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19-21 Broad Street | St Helier Jersey | JE2 3RR
Deputy Mary Le Hegarat
Vice Chair, Work Permit Holder Welfare Review Panel
Via email only 15 June 2023
Dear Vice Chair
Work Permit Holder Welfare Review Panel
Thank you for your letter which contained questions in relation to the wet ink stamps issued by the Jersey Customs and Immigration Service (JCIS). Answers to those questions are below.
I would also like to clarify for the Panel's benefit, that wet ink stamps are not issued solely to work permit holders, as it seems to have been suggested. They are issued to anyone who is granted leave in Jersey (as opposed to before arrival). This may happen when the conditions of an individual's leave are varied and they are granted a new permission, or when they are granted additional leave beyond their initial permission (Further Leave to Remain).
- Has the cost to JCIS of issuing passport vignettes been quantified?
a. If so, please could you provide a breakdown of the costs involved?
It is not possible to provide a precise cost per person, per issue. However, it is estimated that initial set up costs for JCIS to issue vignettes or biometric resident permits would be between £120,000 and £200,000 due to the need for IT development and bespoke printing facilities meeting the security requirements and features of vignettes.
- What is the current cost to JCIS of issuing a wet stamp as an alternative to a visa vignette?
There is no cost currently.
- How many work permit holders are currently issued passport wet stamps?
In the four-year period between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2022, the Jersey Customs and Immigration Service (JCIS) endorsed approximately 2,600 passports using wet ink stamps to either vary or extend immigration permissions (some individuals will have received more than one endorsement during this period).Approximately 1,200 of these individuals were work permit holders.
- Please can you outline what steps have been taken to increase information' in relation to the use of passport wet stamps?
On 21 June 2022 the UK Home Office, on behalf of the Crown Dependencies, issued guidance to carriers worldwide highlighting that Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man immigration authorities grant leave to remain using wet ink stamps, and provided examples of those stamps.
The guidance also made it clear that these wet ink stamps confer authority for travel to the United Kingdom and Islands without a need for a separate visa.
To improve the experience of passengers passing through UK ports of entry, immigration permissions granted in Jersey are now shared electronically with UK Border Force so that the status of travellers granted leave to remain in Jersey can be automatically accessed and confirmed.
- Has JCIS recorded data or feedback about the use of passport wet stamps?
Negative feedback has been received from a very small number of individuals from the total of approximately 2600 individuals issued with a wet ink stamp from 2019 to 2022. Approximately 0.5%, have reported difficulties in returning to the Common Travel Area. Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man immigration authorities all grant leave to remain using wet ink stamps.
Yours sincerely
Deputy Helen Miles Minister for Home Affairs