Jersey deducts housing costs when checking whether workers can bring family

Check that the worker’s route allows dependants

Jersey allows dependants to join qualifying long-term or intra-company-transfer workers with permits exceeding twelve months. Temporary workers are excluded. The policy covers spouses, partners and children under eighteen, with sole-responsibility evidence required where only one parent relocates. Family permission is linked to the worker’s permission. This current guide explains the assessment, rather than announcing a new route.

Calculate what remains after essential outgoings

The policy compares net income after rent, childcare and loan repayments with the benchmark for a similar household. Overtime, extra part-time work and prospective dependant earnings are not normally guaranteed resources. Exceptional consideration of a dependant’s earnings requires solid evidence, such as a signed Jersey employment contract.

The government’s Income Support components resource gives the underlying weekly personal-cost rates from January 2026: GBP130.83 per adult, GBP107.80 for the first child and GBP90.79 for subsequent children. The adult amount covers daily needs such as food, clothing and GP visits. These components explain why household size matters; they are not the household’s rent allowance or a promise that a migrant family can claim benefits. The components page separately provides a single-parent addition of GBP51.10. Its housing section deals with rent support, illustrating why personal living costs and accommodation must be distinguished when reading the tables.

Use the immigration calculation alongside the current components page. Prepare regular net-pay and outgoing evidence; gross annual salary and weekly personal-cost figures measure different things.

Obtain the visa before travelling to Jersey

Jersey’s visa application page explains that applications go through the UK process and are referred to Jersey for decision. Where a visa is required, it must be granted before travel. A Schengen visa is not valid for Jersey, and British or Irish citizens are separately exempt from visa requirements. The page also confirms that the UK Immigration Health Surcharge is not payable for a Jersey visa.

Applications can be made up to three months before travel. Processing starts after attendance at the visa application centre for fingerprints and a photograph. The page gives route-specific estimates and warns that verification, missing evidence or extra checks can extend them. Do not treat an estimate as an appointment or approval deadline. The resource tells applicants to wait for approval and the decision letter before booking travel. Since July 2026, new grants use digital permission linked to the passport. Keep the emailed Entry Clearance Notification with the passport; it is not a travel document usable on its own. Existing valid stickers and wet-ink stamps remain unaffected.

Prepare renewal evidence before the short filing window

The government’s extension page says further-leave applications are accepted only during the two weeks before current immigration permission expires. Prepare the evidence earlier so that the opening of that window does not become the point at which the family first starts obtaining documents. Check every dependant’s expiry as well as the main worker’s.

The online process requests current and previous passports, children’s birth certificates where applicable, maintenance evidence and suitable-accommodation evidence such as a tenancy agreement or property deeds. Supporting evidence is uploaded, but passports are handled separately. After submitting, print the PDF application and post it with the required passports to Immigration Casework at the address in the official instructions. The page asks applicants to allow three weeks from receipt of passports, not simply from starting the online form. Keep the family reachable for further evidence requests. The stated postal destination is Maritime House, La Route Du Port Elizabeth, St Helier JE1 1JD. The guidance says the building is not open to the public; follow the postal instructions rather than planning an unarranged counter visit.

Use the current fee schedule rather than older examples

Jersey’s dedicated immigration-fees page lists GBP943 for further leave for a long-term worker and GBP943 for a long-term worker’s dependant. Budget for the relevant applications individually. These are immigration-extension charges, distinct from the employer’s work-permit charge and from the evidence used to demonstrate maintenance.

The work-permit policy contains illustrative fee tables labelled December 2024. They should not replace the dedicated current schedule. The extension page requires a debit or credit card for payment and links to that fee resource. For uncertainty over the category or payable amount, use the Immigration Office contact on the schedule before submitting the application.