Work permits

Summary

The request sought data on non-EU work permits, benefits for immigrants, and refugee status grants; the Department for Enterprise provided detailed work permit statistics for periods after January 2020 but referred the requester to the Treasury for information on benefits and refugee status.

Key Facts

• The Department for Enterprise could only answer the question regarding work permits, referring other queries to the Treasury.
• Data was provided for periods starting from 1st February 2020 following Brexit.
• Table 1 includes work permit approvals for British citizens, while Table 2 excludes them.
• The figures represent approved permits rather than unique individuals, as one person may hold multiple permits.
• Automatic permits are available for spouses and partners of work permit holders.

Data Disclosed

• 119 new self-employed permits (Nov 2023-Oct 2024, Table 1)
• 1361 new employed permits (Nov 2023-Oct 2024, Table 1)
• 7 new self-employed permits (Nov 2023-Oct 2024, Table 2)
• 177 new employed permits (Nov 2023-Oct 2024, Table 2)
• 31st January 2020
• 1st February 2020
• 22 October 2024
• 18 November 2024

Original Request

Question 1 Can you confirm how many work permits to non EU nationals have been approved over the last 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months and 60 months. I'd like the information for each year please. Question 2 Can you confirm how many non EU LEGAL immigrants are currently receiving government benefits. Question 3 Can you confirm if the Isle of Man has granted refugee status to any refugees following an asylum application in the years 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Question 4 Can you confirm the number of non EU nationals that have been given refugee status. Question 5 Can you confirm the number of EU nationals that have been given refugee status

Data Tables (2)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator 1st Floor, St Georges Court Upper Church Street, Douglas Isle of Man IM1 1EX

Telephone: (01624 686400) Website: https://www.iomdfenterprise.im/

Our ref: 4209385 18 November 2024

Dear ###,

We write further to your request, received 22 October 2024, which states:

"Question 1

Can you confirm how many work permits to non EU nationals have been approved over the last 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months and 60 months. I'd like the information for each year please.

Question 2

Can you confirm how many non EU LEGAL immigrants are currently receiving government benefits.

Question 3

Can you confirm if the Isle of Man has granted refugee status to any refugees following an asylum application in the years 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Question 4

Can you confirm the number of non EU nationals that have been given refugee status.

Question 5

Can you confirm the number of EU nationals that have been given refugee status"

Our response to your request is as follows:

We contacted you on 22nd October to ask for clarification:

“In order to identify and locate the information that you have asked for we need some further information from you. The UK left the European Union on 31st January 2020.

For the dates you have requested information for, that are prior to 31.1.2020, would you like us to include UK nationals in that figure, or purely non EU nationals?
Please be aware that out of your five questions, we can only answer the first one. You will need to contact Treasury for the rest of your response, as they oversee immigration”.

You provided the clarification to us on 1st November, stating:

“That's fine, please provide the information after 31st Jan 2020. Cheers”

Please see the table below which shows the number of approved work permits where nationality was recorded as being other than an EU country over the last 12, 24, 36, 48 and 57 (from 1st February 2020) months. Please note that the figures in Table 1 include work permit approvals for British citizens.

Table 1

Work Permit type Period New Renewal From To Self- Employ ed Employ ed Automat ic Self- Employ ed Employ ed Automat ic 01/11/202 3 31/10/202 4 119 1361 228 2 53 277 01/11/202 2 31/10/202 3 66 954 214 0 34 235 01/11/202 1 31/10/202 2 75 799 161 1 33 144 01/11/202 0 31/10/202 1 15 111 79 1 11 100 01/02/202 0 31/10/202 0 7 39 62 1 16 53

Table 2 below uses the same data and reporting periods as above, but excludes work permits approved where the stated nationality indicated British citizenship.

Table 2

Work Permit type Period New Renewal From To Self- Employ ed Employ ed Automat ic Self- Employ ed Employ ed Automat ic 01/11/202 3 31/10/202 4 7 177 137 0 6 149 01/11/202 2 31/10/202 3 10 138 105 0 2 124 01/11/202 1 31/10/202 2 9 135 91 1 14 97 01/11/202 0 31/10/202 1 5 72 67 0 5 85 01/02/202 0 31/10/202 0 3 23 44 1 15 49

In respect of the figures provided in both tables, the following should be noted:

• The figures relate to work permits approved, and not individuals. An individual may hold multiple work permits concurrently for different employments, or may obtain more than one permit in any reporting period due to moving jobs; • Only one nationality is recorded during an application for a work permit, therefore, individuals with dual nationality will only be recorded against the nationality entered upon application;

• Automatic permits1 are available, upon application, to the spouse, civil or cohabiting partner of a work permit holder or exempt person and the cohabiting partner of an Isle of Man Worker;

• Other than for British Citizens, the majority of other non-EU nationals taking up employment in the Isle of Man require the necessary Immigration Visa to do so. This also applies to EU nationals since the 31st January 2020, unless the individual holds the relevant status under the EU Settlement Scheme2;

• An additional work permit is not ordinarily required for the employment of an individual for which an Immigration work visa is issued if this is considered to be an Immigration Employment Document3. Therefore, the overwhelming majority of work permits shown in Table 2 are likely to relate to the employment of dependents of visa holders;

• There was a six-month grace period applied to the end of a work permit during initial phase of the covid pandemic, which may affect the figures in 2020.

Please quote the reference number 4209385 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on;

1 https://www.gov.im/categories/working-in-the-isle-of-man/work-permits/automatic-work-permits/
2 https://www.gov.im/categories/travel-traffic-and-motoring/immigration/eu-eea-and-swiss-citizens/eu-settlement-scheme/
3 https://www.gov.im/categories/working-in-the-isle-of-man/work-permits/definitions/immigration-employment-document-ied/

1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or
2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
   In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

This response took three hours to complete.