Misconceptions about inward migration were addressed during a Tynwald debate.

Members voted unanimously voted to support the recommendations of a Council of Ministers report on inward migration.

Cabinet Office Minister David Ashford said some who had raised concerns about the impact of migration had ‘got a future in fiction writing’.

He told Tynwald that he wanted to make it ‘absolutely clear’ that people can’t claim asylum in the Isle of Man.

Mr Ashford said: ‘We don’t have hotels stacked with asylum seekers. If people want to claim asylum they have to do so through the UK.’

The Minister said there was absolutely no evidence that a contraction in the rental sector was due to migration or that it was causing a strain on public services.

Home Affairs Minister Jane Poole-Wilson insisted that checks to immigration status were always carried out when a foreign national was arrested and detained but admitted that such checks may not have been ‘completely robust’ in the past.

Backbencher Lawrie Hooper (Ramsey) said there were concerns over the Isle of Man being used as a side door to the UK and that criminal groups and unscrupulous employers were turning that side door into a ‘fully open back door’.

Julie Edge (Onchan) suggested an immigration cap be set and that government should not be afraid to bring into force the long-shelved Residency Act.

The Act, which would see a register kept of every resident, was given Royal Assent in 2001 but never implemented.

But Mr Ashford insisted immigration caps don’t work and lead to unintended consequences.

And he described the Residency Act as ‘completely flawed’ and would need a complete overhaul if it was to ever be brought in.

Tynwald unanimously approved the CoMin report’s recommendation, as amended by Douglas Central MHK Chris Thomas, that government should continue to pursue appropriate measures to attract people to the island, while seeking to minimise abuse of the system and prioritising Isle of Man workers.

Immigration lawyer Maria Bridson, whose gap report on the UK and Isle of Man immigration systems featured as an appendix in the CoMin report, said that there must be a rapid overhaul of enforcement powers.

Posting to LinkedIn, she said: ‘The overarching policy must pivot towards quality over quantity to support our economy with the valuable skills and talent needed,’ she said.

‘Publish real-time visa data so everyone can see what is going on. Our immigration system is still facilitating exploitation, black market working and Common Travel Area risk. It needs to be fixed and fast.’

Meanwhile, a statutory document amending the minimum salary requirement for migrant worker visas is to be revoked and replaced after ‘unintentional consequences’ were identified, Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson told Tynwald members. The increase to £25,447.50 from October 1 will remain.

The issues concern those who are currently working here under the current minimum salary requirement and want to extend their visa or seek leave to remain, Dr Allinson told the Isle of Man Today.

‘Once the new document is laid before Tynwald it will replace the existing regulations,’ he said.