Despite rising figures and the Channel Islands being much closer to France, historically people in the Guernsey and Jersey haven’t heard much about small boats landing in the islands.
Beyond an incident in 2016 – where it was reported that a boat of migrants had been intercepted en-route to Jersey – there has been very little in the way of reported crossings between mainland Europe and the Channel Islands.
So, does it happen?
The Guernsey Border Agency most recently said “on an annual basis the Guernsey Border Agency identify and engage with a number of individuals attempting to enter this jurisdiction who do not hold the correct immigration status”.
It said that these individuals are “identified through the checks that are conducted on both commercial air and sea traffic and also on private vessels and aircraft that visit the island”.
It’s important to note that there is a distinction to make between asylum seeks, migrants and illegal migrants. There are some people who are travelling to another country to see asylum from war and persecution, there are some who are simply migrating for work and there are others who are doing neither, and attempting to illegally enter another country undetected.
The Guernsey Border Agency said that when an illegal entrant is identified in Guernsey they are refused entry.
“By utilising our Immigration Rules, officers can seek to facilitate their safe return to the country they have arrived from or their own country of origin.”
These rules were used recently, after three illegal migrants from Albania managed to get to Guernsey from France on a private boat.
“Bailiwick Law Enforcement as a whole take any offences in this area incredibly seriously. Due to our proximity to Europe, the risk of organised crime groups seeking to facilitate illegal entrants travelling into or transiting through the Bailiwick has always been present and is a threat to the CTA.
“In order to tackle such offences we plan and prepare alongside our colleagues in the Guernsey Police and other stakeholders across the States departments. We also work very closely with neighbouring jurisdictions to monitor the likelihood and associated risk to the Bailiwick in terms of Organised Crime activity.”
The UK’s Illegal Migration Bill
A contentious piece of legislation was recently passed through the House of Lords and has recently received Royal Assent, enshrining it in law.
Getting the Illegal Migration Bill through parliament has been on of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s key priorities for his term in office, as he wants to stop small boats landing in the UK.
Now the Bill has been enacted there are ramifications for the Channel Islands and changes to legislation will need to be enacted here. It has been developed to deter unlawful migration and will seek to accomplish this in a variety of ways. The main impact would be to deny people who arrive in the UK (and the Channel Islands) citizenship – ever – if they have arrived illegally.
The President of the committee responsible for border policy in Guernsey told Express that work is being done to ensure that the Bailiwick is not used as a “back door” for entry into the UK.
“Guernsey already has immigration rules that deal with illegal migration,” said Deputy Rob Prow (Home Affairs).
“The UK’s Illegal Migration Act 2023 (‘the Act’) is part of the UK Government initiative to clamp down on people trafficking. The Act introduces new provisions on how illegal immigration and people trafficking will be managed.
“The States Assembly has already agreed the nationality parts of this Act which apply directly to Guernsey. The Committee for Home Affairs wants to ensure that the same rise in people trafficking and illegal migration seen in the UK does not happen through the Bailiwick and accordingly requested that a “Permissive Extent Clause” is included in the Act.
“The Committee is now working on proposals to extend appropriate parts of the immigration elements of the Act to the extent necessary that it will achieve this objective, protect our place in the Common Travel Area, whilst being mindful of our international obligations. We will bring these proposals to the States in due course.”
Asylum claim and refugees
According to Amnesty International an asylum seeker is someone who hasn’t been legally recognised as a refugee yet.
Guernsey recently opened its doors to people fleeing the war in Ukraine, with 24 people being granted visas to live in the island so far.
After Express sought information about how Guernsey monitors its waters, the Guernsey Border Agency explained that it has the tools to consider legitimate claims to asylum.
“We monitor both commercial services by air and sea as well as private vessels to ensure anyone seeking to enter our Bailiwick and the Common Travel Area has the right to do so.
“When we identify illegal entrants, we utilise our Immigration Rules to facilitate their safe return. We also have the legislation to consider a legitimate asylum claim.
“We work closely with a range of services across the States to plan for the management of different scenarios and work with the nearby jurisdictions to monitor the likelihood and associated risk with migrant activity.”
Recent events
Three Albanian nationals recently arrived in Guernsey illegally via private boat. Subsequently, a 25-year-old man was arrested and charged with “being knowingly concerned in facilitating the entry of illegal entrants into the Bailiwick of Guernsey”.
The Greek national will next appear in court for a remand hearing on 11 September and a committal hearing has also been pencilled in for 13 September.
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