Updates to Jersey’s housing and employment law have been proposed to “modernise considerations of relationships and family units”, and make the island’s residency status system easier to understand.
The proposed regulations form part of the secondary legislation needed to allow the Draft Control of Housing and Work (Amendment) (Jersey) Law – which was lodged in 2022 – to come into force.
The Chief Minister’s proposals outline the criteria that islanders are required to meet in order to be eligible for a particular residential status, specify the housing categories applicable, and which housing categories each status can access.
The changes aim to “maintain existing migration controls” whilst modernising considerations of relationships and family units, providing for increased transparency in making future changes, and making the legislation easier to understand.
The proposed regulations provide a definition of an “eligible partner” to include islanders in an “enduring relationship”, as well as a marriage or civil partnership.
“An ‘enduring relationship’ is a relationship similar to a marriage or civil partnership that lasts for a continuous period of at least two years,” according to the document.
Under the proposed changes, someone with ‘Entitled For Work Only’ status would be able to occupy qualified accommodation when they live with an eligible partner who holds licensed or entitled status.
The changes also propose updating the name for the current ‘Registered’ status to ‘Standard’ status.
The move, which would not impact the ability to access properties, aims to “prevent confusion between a Registered person and Registered accommodation”.
According to Statistics Jersey, there were just over 5,000 islanders with registered status in December 2023.
The new regulations would also allow for digital solutions in supplying and demonstrating a status.
In a report accompanying the proposals, Deputy Lyndon Farnham explained that the proposed regulations “maintain a similar structure” to the existing Control of Housing and Work legislation.
“They do not remove automatic ‘graduation’ or provide time limited statuses,” he wrote, adding that the proposed changes are “more generous in some areas” and “better reflect a wider range of relationships and family units”.
Deputy Farnham said: “The draft Regulations are designed to provide a clear framework of how a person achieves a status under the Amendment Law, how a status can be lost or revoked, and the access each status gives to occupy accommodation, enter into property transactions, and to access work in Jersey.
“Overall, the existing statuses are maintained in the new Regulations, but the opportunity is taken to update some areas, simplify the structure and language of the Regulations and provide additional rights in some areas.”
The proposed Draft Control of Housing and Work (Residential and Employment Status) (Jersey) Regulations 202- can be read in full online.