Introduction
The Population Management Law introduces new rules for people living in States of Guernsey housing in Guernsey. These rules won't be applied to some people who were living in Guernsey when the Population Management Law came into force on 3 April 2017. For these people, sometimes called 'transitional people', different rules and policies apply.
Rules are set out in the Population Management Law and are sometimes called 'grandfather rights'. Policies are not set out in the Population Management Law.
The Administrator of Population Management has policies about transitional people. A person can usually expect that policy will be applied to them if their situation exactly fits the description in the policy - but the Administrator can always choose not to apply a policy. It is best for a person to make an application for a Permit under these policies and not to rely on the fact that their situation seems to fit a policy.
The rules and policies set out here apply specifically to transitional people. If a person came to Guernsey on or after 3 April 2017 these rules and policies won't apply to them. If a person was living in Guernsey before 3 April 2017, they can contact us to find out if they are being treated as a 'transitional person' if they are unsure about their status.
Leading up to the Population Management Law
- In June 2013 the States agreed a set of Resolutions that provided the high level framework for the development of the new Population Management system. These included Resolutions relating to long term residency in the Island, specifically the length of time and circumstances under which an individual would need to reside in the Island before obtaining certain residency rights.
- The Resolutions agreed in June 2013 sought to reduce the number of different ways in which certain residency rights could be achieved. However, while a much improved level of simplicity and clarity was introduced, the agreed Resolutions also required the majority of those who were born in the Island, and those who were born to Guernsey families, to be resident in the Island for longer periods of time than is required under the current Housing Control Law before acquiring certain residency rights.
- Following the June 2013 States debate it became apparent to members of the Policy Council that, while one of the key objectives for the new Population Management system was to be less complex, the consequences of simplifying the provisions in this area were unacceptable to significant numbers of Islanders, many of whom had not been aware of the proposals that had been debated and agreed by the States, despite concerted efforts to engage the public in this issue.
- In the light of that public feedback, the Policy Council, mindful that this area was one which engages strong emotions which may or may not be able to be supported by objective reasoning or fact, worked with States Members to come up with alternative proposals. These were debated and agreed by the States in 2014.
- In July 2015, after further consultation with interest groups, the States debated and agreed proposals dealing with people's residential status in the transition to the new Law. The underlying principle that was adopted in designing these proposals was that, as far as possible, a person's position should not be worsened as a result of moving to the new system.
- The proposals have now been included in draft legislation which was approved by the States on 2nd March 2016 and is due to come into force on 3rd April 2017.
A timeline of key events [153kb] for the Population Management Law is available for download on this page.
Transition Rules & Policies:
Presentations
Policy Letters and supplementary information
Transition FAQs
