Firmer immigration policy due, chief minister says

Alfred Cannan said a clearer policy would be formed within a year

A firmer immigration policy for the Isle of Man is being developed, the chief minister has said.

Giving evidence to Tynwald's Economic Policy Review Committee, Alfred Cannan said "tightening up immigration policy" would need to be developed "within the next 12 months".

During the session he was asked whether a clear immigration policy should have been in place ahead of rolling out the economic strategy, which aims to create 5,000 new jobs by 2032.

But Mr Cannan said the government had "taken the big picture first" and set "high level targets" before drawing up the policy.

The committee heard that figures across 2022 to 2023 indicated there were an additional 700 employed people on the island.

'Proper public debate'

Mr Cannan said about half of those were aged between 26 and 40, and the other half between 41 and 65 years old.

The numbers reflected the strategy's focus on "the working population", which was the demographic it was "designed to attract", he said.

However committee chairman Claire Christian asked what steps were being taken to monitor the economic contributions of people moving to the island.

Mr Cannan said immigration policy had "a lot of sensitivities", and while it needed "a lot of thought", it was something he was aiming to have a clear framework on within the next year.

Developing that policy needed a "proper presentation of options" and "mature public debate", he said.

Although people had often fixated on the government's plan to grow the island's population by 15,000 to 100,000 by 2037, the creation of 5,000 new jobs would be the "critical measure of success”, he added.