Work Permit Policy: Advertising and Intra-Company Transfer: Review

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A decision made 30 October 2017:

Decision Reference: MD-HA-2017-0076
Decision Summary Title :	Review of Work Permit Policy: Advertising and Intra-Company Transfer		Date of Decision Summary:	21 August 2017
Decision Summary Author:	Director, Revenue and Immigration		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Review of Work Permit Policy: Advertising and Intra-Company Transfer		Date of Written Report:	21 August 2017
Written Report Author:	Director, Revenue and Immigration		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Review of Work Permit Policy: Advertising and Intra-Company Transfer
Decision(s): The Assistant Minister for Home Affairs decided to instruct the Director, Revenue and Immigration to amend the Jersey Work Permit Policy to clarify when the advertising requirement is waived and to set out eligibility criteria for intra-company transfers
Reason(s) for Decision: This decision is the outcome of a review of the current work permit policy as detailed in the attached report
Resource and Financial Implications: None
Action required: The Director, Revenue and Immigration, to arrange for the Jersey Work Permit Policy to be amended accordingly
Signature:		Position:
Date signed:		Date of Decision (if different from Date Signed):

Work Permit Policy: Advertising and Intra-Company Transfer: Review

Community and Constitutional Affairs

Customs and Immigration

To: Assistant Minister for Home Affairs

Submitted by: Director, Revenue and Immigration

Date: 21 August 2017

Subject: Review of Work Permit Policy: Advertising and Intra-Company Transfer

Introduction

The United Kingdom Immigration Act 1971, as extended to Jersey by the Immigration (Jersey) Order 1993 [1], allows the Minister for Home Affairs to make rules to regulate the employment in the Island of persons not having the right of abode. In essence, these are persons of non-European Economic Area nationality who are subject to work permit restrictions.

Permits are issued to employers when they meet the requirements of the Immigration (Work) (Permits) (Jersey) Rules 1995 [2], which are made by the Minister for Home Affairs and administered by the Customs and Immigration Service.

Need for a Review

Advertising

Under the current work permit policy when an employer wishes to extend the employment of an employee the normal qualifying criteria, including advertising the position, will have to be met if the application is to succeed.

The opportunity has been taken to look at the practice followed by the Home Office with regard to advertising in the equivalent employment category in the United Kingdom, when an application is made by an employer for their employee to continue to work for them in the same role. The Home Office has confirmed that in these circumstances advertising is waived because employers have already demonstrated that they have been unable to fill the job from within the resident workforce.

Also to clarify that the advertising requirement for short term entertainers, short term specialist workers and intra-company transfers is waived because they are not intending to base themselves in Jersey and do not pose a threat to the resident workforce.

Intra-Company Transfer

Work permits are currently issued for employees from the same organisation outside of Jersey who have been temporarily transferred (secondment) because of company-specific knowledge to undertake project work or for career development. In order to provide clear guidance for employers, in all sectors, the following requirements will have to be met before granting permission to take employment on the basis of an intra-company transfer:

The intra-company transferee must have been working for the same company outside of Jersey for at least 12 months directly prior to the transfer

The company in Jersey and the company outside of Jersey must be linked by common ownership and control

The employment must require company-specific knowledge to undertake project work or for career development purposes

The intra-company transferee cannot move into other work permit employment in Jersey

The intra-company transferee will resume employment for the same company outside of Jersey at the end of the transfer period

The intra-company transferee cannot return to Jersey in this capacity unless there has been an absence of at least 12 months

The maximum period for which a work permit can be applied for on the basis of an intra-company transfer is 3 years.

The advertising requirement and the minimum earnings threshold for the intra-company transfer category are waived.

Recommendation

Advertising

The Assistant Minister for Home Affairs agrees to align the policy with the United Kingdom and waives the advertising requirement when employers submit work permit applications to extend the employment of their employee to continue to work for them in the same role. Also to clarify that the advertising requirement does not apply to applications for short term entertainers, short term specialist workers and intra-company transfers.

Intra-Company Transfer

The Assistant Minister for Home Affairs agrees to the eligibility criteria for intra-company transfers to be incorporated in the Jersey Work Permit Policy.

This will update the existing policy and align matters to the UK requirements.

Mark Cockerham

Director - Revenue and Immigration 21 August 2017

[1] Immigration (Jersey) Order 1993 https://www.jerseylaw.je/laws/revised/PDFs/21.700.pdf

[2] Immigration (Work Permits) (Jersey) Rules 1995 https://www.jerseylaw.je/laws/revised/PDFs/21.700.75.pdf