Four officers are responsible for carrying out initial immigration and sponsor suitability checks, the Treasury Minister has told the House of Keys.

The disclosure came in response to questions from Ramsey MHK Juan McGuinness about the Government's ability to monitor employers sponsoring migrant workers and ensure immigration rules are being followed.

Rushen MHK Mark Kemp also questioned whether the Government could confirm when temporary migrant workers and their dependants had actually left the island, rather than simply recording when their immigration permission expired.

Treasury Minister Michael Crowe admitted he was unable to provide an immediate answer.

‘This is a technical area, and while I know that there are operational staff who are tasked with monitoring employees and their employers, I wouldn't like to commit today to a direct answer to that question,’ he said.

Mr McGuinness had asked what assessment had been made of the Immigration Service's capacity to carry out initial suitability checks and ongoing compliance monitoring under the Global Business Mobility and Worker Migrant Routes.

Mr Crowe said an assessment had concluded that the routes could be implemented using existing operational resources, supported by additional compliance, sponsorship and enforcement measures introduced during 2026.

He said: ‘At the moment, we've got four officers who are dedicated to carrying out initial immigration and sponsor suitability checks, and additional officers on ongoing monitoring.’

The minister added that the Government aimed to monitor employers and employees throughout their time on the island.

Mr McGuinness also questioned what checks were in place to ensure visa holders were only undertaking work permitted under their immigration conditions, given that many qualifying migrants did not require a separate work permit.

Mr Crowe said he would obtain the information and circulate it to members, adding that he would arrange a briefing to provide further details.