Working in Guernsey as a French National: Employment Permit, Pay, Tax and Contributions

Guernsey has never been part of the European Union and has applied British immigration rules since 1 January 2021 to EU nationals other than British or Irish: anyone coming to work applies for a visa and obtains a document from the Population Management Office. Anyone who works on the island holds a permit or certificate, and the employment permit policy in force since 3 April 2023 applies.

• Short-term employment permit (STEP): up to one year, renewable up to three cumulative years of residence, after which a recognised break in residence is required.
• Seasonal permit (SEP): up to nine months, followed by at least three months off the island.
• Long-term employment permit (LTEP): up to eight years, after which the holder becomes an established resident. Since 3 April 2023, this permit is required to house a dependant.
• Open Market employment permit (Part A): up to five years, renewable as long as full-time employment continues; residents of a Part A house can take any job.

The application is submitted by the employer, not by the employee; an employer based outside Guernsey applies on the basis of a service contract. Full-time means 35 hours a week or more. A permit may be refused in the event of a previous stay without a recognised break in residence or a serious criminal record. Application fees are in the Population Management Office's “Application Fees” scale, to be consulted before any application. For the housing conditions linked to the permit, see living in Guernsey.

The hourly minimum wage is £13.10 (about €15.50 at the ECB reference rate) for adults aged 18 and over, apprentices included, and £11.80 for 16-17 year olds (excluding apprentices under 18). It applies whatever the size of the employer, including a private individual. Accommodation provided may be deducted up to £118 a week, and £164 with meals.

Median employee income is around £43,000. By sector, finance and insurance show the highest median, at around £57,000, or more than a third above the general median, and private individual employers the lowest, at around £25,000. Unemployment affects less than 1% of the labour force.

Income tax is 20% of taxable income and the tax year follows the calendar year. The personal allowance, the dependent child allowance (to be claimed each year) and the phasing out of allowances above a certain level of income are revised every year. The employee is taxed by deduction through their employer according to a coding notice. The government's settling-in guide states that there is no VAT, capital gains tax, inheritance tax or wealth tax.

A cap exists for wealthy individuals. The tax cap limits a resident's taxation to a fixed sum, revised periodically: a cap on qualifying income (foreign-source income and the island's bank interest) or a cap on all income, without personal allowances. New residents who have bought a property from the Open Market Part A register, with at least £50,000 of document duty, benefit from a specific cap in the year of arrival and the following three, set by the States of Deliberation. The conditions of these regimes are to be checked with the Revenue Service.

Class 1 contributions are based on gross pay between a lower and an upper weekly limit, revised every year: 7.5% for the employee and 7.1% for the employer, with a weekly maximum for the employee. The self-employed fall under Class 2, at a rate of 12.4% of income, and the non-employed under Class 3 (11.8% before pension age, 3.8% after). These contributions fund the health and specialist scheme, pensions, unemployment benefit (employees only) and maternity allowances.

A contributing employee is entitled to sickness benefit from 26 weeks of contributions, up to £215.04 a week (about €255) for 50 to 52 contributions in the reference year. Details on care are in the guide to the healthcare system and on the page on healthcare reimbursement.

France and Guernsey are bound by a social security convention in force since 1 December 1965 for employees. A seconded employee can remain on the French scheme under conditions and submit their care invoices with form S 3125c; CLEISS (the French centre for European and international social security liaison) does not specify the maximum duration of secondment. An employee on expatriation falls under local legislation; the CPAM gives them a certificate of French insurance periods before departure. See also seconded or expatriate.

The self-employed are not mentioned in the 1965 convention: their cover depends on local law (Class 2) and their residence situation, to be confirmed with the Population Management Office. For remote work for an employer located outside the island, that office's FAQ states that no permit is required for ten days or fewer in a 30-day period and 90 days or fewer in 12 months, any longer stay requiring a permit; the office confirms the version of this rule in force.

On tax, France and Guernsey have not concluded a double taxation treaty: only an information exchange agreement, signed on 24 March 2009 and in force since 4 October 2010, binds the two administrations. French tax domicile is therefore determined by domestic law alone (article 4 B of the French general tax code), which looks at the home or main place of stay, the professional activity or the centre of economic interests in France, a single one of these criteria being sufficient. A person who keeps their home or economic interests in France may thus remain taxable in France on their worldwide income, while Guernsey taxes the income of its residents; individual tax advice is essential before departure.

Finance and insurance contribute more than a third of GDP and more than 40% of factor incomes, according to the island government's value added bulletin. The sector directly employs about a sixth of the labour force, and nearly a quarter of jobs are in finance, law or accounting.

Guernsey funds represent hundreds of billions of pounds in assets, and the financial sector growth strategy records hundreds of insurance entities and reinsurance captives. The currency is the pound sterling, with the same account numbers and bank codes as the United Kingdom.

The same strategy notes moderate growth in the sector's value added and sets a growth target; it also notes that the talent pool is limited by the island's size and argues for a more flexible population and permit policy.