Immigration of Ukrainian Nationals (P.37/2022): amendment

STATES OF JERSEY

IMMIGRATION OF UKRAINIAN NATIONALS (P.37/2022): AMENDMENT

Lodged au Greffe on 2nd March 2022 by Deputy J.M. Maçon of St. Saviour

STATES GREFFE

2022  P.37 Amd.

IMMIGRATION OF UKRAINIAN NATIONALS  (P.37/2022):

AMENDMENT

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"after "agreement is necessary", insert the following new paragraphs:

"(c)  to  request  the  Minister  for  External  Relations  and  other  relevant

Ministers to work with the UK authorities and the authorities in other jurisdictions, as necessary, to make arrangements for the longer term settlement of any Ukrainian people that temporary visas are issued to;

4. to request the Minister for Home Affairs to make available appropriate language services and documentation for Ukrainian people arriving under the temporary visa scheme; and
5. to request the Council of Minister to present a report to the States outlining the cost implications in excess of departmental budgets arising from this proposition, if any, and to request approval for the lodging of a proposition to request additional funding, should this be necessary, including, if necessary, during the election period when Standing Order 19A applies.".

DEPUTY J.M. MAÇON OF ST. SAVIOUR

Note:  After this amendment, the proposition would read as follows –

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

1. to request the Minister for External Relations and Minister for Home Affairs to liaise with the relevant authorities in the UK to seek agreement that the current definition of "relative", in relation to the immigration of people displaced from Ukraine, which includes spouses, civil partners, children, siblings and dependent parents, should be expanded in Jersey to include extended family members; and
2. that the Government of Jersey should, over the next six months, be enabled to allow people displaced from Ukraine with relatives resident in Jersey immediate access to the island on a temporary emergency basis, giving them the right to reside with family, friends, or others for a period of at least one year from their date of arrival; and to request the Minister for External  Relations  and  Minister  for  Home  Affairs  to  liaise  with  the necessary authorities in the UK to seek agreement to pursue this policy, where such agreement is necessary; and

3. to request the Minister for External Relations and other relevant Ministers to work with the UK authorities and the authorities in other jurisdictions, as necessary, to make arrangements for the longer term settlement of any Ukrainian people that temporary visas are issued to;
4. to request the Minister for Home Affairs to make available appropriate language services and documentation for Ukrainian people arriving underthe temporary visa scheme; and
5. to request the Council of Minister to present a report to the States outliningthe cost implications in excess of departmental budgets arising from thisproposition, if any, and to request approval for the lodging of a proposition to  request  additional  funding,  should  this  be  necessary,  including,  ifnecessary, during the election period when Standing Order 19A applies.

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P.37/2022 Amd.

REPORT

Part C

I appreciate that this is a fast moving situation and that the main proposition seeks to provide a safe haven for a small number of Ukrainian nationals who have family members who have residency in Jersey. I fully appreciate the urgency of the proposition especially with what appears to be the targeting of civilians by Russian military forces which goes without saying is completely outrageous! I wish to echo the signal already voted on by the States Assembly condemning Russian military aggression against sovereign state of Ukraine and its peoples.

However, should the States Assembly decide to adopt the proposition it doesn't seem to beg the question what next? As the request is for a 1 years permit. What happens at the end of that year should conflict still be happening or indeed if conflict has spread further in the region? It would not be acceptable to send individuals back into a war zone and so we need to make preparations for this eventuality and the public would expect States Members to factor in these matters when making their decisions.

So whilst appreciating the argument of evacuating people now to save lives; we have to think as an Assembly a bit further down the line. Which is what my amendment seeks to do. Whilst allowing for Ukrainian nationals to seek residency in Jersey for the longer term but also we need to acknowledge that Jersey may not be the desired Jurisdiction for a longer term place to reside and we need to be aware of that and systems need to be put in place to allow for further relocation if desired and appropriate.

Part D

In order to preserve the rights of those arriving to the island it's essential to have proper translation and interpretation services available. This will have a cost implication and the Assembly needs to be aware of this should they support the main proposition.

Part E

Should the Councils of Ministers be unable to support this proposition or amendment(s) under the current allocated and approved spending limits this request is for the Council of Ministers to detail what the expected spend is and also lodge for debate ways in which the money will be raised to pay for such requirements if needed. Conscious that we are on the eve of an election and that standing orders would prevent the lodging of propositions during the En Repose period this part is also to signal to the President of the Assembly that should these provisions be required that it would be of such urgency that it would comply with the relevant standing order to be allowed to be debated.

Financial and manpower implications

Given the circumstances I've have not had an opportunity to establish the costs as we simply do not know the number of people these provisions could apply to however it is suspected that it is still a small number of people relative to the population of the Island and should be able to be managed within departmental budgets after a reprioritization process has been under taken.