1. Work Permit
Allows one person to work and remain in the Cayman Islands for a specified period of time (except persons married to Caymanians). There are three boards that currently process work permit applications. If you employ 15 or more employees on work permits and you do not submit a Business Staffing Plan, your temporary or full work permits will not be considered by any of the following Boards:
The Work Permit Board – responsible for applications from businesses employing less than 15 persons on work permits. This board will not entertain a work permit from a company that employs more than 15 persons on work permits.
The Business Staffing Plan Board –
deals with applications from companies employing 15 or more persons on work permits.
The Cayman Brac and Little Cayman Immigration Board – where the application is for gainful occupation in Cayman Brac or Little Cayman.
If a new business is being set up in the Islands, the Board may approve work permits for senior personnel occupying key positions within their establishment who wish to relocate to the Islands, provided that such personnel are not available within the local work force.
All work permit forms, fees and instructions can be downloaded from the following website: www.immigration.gov.ky.
Exemptions from Requirements of a Work Permit
Persons exempted:
1) A person employed by the Government of the Islands in respect of his employment;
2) A person employed in the Islands by the Government of the United Kingdom;
3) A consular officer and his staff;
4) An accredited representative or agent of a government of any part of the Commonwealth; or
5) A member of Her Majesty’s armed forces;
6) Any person who may, from time to time, be declared by the Governor to be exempt for any purpose either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as may be prescribed;
7) A member of the crew of any vessel that does not operate full-time in the Islands, while engaged in his duties as such;
8) The beneficial owner of up to two units of property whose lawful presence in the Islands is to facilitate rental or lease arrangements in respect of those units and whose spouse does not own, operate or have an interest in those units; or
9) Such other class or classes of persons as may, from time to time, be prescribed;
A certificate issued by the Governor, acting in his discretion, shall be final in determining whether or not a person falls within one of the categories (i) to (v) referred to in paragraph a.
A person arriving in the Islands for the purpose of engaging in any activities listed below are not required to obtain a work permit as long as that activity does not exceed seven days.
1) Attending meetings or trade fairs and making purchases from Cayman Islands businesses
2) Attending conferences and seminars as an ordinary participant
3) Receiving training, techniques and work practices employed in the Islands
4) Representing an overseas educational institution, to promote or to interview applicants for places at such institution
5) Being a guest speaker at a conference or seminar where the event is a single or occasional event and not part of a commercial venture
6) Organising or supervising a conference or seminar for up to seven days duration where it is a single or occasional event
7) Participating in sporting events
8) Covering a specific news assignment as a newspaper, magazine, radio or television journalist representing a recognised news organisation
9) Working for short periods for a non-profit or cultural organisation based in the Islands
10) Giving professional or expert testimony in court proceedings
11) A non-executive director of a business being carried on in the Islands where the person is not involved in the day-to-day operations may visit in his capacity as a director only.
Documents Required When Applying for a Work Permit:
a) Application form
b) An original Police Clearance Certificate
c) Copies of advertisements published in a local newspaper for two consecutive weeks along with any responses and CV’s of Caymanian applicants
d) Prescribed fees
e) Photographs (passport sized), two full face and one profile
f) A full and accurate description of the job to be filled
g) Cover letter detailing the qualifications necessary for carrying out the job; why the applicant is seeking a work permit; and reasons why a Caymanian was not employed for the position
h) Medical questionnaire form
i) Accommodation sheet
j) Pension and Health Insurance form.
Work Permit Dependants
The Board has to be satisfied that the worker has sufficient income available to adequately support their dependants. Currently, the expected monthly salary is in the region of CI$3,500 for a family of three and goes up by CI$500–1,000 for each additional dependant. This is a guideline only. In every case the character, reputation and health of your dependants is taken into consideration as well as whether you can comfortably afford to feed, house, educate and maintain them on the Island. The possibility is that you will be granted a work permit but your children will not be allowed to accompany you. If you are considering starting a family once you have settled in Cayman please see the Having a Baby chapter for guidelines.
Also, each year a fee of CI$250 will be collected for each dependant for persons in the unskilled category and CI$500 for each dependant for those persons in the skilled category. The employer and not the employee must pay for this. Annual fees may be partly refunded should the work permit be terminated prior to the employee having worked less than six months into the term of the work permit. A non-refundable fee of CI$200 per person is also collected for repatriation.
Expatriate children are expected to attend one of the local private schools on the Island. (See the Education chapter.)
Term Limits
Term Limits have been introduced to provide protection to Caymanians, Permanent Residents and the Cayman Islands infrastructure. Schools and the health system are among the resources found to have been over-burdened when, in such a short period of time, so many people were allowed to become Permanent Residents and Status Holders. The term limits only allow a person to hold a work permit for a continuous period of residence in the Islands for seven years, unless they have been designated as a key employee with their present employer by the Work Permit Board or the Business Staffing Plan Board. Once they are designated a key employee they may reside for a further two years. This would make them eligible to apply for Permanent Residency which requires residency for eight years. Otherwise the key employee would have to depart after year nine. If you have to depart at the end of seven years it is possible to leave the Island for one year and then return to work for another seven years.
Temporary Work Permit
The Chief Immigration Officer or his designate may grant a temporary work permit for a period not exceeding six months (except to persons married to Caymanians). Temporary work permits are issued for genuinely temporary employment. The Department must be convinced that this is an emergency situation or a position that is unable to be filled by a Caymanian. These permits are generally not renewed, but if the situation should change during the course of a six-month temporary permit, the employer should write to the Board stating the facts and apply for a one-year work permit to be considered for that employee.
Once the work permit grant is submitted before the temporary work permit expires, the employee may continue to work until the Work Permit Board or Business Staffing Plan Board has made their decision.
Documents Required When Applying for a Temporary Work Permit:
a) Application form
b) An original Police Clearance Certificate
c) Prescribed fees
d) Photographs (passport size), two full face and one profile
e) Cover letter stating why the applicant is seeking a temporary work permit and reasons why a Caymanian was not employed for the position
f) Medical questionnaire (if permit is to be sought for more than three months).
Self-Employed Work Permit Holders
These permits are only issued in exceptional circumstances, as decided by the Chief Immigration Officer or Work Permit Board.
2. Permanent Residency & Employment Rights Certificate
A Permanent Resident is a person who has been granted permission by the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board or Chief Immigration Officer to remain permanently in the Islands. One way to qualify for Permanent Residence is to have been legally and ordinarily resident in the Cayman Islands for at least eight years immediately prior to your application.
The Board will issue to the successful applicant a Residency & Employment Rights Certificate. This certificate entitles the holder to accept employment from any employer of his choice, but restricts him to working within particular occupations specified by the Board and each certificate may vary.
The Permanent Residence Assessment Point System is the means by which the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board assesses an application. You can review the point system in the Immigration (Amendment No.3) Regulations, 2007. Factors to be taken into consideration include the following:
1. Your occupation:
Professional
Skilled
Unskilled and Domestic (Points are compiled with reference to the Employment Relations Department’s data base)
2. Knowledge and experience:
Number of years experience in field (points based on one point for each year after minimum threshold of two years with a maximum of 15 years)
Degree programme qualifications and/or professional/postgraduate qualifications
Skilled tradesman
3. Skills:
Professional
Skilled
Unskilled
(Points are allocated with the level of skills required in your particular field of expertise, based on the Employment Relations Department’s report).
4. Financial Assessment: Investment either in property or a local company (the Board will take into account the applicant’s investment relative to his actual means).
5. Funds and Salary: Evidence of cash or investments, and evidence of salary, income and ability to support the applicant and any dependants. Also of vital importance is your ability to provide for their healthcare and educational needs.
6. Contribution to the Community: For example only: training and employment of Caymanians; the participation in a youth programme; participation in a church or local society; participation in a service or social club and personal references.
7. Passing a History/Culture Test of the Island: (You will receive one point for every question you answer right, out of a possible 20 questions).
8. Close Caymanian Connections: i.e. being a parent, child or spouse of a Caymanian; having relatives who are Caymanian.
9. General: For example, the geographical area you are from is taken into consideration in an effort to maintain a suitable balance of nationalities on the Island.
10. Deductible components: Character, health, and other mitigating factors.
The maximum number of points possible is 205 with 100 being the minimum number of points needed to achieve the grant of Permanent Residence.
3. Residency & Employment Rights Certificate For The Spouse Of A Caymanian
Those persons married to a Caymanian can no longer apply for a Temporary or Full Work Permit. They have two options: They can either apply to the Chief Immigration Officer for a Residency and Employment Rights Certificate (which allows them to remain and work on the Islands without the need to possess a work permit for six months and cannot be renewed) or they can apply to the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board (which allows them to remain and work on the Islands without the need to possess a work permit for seven years). If the latter is approved then after seven years they can either apply for this certificate to be renewed or apply for the Right to be Caymanian. There is a non-refundable application filing fee of CI$250 and, when approved, there is an additional government fee of CI$400.
4. Permanent Residence as the Spouse of a Deceased Caymanian
In the situation where the marriage to a deceased Caymanian has not subsisted for a period of seven years or the grant of the right to be Caymanian has been refused by the Board, the surviving spouse of a Caymanian may apply to the Chief Immigration Officer for the right to permanently reside in the Islands. The Chief Immigration Officer shall take into account the applicant’s health and character.
5. Twenty Five Year Residency Certificate – for Persons of Independent Means
Persons of independent means can apply for a 25-year Residency Certificate. In Grand Cayman, proof of an annual income of at least CI$150,000 without the need to be engaged in employment in the Cayman Islands is required and an investment of CI$750,000 (of which CI$250,000 must be in developed real estate).
To become resident in Little Cayman or Cayman Brac, proof of an annual income of CI$75,000 without the need to be employed in the Cayman Islands and an investment of CI$250,000 locally, of which at least CI$125,000 must be in developed residential real estate. There is a one-time fee of CI$15,250.
6. Student Visas
A non-Caymanian who is 18 years of age or older, seeking to enter the Cayman Islands to attend a recognised educational institution on a full-time basis may be granted a student visa. The student should be self-sufficient or provide proof of support from other means. The student visa does not allow the student to work. It is understood that the student is expected to leave the Islands on completion of the programme. Most student visas are granted for a period of four years but may be extended for a further 12 months.
7. Dependant of a Caymanian
You may apply to the Chief Immigration Officer for the child of a Caymanian to be allowed to enter, remain and attend school in the Islands. You may also apply to the Chief Immigration Officer for the dependant of a Caymanian to be granted permission to reside in the Islands for a period of up to three years.
8. Caymanian – as of Right
You may apply to the Chief Immigration Officer to be acknowledged as a Caymanian.
A Caymanian means a person who possesses Caymanian status under the Immigration Law (2007 Revision) or any other law. Such a person is:
a person whose parent possessed the right to be Caymanian at the time of their birth or whose parent acquires the right to be Caymanian before the child is 18; or
a child born in or outside of the Islands, with at least one Caymanian parent settled in the Islands; or
a child acquiring the right to be Caymanian under the above conditions or under any earlier law conferring the same or similar rights.
9. Right to be Caymanian – by Grant
The right to be Caymanian may be granted by the Chief Immigration Officer to any person who:
was born in the Islands between March 27th 1977 and January 1st 1983;
is a British Overseas Territories Citizen by virtue of being born in the Islands; and
has resided in the Islands since birth save for absences abroad for purposes of education or medical treatment.
The right to be Caymanian may also be granted by the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board to any person who:
has attained the age of 18 years;
is the child or grandchild of a Caymanian born in the Cayman Islands; and who is legally and ordinarily resident in the Cayman Islands immediately preceding the application; or
is a British Overseas Territories Citizen by reason of a Certificate of Naturalisation or Registration who has been legally and ordinarily resident in the Islands for at least 15 years or at least five years after the receipt of that grant; or
has been married to a Caymanian for five years prior to the 2006 Immigration Law, or seven years on or after the commencement of that Law, who is legally and ordinarily resident in the Cayman Islands immediately preceding the application; or
is the surviving spouse of a Caymanian who was married to the deceased for at least seven years and has been legally and ordinarily resident immediately preceding the death of the Caymanian spouse; or
has attained the age of 17 years and has Caymanian Status which will expire when he attains the age of 18 years; or
has expired upon his attaining the age of 18 years; and in either case has been legally and ordinarily resident in the Islands for at least five years out of the seven years immediately preceding the application; or
has been granted Status by the Governor (Governor in Cabinet) if in his opinion, he finds a special reason for doing so.
10. Naturalisation – Obtaining Citizenship in the Cayman Islands
Persons applying for Naturalisation as a British Overseas Territories Citizen in the Cayman Islands must be 18 years or older;
without Immigration control for at least one year (i.e. Permanent Resident, granted the right to be a Caymanian or refugee);
resident for a period of five years immediately preceding the date of application
In addition, must be of good character and have general knowledge of the English language.
The grant of the right to be Caymanian, work permits, permanent residence, student entry and naturalisation are discretionary and will only be granted once the specific board has been satisfied that the application meets with all of their requirements.
For More Information
The information contained here is just a summary of the requirements. The Immigration Law, (2007 Revision) and its Regulations are quite complex. For interpretation and understanding, we recommend that you contact the Immigration Department, which has staff who are quite willing to assist, or one of the local Immigration consultants that are available.
Copies of the Immigration Law (2007 Revision) and Immigration Regulations (2007 Revision) may be purchased at the Legislative Assembly for a nominal fee.
Immigration Department
Cayman Islands Government
PO Box 1098
Elgin Avenue
Grand Cayman KY1-1102
Cayman Islands
Tel: 345 949 8344 Fax: 345 949 8486
www.immigration.gov.ky
