Ten long-term detainees from 'off-Island' at prison as of this month

Home Affairs Minister also quizzed on prisoner transfers

There were ten long-term detainees from 'off-Island' residing at the Isle of Man Prison as of 22 November this year.

That's according to Justice and Home Affairs Minister, Jane Poole-Wilson who's been quizzed on the number of longer-term inmates at the facility by Rushen MHK, Juan Watterson.

Furthermore, Mrs Poole-Wilson also confirmed 21 long-term detainees have been transferred off-Island between 1 January 2022 and Thursday this week (27 November, 2025).

Transfers, the minister adds, of prisoners from the Island to the UK are currently limited to one per month due to current 'prisons capacity issues' in Britain but that the Island is working with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to 'ensure an effective and efficient service.'

The minister says for the purposes of the written Tynwald question, 'off-Island' has been interpreted as a person who does not ordinarily reside in the Isle of Man.

At present, the prison relies on an individual's declaration of their country of origin and home address in addition to any other information provided voluntarily by a prisoner in order to ascertain whether a prisoner is from the Isle of Man or not.

Under Schedule 2 of the Custody Act 1995, a long-term detainee is defined as a person serving a sentence of custody for a term of four years or more.

In addition to the transfer of long-term detainees, Mr Watterson also asked about how many prisoners have been repatriated to their country of origin in the last three years and what obstacles there are to further repatriations.

When a prisoner requests to be transferred, the Prison works with the Cross Border Transfer section in HMPPS in order to determine eligibility for transfer and then, if eligible and agreed, complete the transfer.

As part of this process, the Cross Border Transfer section will usually consider the following conditions as a minimum (although the list is not exhaustive):

 • That the prisoner is a national of the country to which transfer is sought; 

• That the sentence ls final and enforceable (i.e. there are no outstanding appeals or other legal proceedings); 

• That the prisoner has at least 6 months of the sentence left to serve

The current limitation on transfers from the Island does not include those under deportation or extradition orders.

Minister Poole-Wilson further states that repatriation of prisoners must be in accordance with international law, adding international treaties and bi-lateral agreements providing for the transfer of prisoners to a country of origin, other than the UK, would need to be in place for transfer to be considered.