Ramsey MHK Juan McGuinness says he raised concerns over the Immigration Service in the House of Key this week to ensure the system wasn’t being misused.
At the sitting, it was revealed there are four officers carrying out initial immigration and sponsor suitability checks on migration under the Global Business Mobility and Worker Migrant routes, with additional officers responsible for monitoring.
That came to light when Treasury Minister Michael Crowe responded to McGuinness’ question asking what assessment had been carried out on initial suitability checks and compliance monitoring of sponsors under the routes.
Following the sitting, McGuinness said: “My concern isn’t with legitimate businesses bringing skilled workers to the island.
“It’s about making sure the system cannot be misused, and that we have the ability to identify and deal with any abuse.”
He added: “Four officers may be sufficient, but that depends on the number and complexity of applications they’re dealing with, the depth of the checks being undertaken and the resources available to support them.”
Capacity
In the Keys, Crowe said the initial assessment had concluded “the routes could be implemented within existing operational resources, supported by the additional compliance, sponsorship and enforcement measures that have been introduced during 2026”.
He added: “We will, of course, continue to monitor application volumes, sponsor activity and operational impacts, and will review resource requirements as necessary.”
Treasury’s Border Division had worked with the UK Home Office, the UK Department for Business and Trade, External Relations and the Department for Enterprise to ensure that appropriate operational arrangements were in place.
He said that for the Global Business Mobility routes, employers were required to obtain a sponsor licence and applicants remained subject to existing immigration controls.
“At the moment we have got four officers who are dedicated to carrying out initial immigration and sponsor suitability checks and additional officers on ongoing monitoring,” Crowe said.
Additional Safeguards
Crowe added: “In particular, for the Expansion Worker route, we identified the need for enhanced scrutiny of sponsor licence applications, including checks on the legitimacy of overseas businesses, their financial position and the credibility of proposed expansion plans.
“Additional safeguards have therefore been introduced and Border Division is arranging further training opportunities with the Home Office for Immigration Officers undertaking this work.”.
In terms of ongoing monitoring, Crowe said the Immigration Compliance Team was now operational and investigated potential breaches by both individuals and employers. Where appropriate, it works with the police.
Checks
Rushen MHK Mark Kemp asked if there was a system in place to confirm when migrants had left the island “rather than simply recording the expiry of their immigration permission”.
Crowe said he would include further information in a briefing to members but said there were operational staff “who are tasked with monitoring employees and their employers”.
In response to a question from Glenfaba and Peel MHK Daniel Davison, Crowe added that the Global Business Mobility route only came into force at the start of November, so there were no ongoing monitoring statistics available yet. Again, he pledged to circulate the information “in any subsequent briefing to members”.
You can hear the full House of Keys discussion on McGuinness’ question here: