Cayman Islands Immigration Amendment Addresses Permit Issues

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

12 August 2005

A crucial change to the Immigration Law was recently passed by the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly, to further assist persons seeking work in the jurisdictions.

The Immigration (Amendment Bill) 2005 addresses those seeking work, as well as holders of temporary work permits.

In the months following Hurricane Ivan, many people were required to enter the Islands to assist in the much-needed recovery process. The Immigration Department supported the recovery effort by facilitating employers to recruit a large number of temporary workers.

However, the 2003 Immigration Law prohibited employees from working in the transitional period between obtaining a temporary work permit and an annual work permit. Therefore in order to maintain the recovery process, the Chief Immigration Officer was required to issue new temporary work permits to employers. This created a tremendous workload for immigration staff.

Consequently, the amendment to the Immigration Law is regarded by the government as crucial.

“It benefits all of us who are involved in the work permit process,” explained Chief Immigration Officer Franz Manderson.

“Now, there is some leeway for temporary workers which will translate in a reduction in the work load of the Immigration Department," he added.

One way that the changes address the needs of temporary work permit holders is to allow them to work during the transitional period between a temporary and one-year permit. This new provision applies to persons who will be working under the same terms and conditions as the original temporary permit and whose employer has applied for the annual work permit during the currency of the temporary permit. The benefits to both the employer and employee are that work can continue uninterrupted and the extra step of applying for an extension to remain in the Islands is removed.

Another aspect of the new amendment deals with persons who enter the Cayman Islands as visitors but use their time to seek employment. Should such a person prove successful in finding an employer, he/she will no longer be able to remain on island while a permit is being processed. Such visitors are now required to be off island during the processing process.

“Under the new law, both the Chief Immigration Officer and the Boards are prohibited from considering work permits made by visitors who are on Island, unless there are special circumstances. This amendment addresses public concerns about persons ‘hanging around’ the Islands with nothing to do, but at the same time does not affect genuine tourists,” Mr Manderson stated.

"Overall, the amendment will mean less congestion at the department and it will reduce the number of bogus work permit applications, giving us more time to concentrate on legitimate ones Mr. Manderson emphasized," he added.

The Immigration (Amendment Bill) 2005 is effective as of Tuesday, 9 August.

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