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Government of Jerseygov.je

Information and public services for the Island of Jersey

L'înformâtion et les sèrvices publyis pouor I'Île dé Jèrri

Income Support residence test

​​​Criteria to pass the residence test

To pass the Income Support residence test, you must meet one of the following:

  • have lived in Jersey without any breaks for the past five years immediately before the date that you claim Income Support
  • have lived in Jersey without any breaks for at least five years at a time in the past, moved away for less than five years and then lived in Jersey continuously for longer than the time spent away
  • have lived in Jersey for at least ten years at any time in the past, without any breaks
  • Jersey-born adults only: lived in Jersey for a total of at least ten years at any time in the past. The ten years can be made up of a number of separate periods living in Jersey, with gaps in between
  • adult child of a parent with 'entitled' residential status: lived in Jersey for a total of at least ten years at any time in the past. You must have moved to Jersey before the age of 20 and your parent must have 'entitled' status. The ten years can be made up of a number of separate periods living in Jersey, with gaps in between

Time spent in prison doesn’t count towards a total period of residence, but it doesn’t create a break in your residence record.

You can contact us for more information.

Ordinary residence

Ordinary residence is when you:

  • live permanently in Jersey
  • only leave for holidays or other short trips
  • don’t have another home in a different country which you return to on a regular basis 

Breaks of up to one month per year are allowed to cover holidays and other absences.

If you work in Jersey for eight or nine months of the year but you go back to another country each year, you won’t have ordinary residence in Jersey.

Proving you pass the Income Support residence test

You can prove you pass the residence test through your residential status, your wage records or by providing other information.

Residential status (housing qualifications)

If you qualify as 'entitled', you’ll generally pass the Income Support residence test.

In most cases we won’t need to ask you for any further information, but if you’ve spent a period in prison as part of the time to obtain your 'entitled' status, you might need to.

Wage records

We receive records of wages paid on a monthly basis for everyone working eight hours or more per week.

If our records show that you have been working for the last five years without any breaks, we won’t need to ask for any further information as this will confirm your residency for Income Support.

If you’ve worked in Jersey in the past for a period of ten years without any breaks, we will check this against our records and we won’t need to ask for any further information as this will confirm your residency for Income Support.

Time spent as a detached worker doesn’t count towards your total period of residence (a detached worker is someone who is employed by an employer based outside Jersey and who continues to pay social security (or equivalent) contributions and income tax in another country).

Benefit records

Our records will show if you’ve been receiving Income Support for the last five years without any breaks, so we won’t need to ask you for any further information.

Other information

If you can’t prove your residence using employment records or Income Support, you’ll need to collect evidence from people and organisations you’ve had regular contact with during your period of residence in Jersey.

These could include:
  • school records
  • employer records (if you were working fewer than eight hours a week)
  • doctor, dentist, hospital specialist or other medical professional
  • religious leader or charity worker
  • landlord
  • lawyer or advocate
  • police, prison or probation officer
  • social worker, hostel manager, counsellor or health visitor
  • gym, club or association membership

It’s likely you’ll need to get evidence from more than one source to confirm your residence in Jersey.

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