NEW immigration controls being proposed as part of the biggest shake-up of housing law for a generation should be debated by the States this year.

Paul Bradbury, the head of the new Population Office, which has been instrumental in drawing up the Migration Policy, said that the public would be asked for their views before a proposition went to the States. However, he said that the changes were unlikely to come into force for a couple of years. The reason for the probable delay between approval and implementation, he explained, was that a new IT system was needed for the new population database, which all residents would need to register for. It is also expected to take some time for new identity cards, which are likely to be called registration cards, to be produced and handed out. A change to the current system of immigration controls through housing regulation will be debated by the States at their meeting next week. It is proposed to lower the wait for ‘housing quallies’ from 13 to 12 years, allowing another 140 to 190 households to step on to the property ladder.