Moving to Jersey: work and housing status

Separate three permissions

British and Irish citizens do not need immigration permission, but resident registration and housing controls still apply. Other nationals may need immigration permission and an employer-led work permit.

The registration card records Entitled, Licensed, Entitled for Work or Registered status, affecting housing and employment. A visa does not override that card.

• Jersey visa guidance
• Jersey work permit policy
• Jersey residential statuses

Register island services

Confirm housing qualification before paying a deposit, especially where Licensed status depends on employment. Budget freight and travel from quotes; bank checks remain separate.

Register locally for Revenue, Social Security and healthcare; UK registrations do not substitute. Declare household goods, check vehicle and pet imports, arrange schools and track immigration, permit and card changes separately.

• Register as resident
• Government of Jersey: moving, money and tax
• Government of Jersey: healthcare costs for residents
• Jersey customs

Let residential status lead housing

Verify the property qualification matches the status on the registration card. Do not apply UK tenancy assumptions to eligibility, deposits or notice.

If Licensed status or accommodation depends on a job, establish what happens when employment ends. Record inventory, meters, payments and address evidence.

• Jersey residential statuses
• Register as resident

Complete employer and Revenue onboarding

The employer owns any required work-permit application and must verify the worker’s card status. Immigration permission does not override housing-and-work controls.

When registering as a Jersey resident, provide the income details needed for tax registration. Give your employer the effective-rate notice so ITIS deductions use your assessed rate; an HMRC record does not do this. Retain payslips, overseas-income details and contribution records for the Jersey return.

• Jersey work permit policy
• Government of Jersey: moving, money and tax
• Register as resident

Confirm health and school arrangements

Jersey separates hospital eligibility from the Social Security health card used for GP costs. The published hospital rules generally require six continuous months plus paid Social Security or income tax for workers, or twelve continuous months for non-workers. Licensed and Licensed Lease Only residents have immediate hospital eligibility; work-permit holders have separate emergency and six-month provisions. Ask the Patient Finance Team to confirm your category.

A health card does not establish hospital eligibility. Keep interim insurance, including possible off-island medical transport, and bring clinical records. Reciprocal visitor healthcare arrangements do not replace resident eligibility when you move. Separately ask schools about places, address evidence, prior reports and additional needs.

• Government of Jersey: healthcare costs for residents
• Register as resident

Declare goods and plan transport

Household goods must be declared to Jersey Customs. Check foreign-licence use, imported-vehicle registration and pet identification, vaccination and travel documents before booking.

Track immigration, work-permit and registration-card status separately because employer, relationship and residence changes affect them differently.

• Jersey customs
• Jersey residential statuses

Follow the Jersey dependency order

Carry passport and immigration evidence, the employer’s work-permit confirmation, housing agreement, civil records and customs inventory. Declare goods as required, register as a Jersey resident and obtain the registration card before relying on a work or housing category. Give the employer and landlord the correct current status.

Then complete Revenue, Social Security, healthcare, bank, utility, driving and school tasks. Keep receipts and the previous payment method during onboarding. Before changing job or home, check whether Licensed or Registered status changes the available property or whether employer permission must be renewed.

• Jersey customs
• Register as resident
• Jersey residential statuses
• Jersey work permit policy
• Government of Jersey: moving, money and tax
• Government of Jersey: healthcare costs for residents

Keep status, housing and work evidence current

Store immigration, employer permit, registration card, lease, customs, Revenue, Social Security and healthcare evidence together. If Licensed status depends on employment, establish the housing consequence before leaving or changing the job.

Registered residents should confirm a prospective employer can hire them before accepting a start date. Keep school, custody, clinical, vehicle, licence and pet-health documents and review all three status layers before a long absence.

• Jersey visa guidance
• Jersey work permit policy
• Jersey residential statuses
• Register as resident
• Jersey customs
• Government of Jersey: moving, money and tax
• Government of Jersey: healthcare costs for residents

Make the registration card work in practice

Check personal details and status when the card is issued. Give the current card to the employer and housing provider and correct errors before they block payroll or a tenancy. Do not assume a work permit changes the housing category. Record lease inventory, meters, heating, parking and broadband obligations.

Reconcile Revenue and Social Security onboarding with the first payslip. Confirm healthcare charges before cancelling cover and identify a doctor, pharmacy and emergency plan. Complete school, driving, vehicle and pet tasks through their own Jersey channels. Recheck immigration, employer permission and residential status before changing job or home.

• Check the card before signing restricted housing.
• Keep the employer permit with payroll records.
• Record Revenue and Social Security references separately.
• Retain household-goods declaration evidence.
• Keep interim healthcare arrangements until confirmed.
• Review Licensed housing before any job change.
• Ask employer and landlord to confirm in writing which permission or card category they rely on.

• Register as resident
• Jersey residential statuses
• Jersey work permit policy
• Government of Jersey: moving, money and tax
• Government of Jersey: healthcare costs for residents
• Jersey customs