It's all change at the States of Guernsey with the Housing (Control of Occupation) (Guernsey) Law, 1994 being replaced by the Population Management (Guernsey) Law, 2016 and The Open Market Housing Register (Guernsey) Law, 2016 on the 3 April 2017.
So, are you ready? What do you need to do (if anything)?
Licences are out. Permits are in.
Below is a quick guide to the new provisions. Click here for a printer friendly version for your wall.
Employment
Out go the Right to Work documents and in comes a system of Employment Permits.
These will come in several different flavours:
Residence
The system of Housing Licences is replaced by Residence Certificates and Permits. Broadly speaking Certificates are issued to the householder, and Permits are for individuals connected to that householder.
Milestones
These are two important steps along the way to gaining full and permanent rights of residency in the island.
The first milestone is 8 consecutive years' of lawful local market residence and an Established Resident Certificate is issued.
The second milestone is 14 consecutive years' of lawful local market residence with a Permanent Resident Certificate being issued.
Points to note
All Permits and Certificates, except Permanent Residence Certificates, become invalid if the holder leaves Guernsey.
Once the duration of a certificate or permit has expired, the holder must take a "Recognised Break in Residency" (an absence from Guernsey at least as long as the last period of residence in Guernsey).
There are transitional arrangements in place to manage the change form the old law to the new.
For more information or specific advice, please get in touch.
This is a brief summary of the subject and is provided for information/interest only. It does not purport to give specific legal advice and further advice should always be sought. Whilst every care has been taken in producing the above neither the authors nor Collas Crill LLP shall be liable for any errors, misprint or misinterpretation of any of the matters set out in it.
