Organization : Business Guernsey
Type of Facility : Moving Your Business To Guernsey
Country: Guernsey
Website : https://www.locateguernsey.com/
Moving Your Business To Guernsey :
If you are thinking of moving your business to Guernsey, in addition to considerations such as securing premises, migrating or setting up new legal entities for example, you will need to be aware of the housing laws that apply to all residents on the Island.
Related : Registering Your Business With Income Tax Guernsey : www.statusin.org/8805.html
Guernsey has approximately 22,000 dwellings and has unique controls over the housing market on the Island to ensure that there is enough housing to meet the needs of its residents. However, depending on your circumstances it is relatively easy to relocate to Guernsey and find suitable accommodation.
Guernsey’s Housing Market:
There are no controls over who can own a property on the Island. However, there are controls on who can occupy the property – the housing market is split into two sectors:
Local Market – where there are controls on who can live in the accommodation and for how long;
Open Market – whilst there are some controls for Open Market accommodation, all Open Market Part A properties can be owned and lived in by anyone. Click here to view the properties that are registered on the Open Market Part A register.
Most people in Guernsey live in local market accommodation and anyone seeking to take up residence in Guernsey who is not a qualified resident or the immediate family of one can generally only live in the local market under a licence.
Relocating your business with existing staff to Guernsey:
If you need to bring over certain key essential staff with your business as a ‘safe pair of hands’ to work through the transition and the early years in Guernsey then the Housing Department can grant Employment Related Housing Licences, (also known as Right to Work documents) as these enable employers to recruit staff who are not resident in Guernsey. These licences will enable essential staff to buy or rent local market accommodation. The Department, when granting these licences, will always have regard to whether the skills you need are already available on the Island.
There are different types of essential licence:
Short term – these are granted for periods of 9 months up to a maximum of 5 years.
Essential – these are issued for up to 15 years but the vast majority are granted for 5 years.
Depending on the nature of the role that requires an employment related licence, there will be some restrictions on the type and size of accommodation that these licence holders can occupy, based on the TRP or the number of rooms. Once a licence has been issued ‘in principle’ to the employer – full details will be provided by the Housing Department on the restrictions that will be applied.
Please note – if you are granted accommodation options that are not a good fit for staff members’ family circumstances, then please contact the Housing Department as soon as possible to see if they can be changed.
Please don’t forget – it is an offence for anyone to work in Guernsey without a valid Right to Work document. This also makes it an offence for anyone to employ a person without the necessary Right to Work document.
Is moving staff to Guernsey complicated?:
The short answer to that question is no!
The Housing Department is aware that the rules regarding how people can and cannot legally reside in Guernsey may appear, on the face of it, rather complicated. But Guernsey is open for business and staff of the Housing Department are keen to help smooth the transition of an existing business into the Island.
In the first instance you should make contact with staff of the Department and outline your proposals. Tell the Department what you need and they can talk you through the rest.
Information regarding moving staff to Guernsey and applications for Right to Work documents can made by contacting the Housing Control Department at Sir Charles Frossard House.
Please contact the Housing Department using the contact details below:
Contacts:
Esther Ingrouille:
Esther Ingrouille, Director of Housing Control, Housing Department
Tel:44 1481 717267
Email: esther.ingrouille AT gov.gg
Address: Housing Department, Sir Charles Frossard House, La Charroterie, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 1FH, Channel Islands
Christine Foster:
Christine Foster, Deputy Director of Housing Control, Housing Department
Tel:44 1481 717267
Email: christine.foster AT gov.gg
Address: Housing Department, Sir Charles Frossard House, La Charroterie, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 1FH, Channel Islands