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A Jersey employer needs a permission for every employee who does not already hold Permanent Entitled, Entitled or Entitled for Work status. Licensed permissions are scarce, and since 14 September 2026 every staffing permission carries a salary test. The permission question comes before the recruitment, not after the offer.

The rule that reshapes hiring

Every employee in Jersey holds a residential status, and an employer needs the matching staff permission to employ anyone who does not already hold Permanent Entitled, Entitled or Entitled for Work status.

That turns recruitment into a two-part question. Can we find the right person, and will we be permitted to employ them? The second part is decided by the Business Hub, part of Employment, Social Security and Housing, in the context of a population policy that exists to constrain growth. It is not a formality.

Licensed against Standard

On 14 September 2026 Jersey moved to six residential statuses, and the Standard permission replaced the old Registered one. Three permissions matter to an employer hiring from off-island.

A Standard permission covers the ordinary case: an employee without status, employed by you. It is the most obtainable and carries no access to qualified housing.

A Licensed permission is for a role that cannot be filled from the resident workforce. It is scarce, it is assessed properly, and it lets the employee buy or rent one qualified property to live in — which is why candidates ask about it and why it is often the deciding factor in an acceptance. The employee may work only in the licensed role. How licensed status works.

A Licensed for Lease Only permission sits between the two: one property, rented not bought, and the specific role.

The salary tests

Each permission now has a salary floor, set out in the gov.je Control of Housing and Work business guidance and in force from 14 September 2026:

  • Licensed: £60,000 or the going rate for the role, whichever is higher, or a listed qualifying role.
  • Licensed for Lease Only: £54,000 or the going rate.
  • Standard: £30,000 or the going rate.

On top of the salary, you must show why the role could not be filled by someone holding Permanent Entitled, Entitled or Entitled for Work status. Figures checked against gov.je on 2 October 2026; confirm them before you set a salary.

What a licence application has to demonstrate

Five things, and thin evidence on any one of them weakens the whole application.

The role. What it is, specifically. Generic job descriptions read as though the business has not thought about whether the role is genuinely distinct.

The local search. What you did to fill it from people holding Permanent Entitled, Entitled or Entitled for Work status, with evidence of why none could be found. This is the heart of the test.

The salary. That it meets the test for the permission sought.

The business case. What the role does for the business, and what happens if it is unfilled.

The context. What the business contributes in Jersey and what it already employs locally. A business that trains and hires on-island makes a materially stronger case than one that does not.

The order that works

Assess the permission. Then recruit. Then offer.

Running it the other way is the most common way this goes wrong. A candidate resigns, a permission does not follow, and everyone involved has lost several months. Where the permission is genuinely uncertain, say so in the process and plan the fallback before you need it.

What relocation actually costs

Budget beyond the salary. Temporary accommodation while the candidate finds somewhere. A housing contribution that reflects what Jersey rents genuinely are, not what the equivalent role would cost in a UK regional city. Flights, shipping and the practical layer — registration cards, banking, schools, vehicles.

The offers that fail late almost always fail on housing. A candidate on Standard status is looking at a restricted, expensive slice of the market, and finding it from off-island is hard. Our corporate relocation service exists because that stage is where good hires get lost.

Moving the whole business

If you are relocating the company rather than a person, the licence question is larger and comes first. Relocating a business to Jersey.

Written by, Head of Relocations. Last updated .

This page is relocation guidance, not legal or tax advice.

Questions on this

What is the difference between a Licensed and a Standard permission?
A Licensed permission is for a role that cannot be filled locally; the employee may buy or rent one qualified property, must live in it, and may work only in that role. A Standard permission — which replaced Registered on 14 September 2026 — is the ordinary case for staff without status and carries no qualified housing. The salary tests differ too, £60,000 against £30,000 (or the going rate), and Licensed permissions are far harder to obtain.
What are the salary tests?
From 14 September 2026: Licensed, £60,000 or the going rate, whichever is higher, or a listed qualifying role; Licensed for Lease Only, £54,000 or the going rate; Standard, £30,000 or the going rate. You must also show why Permanent Entitled, Entitled or Entitled for Work candidates could not be found. Checked against gov.je on 2 October 2026.
Can I recruit first and sort permissions after?
You can, and it goes wrong often enough that we would advise against it. A candidate who resigns a job for an offer that then cannot be permitted has a legitimate grievance and you have lost the search.
What if the licence is refused?
Then the role is filled locally, restructured, or located elsewhere. Planning for that outcome before recruiting is the difference between a delay and a crisis.
What does relocation actually cost us?
Beyond salary: temporary accommodation, a housing allowance that reflects a genuinely expensive market, flights and shipping, and the cost of the search itself. Jersey housing is the line most employers underestimate.
Do we need to help with housing?
Legally, no. Practically, a candidate on Standard status faces a restricted and expensive market, and offers routinely fail at that point. The employers who succeed treat housing as part of the package.

Establish the permission before you advertise

Send us the role and the business. We will assess whether a licence is realistic, what the application has to demonstrate, and what the fallback looks like if it is refused.

Confidential. No obligation.