Campaigner: "The impact here will be very different to the impact in the UK"
Government is being called on to offer ‘clear and meaningful protections’ for migrants who moved to the Isle of Man under the published five-year route to settlement.
It comes after the UK Government looked at increasing the time a worker has to live there before starting the naturalisation process and subsequent concerns the Island may follow suit.
Initially the pathway required a person to live in the United Kingdom for five years but that could be extended to 10 years.
Tomorrow (12 June) marks the last day to sign a petition which will be presented to Tynwald in July on behalf of the campaign group Fair Settlement IoM.
It was set up by Vanessa Naude:
"The community survey found that 84.3 percent of respondents said extending settlement timelines would, or might, affect their ability to remain on the Island long term. The Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce employer survey found that 48 percent of employers believed affected employees would be likely to consider leaving, while a further 40 percent were unsure." - Fair Settlement IoM
The group wants to ensure that any potential future changes to settlement timelines, brought in by the Isle of Man Government, don’t adversely affect those people who are already on them.
It’s something that the Treasury Minister Chris Thomas was quizzed about in the House of Keys last month.
He was asked whether his department is seeking, or intends to seek, a separate arrangement from the UK’s proposed changes to indefinite leave to remain rules:
Vanessa says any future decisions over immigration changes could have an impact on workforce stability, business continuity, public services, resident families and employers:
The petition can be found HERE.
You can listen to the full interview here:
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