The Chief Minister has defended the island’s high-value residency scheme in the face of a States Member’s criticism.
Deputy Lyndon Farnham faced questions in the States Assembly this morning and launched a robust defence on how the scheme had operated since being introduced in the 1970s.
Having this week lodged a proposition seeking a tighter limit on the number of applicants for high-value residency given approval to move to Jersey, Deputy Jonathan Renouf asked the Chief Minister about the existing target of 15 per year.
Deputy Renouf said that consents had averaged 22 per year in the past decade and said the current numbers “exposed the absurdity” of the policy.
Deputy Farnham said that on average since 2016, 22 applicants had received consent annually, but only 18 had made the move to Jersey, while ten such residents had left, leaving a “net growth” of eight per year.
The Island’s 233 HVRs paid a total of £33 million in income tax last year, around 5% of the Island’s total income tax revenue, Deputy Farnham said, as well as paying £15m in stamp duty and making philanthropic donations to local charities.
Deputy Farnham said he considered the scheme was “successful” and that 15 per year was an “appropriate guide” and helped maintain “a balanced and sustainable level of arrivals”.
In his proposition, set to be debated later this month, Deputy Renouf said that the stated aims of the policy were “perilously close to a sham”.
In the report accompanying his proposition, Deputy Renouf noted that there had been more than 15 approvals granted in nine out of the last 12 years. In 2025, a record 37 applications were accepted.
“This proposition does not attempt to close down the high-value residency programme,” he continued.
“It does not apply any new restrictions to the programme. It does not change the qualifying criteria. All it does is ask that the government stick to the policy aspiration/objective it says is in place.”
He explained that, if approved, his proposition would turn the 15-per-year aspiration into a “firm policy”.
Deputy Renouf noted the proposal would also allow for “year-to-year flexibility”, by using a five-year rolling average as the metric by which the policy should be measured.
He contended that if the government wanted a different approach in place “it should bring forward proposals to change the policy aspiration, not simply ignore the current policy”.
“It is important for public confidence in the HVR policy that it should operate within clear tramlines,” he added.
“Given the obvious drift away from the stated policy over the last ten to 15 years, it is the right moment for the Assembly to debate the issue.”