Foreign worker permit system 'unsustainable'

Guernsey's employment permit system is "unsustainable" and is causing "grave problems" for businesses and the wider economy, a deputy has said.

Chris Blin said problems were affecting both long-term and short-term permits, while several businesses have told the BBC delays were disrupting staffing and future plans.

At the restaurant Dhaka, supervisor Mahbubur Rahman Mahi said the uncertainty was also affecting workers, leaving some unable to plan their lives while waiting for decisions.

Home Affairs President Deputy Marc Leadbeater said the Population Management Office was working hard to reduce the backlog and that industry concerns would feed into work on the system.

Mahbubur Rahman Mahi, a supervisor at Dhaka, said one chef had been waiting 17 months for a long-term employment permit.

He said workers could be left not knowing whether an application would be accepted or rejected, making it difficult to plan their careers and lives.

Mahi, who said he had been in Guernsey for more than three years, also said he hoped to remain on the island and continue working in the restaurant and sharing Bangladeshi food and culture.

"You can't see your future," he said.

At The Captains, a pub with guest accommodation in St Martin, landlady Ali De La Mare said staffing uncertainty was leaving her unsure whether to recruit replacements.

An employment permit for a kitchen porter had been approved but the applicant was still waiting for a visa, she said.

De La Mare added she was also awaiting a decision on an application outside the usual policy for a member of staff who acted as her manager.

"The reality is that we're either going to be short-staffed or overstaffed," she said.

Nine guest bedrooms also remain closed because she had been unable to find a local housekeeper, she said.

She said she considered recruiting from overseas but did not pursue it because she believed the permit process would run beyond the season.

The owner of 2 Frenchies, Delphine Pesrin-Auder said an application for a pastry chef put in last November remained unresolved, while two bakers were also waiting for approval.

Pesrin-Auder said a planned October opening of a second bakery was uncertain.

She said: "You feel powerless. You can't even manage your business. You're actually letting the government manage your business for you."

Pesrin-Auder, who also owns Dhaka, added workers were worried about travelling for family emergencies while their applications were pending because they feared they might not be allowed to return.

The Guernsey Hospitality Association said concerns about the system were being raised more widely across the sector.

Association president Alan Sillett said a recent members' survey and industry forum highlighted common problems, and the association was preparing a paper for Home Affairs.

He said frustration in the industry was reaching "boiling point".

Mr Sillett said the organisation wanted to work in partnership with Population Management and suggested the system needed to be "simplified, predictable" and able to support economic growth.

The BBC has also received an unsigned letter from someone describing themselves as an employer who said similar applications that once took about a month were now taking more than a year.

"Every time I call, the situation seems to have got worse, with longer waiting times and the staff seem to be at capacity," the letter said.

The BBC has not been able to verify the writer's identity or the claims.

Former States member and hospitality adviser Paul Luxon said a review of population management should happen sooner than a current deadline of the end of 2027.

"That just feels so far off when this problem has been building and building over the last few years," he said.

Luxon said hospitality businesses were not asking for special treatment, but wanted government and industry to work together to clear delays.

Home Affairs said in October 2025 that an expedited review had started "straight away".

Leadbeater said, while the Home Affairs Committee had "a lot of sympathy" for businesses experiencing problems, application numbers were not rising but increasingly complex cases were taking longer to process.

Leadbeater also said employers should not be applying for long-term permits if their staff were coming to the end of a short-term one without having the correct immigration rights.

Foreign workers on a short-term employment permit "may be great members of staff, but it doesn't mean they are going to be permitted to remain in Guernsey", he said.

He added that employers' needs for staff had to be balanced with protecting Guernsey's borders and its place in the Common Travel Area, describing it as "not an easy line to walk".

At the time of writing, Home Affairs had not responded to the BBC's request for the current average or maximum processing times, or the size and age of the backlog.

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