Definitions

the person by whom an application is made.

See the page Automatic Work Permits

One of two persons who are living together as if they were spouses or civil partners.

This term is defined at section 2 of the Construction Contracts Act 2004 as follows:

(1) In this Act “construction operations” means, subject as follows, operations of any of the following descriptions —

(a)   construction, alteration, repair, maintenance, extension, demolition or dismantling of buildings, or structures forming, or to form, part of the land (whether permanent or not)

(b)   construction, alteration, repair, maintenance, extension, demolition or dismantling of any works forming, or to form, part of the land, including (without prejudice to the foregoing) walls, roadworks, power-lines, telecommunication apparatus, aircraft runways, docks and harbours, railways, inland waterways, pipe-lines, reservoirs, water-mains, wells, sewers, industrial plant and installations for purposes of land drainage, coast protection or defence

(c)    installation in any building or structure of fittings forming part of the land, including (without prejudice to the foregoing) systems of heating, lighting, air-conditioning, ventilation, power supply, drainage, sanitation, water supply or fire protection, or security or communications systems

(d)   external or internal cleaning of buildings and structures, so far as carried out in the course of their construction, alteration, repair, extension or restoration

(e)   operations which form an integral part of, or are preparatory to, or are for rendering complete, such operations as are previously described in this subsection, including site clearance, earth-moving, excavation, tunnelling and boring, laying of foundations, erection, maintenance or dismantling of scaffolding, site restoration, landscaping and the provision of roadways and other access works

(f)    painting or decorating the internal or external surfaces of any building or structure.

(2) The following operations are not construction operations within the meaning of this Act —

(a)    drilling for, or extraction of, oil or natural gas

(b)   extraction (whether by underground or surface working) of minerals; tunnelling or boring, or construction of underground works, for this purpose

(c)    assembly, installation or demolition of plant or machinery, or erection or demolition of steelwork for the purposes of supporting or providing access to plant or machinery, on a site where the primary activity is —

(i)     nuclear processing, power generation, or water or effluent treatment

(ii)    the production, transmission, processing or bulk storage (other than warehousing) of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, oil, gas, steel or food and drink.

(d)   manufacture or delivery to site of —

(i)     building or engineering components or equipment

(ii)    materials, plant or machinery

(iii)  components for systems of heating, lighting, air-conditioning, ventilation, power supply, drainage, sanitation, water supply or fire protection, or for security or communications systems

except under a contract which also provides for their installation.

(e)    the making, installation and repair of artistic works, being sculptures, murals and other works which are wholly artistic in nature. 

the Department for Enterprise

The EEA states are the 27 member states of the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden) and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Switzerland is not an EU or EEA member state but is part of the single market, therefore Swiss nationals have the same rights as EEA nationals.

A holding company and its subsidiaries (within the meaning of the Companies Act 1974)

the person in respect of whose employment a work permit is issued

means a group comprising at least one company incorporated, and bona fide carrying on business, in a country or territory outside the Island.

A worker who is the holder of an "immigration employment document" (IED) is exempt from the requirement for a work permit. This can be a complex area, and if this section affects you, and you are at all unsure, you are strongly advised to seek advice.

An IED is a document, issued by the Governor or an officer of the Cabinet Office, in accordance with the Immigration Act which does not preclude the holder from taking up employment in the Island and evidences that the holder has valid leave to enter, or remain in, the Island in one of the following Cases.

Case 1: Worker Migrant visas

The holder has a valid Worker Migrant visa, or Worker (intracompany Transfer) Migrant visa.

This Case applies only insofar as the holder undertakes or is to undertake employment authorised by the visa or is to be so employed. 

Case 2: Tier 1 Migrant visas

The holder has:

(a) a valid Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa

(b) a valid Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa

(c) a valid Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa

or

(d) a valid Tier 1 (Investor) visa

Case 3: Tier 4 (General) Student visas

The holder has:

(a) a valid Tier 4 (General) Student visa

or

(b) a valid Tier 4 (Child) Student visa

Case 4: Tier 5 (Temporary Worker) Migrant visas

The holder has a valid Tier 5 (Temporary Worker) Migrant visa: this Case applies only insofar as the holder undertakes or is to undertake employment authorised by the visa. 

Case 5: Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) Migrant visas

The holder has a valid Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) Migrant visa. 

Case 6: Former Tier 2 Migrant visas

The holder:

(a) immediately before the coming into operation of the Immigration (Variation of Leave) Order 2018 held a visa of the description listed in column 1 of the table (“the old visa”)

(b) is at the relevant time to be treated as holding the visa shown in column 2 of that table (“the new visa”)

This Case applies only insofar as the holder complies with the relevant provision of the immigration rules applicable to the new visa.

The relevant provision is:

(i) in the case of a worker of any category, Appendix W;

and

(ii) in the case of a dependant of any category, the rules for dependants of Worker Migrants or any under the Points Based System are given under Part 8 of the immigration rules (see rules 319AA – 319J)

For further information and guidance on immigration matters please contact the Passports, Immigration and Nationality Office. 

Isle of Man immigration law including the Immigration Act 1971 of Parliament (as it has effect in the Isle of Man) and the immigration rules made under that Act.

For further information and guidance on immigration matters please contact the Passports, Immigration and Nationality Office.

There are nine separate ways that a person can be an 'Isle of Man worker'. An 'Isle of Man worker' is an individual:

• who was born in the Isle of Man
• who has at any time been ordinarily resident in the Isle of Man for an unbroken period of at least 5 years ending on or after 1 October 2015
• who is the spouse or civil partner of an Isle of Man worker and is entitled to remain in the Island under immigration law
• who was the spouse or civil partner of an Isle of Man worker, was living in the Isle of Man immediately before the death of the Isle of Man worker, and has lived in the Island ever since
• who was the spouse or civil partner of an Isle of Man worker, had lived in the Isle of Man for an unbroken period of at least 3 years immediately before being divorced and has lived in the Island ever since
• whose parent is (or was immediately before death) an Isle of Man worker, if at the time of the child’s birth the parent, or the parent’s spouse or civil partner, was serving in the armed forces
• whose parent was born in the Isle of Man and lived in the Isle of Man for his or her first 5 years
• whose grandparent was born in the Isle of Man and lived in the Isle of Man for his or her first 5 years
• who:
  (a) was, for an unbroken period of at least a year:
       (i) under 23 years old
       (ii) ordinarily resident in the Island
       (iii) in full-time education
  (b) has lived in the Isle of Man since the end of that period, and
  (c) is the child of a person who during that period was:
       (i) an Isle of Man worker
       (ii) an exempt person in regular full-time employment
       (iii) the holder of a work permit

References to relationships include adoptive and step relationships.

Enquiries as to Isle of Man worker status

When requested by an employer or worker, and on provision of all relevant information, the Department will give its opinion in a letter as to whether a person is an Isle of Man worker. A fee of £25 is payable to the Department at the time an application for such a letter is made. However, the letter is issued on the clear understanding that such an opinion is not legally or factually conclusive; only a ruling by the Tribunal or the High Court is legally binding.

the person in respect of whom an application is made

The employment of the spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner of the holder of an automatic permit by virtue of which that permit was granted.

any person living with, or likely to live with, the person concerned as a member of his or her family or household.

The Department may revoke a work permit if it considers that the circumstances that justified the grant or renewal of the permit have changed. The relevant circumstances are where: 

(a) in relation to criminality:

(i) either the holder has been convicted of a criminal offence and received a relevant sentence falling since the work permit was granted or was last renewed, or before it was granted or renewed if the Department was then unaware of the sentence

(ii) since the work permit was granted the holder or a relevant person has been convicted of a criminal offence (see further at criminal records) (add hyperlink);

(b) it is discovered that the application for the permit includes a false statement or an omission such that a true and complete statement would have caused the Department to refuse to grant or to renew the permit

(c) the holder or his or her employer has failed to comply with any condition subject to which the permit was granted

(d) the holder has failed to pay his or her income tax or contributions under any statutory provision relating to social security

(e) two or more complaints against the holder have been referred to the department by the Office of Fair Trading, tending to show that the holder is not a fit and proper person to undertake or be engaged in the employment in question

(f) the continued employment of the holder would be unlawful under immigration law.  

A 'skills card' is a document issued by a recognised organisation to demonstrate the qualifications and skills of a person who is employed in a construction trade. The person concerned must hold a skills card before the application for a work permit is made. Training Services administrate skills cards in the Isle of Man.

Upon request, the Department may vary a work permit if it considers that a variation is reasonably required for the purpose of the employer’s business. A variation may be requested by:

• the permit holder
• his or her employer with the consent of the holder.

Permitted variations may:

• remove a limitation on employment in a specified capacity by removing the limitation or specifying a different capacity
• remove a limitation to employment at a specified place by removing the limitation or specifying a different place.

A work permit may also be varied to change the specified capacity in the work permit to employment in a different but related capacity if the Department is satisfied ―

• that the employment of the holder in the specified capacity is no longer required, but the employment of the holder in the other capacity is reasonably required, for the purpose of the employer’s business
• that the holder was employed in the specified capacity for the purpose of training for a qualification which he or she has now obtained, and is to be employed in a capacity for which that qualification is required.

The Work Permit Committee operates under delegated powers of the Minister. It consists of a chairperson and two other members and has a wide knowledge of employment matters. The Committee considers applications for work permits in any of the following circumstances:

• where there may be an actual or reasonably perceived conflict of interest if an officer of the Department were to determine the application
• where the person concerned falls within section 10 (criminal records) of the Act which deals with certain unspent criminal convictions etc. (see further at Criminal Records; (however, an officer may deal with other cases which are outside section 10)
• where the Department has received representations from a person who objects to a permit being granted and who, if it were granted, would be entitled to appeal to the Work Permit Appeal Tribunal
• where, exceptionally, the wider fiscal costs of the person concerned or any relevant persons might need to be considered
• where an officer of the Department reasonably considers that the application should be dealt with by the Committee.

The Committee also deals with cases of revocation.

Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Department (e.g. an employer who is refused a permit, or an Isle of Man worker who considers that the permit should not have been granted) may appeal to the Work Permit Appeal Tribunal.

The Tribunal is independent of the Department and is administered by the Tribunals Service. It consists of a legally qualified Chairman (whose place can be taken by a Deputy Chairman) and two other members, one selected from a panel representing employers and self-employed persons, and the other from a panel representing employees.

For further information see section 1.18 of a Guide to Work Permits.

Contact details of the Tribunal are as follows: