernsey’s population policy, which his Committee will exercise to help employers and workers. 

Another new policy is aimed at people under the age of 18 in the Open Market who want to stay in Guernsey, but need to move out of their family home. If they have lived in Guernsey for at least eight consecutive years, Home says they can “generally expect” to be granted a permit to move into Local Market housing. 

"In taking this decision, the Committee recognises the need, wherever possible, to encourage the retention of young working-age professionals in the island," said Home Affairs President Rob Prow. "This kind of continual review and change is in keeping with the desire for the population management regime to be flexible in managing the size and make-up of the population to face the challenges of the future. 

“If possible, we want businesses to keep good quality staff who in turn want to remain in the island. Allowing employment permits to be extended up to seven years, instead of the previous maximum of five, should help.”

Pictured: Deputy Nick Moakes from the Economic Development Committee hopes the changes will make it easier for young people to return to or remain in Guernsey: “Given the island’s changing demographics, this has never been so important.”

Deputy Prow continued: “Likewise, although we have deviated from the UK’s points based system for EU nationals, we cannot influence things like the UK’s EU visa arrangements. We can control our charges for employment permits, so waiving the cost of these for new arrivals coming in on short-term employment permits should hopefully be welcome news for employers seeking to bring new staff to the island. 

“We also recognise the need to make it as easy as possible for young people to remain in the island. We know that young people brought to the island by their parents and living in the open market may want to remain here as they enter the world of work. We have decided to make a policy change to enable those young people, should they no longer be able to live with their parents in the open market, to get a permit in their own right so they can continue living in Guernsey and contributing to the economy.”