Cayman Islands Immigration Board Calls for Business Plans Before Granting Work Permits

Caymannetnews

09 November 2000

This story is reproduced by kind permission of Caymannetnews at http://www.caymannetnews.com

Under the new Immigration (Business Plan) Regulations which came into force on September 29, business places applying for work permits for immigrant employees now need to submit a business plan to the Immigration Board.

The Board feels this new dispensation is a means of forging greater partnerships with the local business sector, moving away from the micro management of work permit applications and improving the efficacy of granting work permits.

The new Law stipulates that the business plan should indicate:

* the number of employees in the company's employ at the date of submission of the draft business plan

* the number of Caymanian and non-Caymanian employees the company has on board

* the positions occupied by all Caymanian and non-Caymanian employees; the nationalities of the non-Caymanian employees and whether such non-Caymanian employees are permanent residents or holders of work permits

* the length of time each position has been held by a work permit holder

* the anticipated growth of the business and its future plans for the next three years

* the future anticipated needs of the business as regards its workforce for the next three years

* the company's commitment to education and development locally including scholarships, training schemes and in-house training

* a list of the positions in the business that are identified as key posts and a brief statement of why they are considered key;

* its recruitment policy

* the number of work permits that will be required in at least the next three years, the posts that they will be required for and the length of time they will be required for.

In respect of posts being held by work permit holders other than permanent residents, employers need submit information pertaining to the likelihood of these posts being filled by Caymanians or permanent residents and the anticipated length of time before that happens.

Once they have received a business plan from a company, the Board says, it may either approve it, or request a meeting with the company to discuss it further. If such a meeting is deemed necessary, it says, amendments and changes to the plan may be required.

Once the period that the business plan covers has been agreed by the board, the company can submit a work permit application for the post listed and for the length of times stated in the business plan, without the need to advertise the posts.

If a business plan has not been submitted, or a plan has not been approved by the Immigration Board, the normal procedure set out in the Law, regulations and directions shall apply to work permit applications.

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