On 31 January 2025, the Ministry of Border Control and Labour tabled the "Immigration (Transition) Discussion White Paper", which the Government's website notes is intended to 1) implement revenue-generating measures associated with Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman (WORC) and 2) improve the immigration framework to better address the evolving needs of the Cayman Islands. Key amendments to the Immigration (Transition) Act, 2022 proposed in the White Paper affecting work permit holders and employers include:
- Increasing term limits from 9 years to 10.
- Increasing eligibility to apply for permanent residency under the points system from 8 years to 9; and
- Prohibiting work-permit holders from changing their employers (requiring them to leave the Islands for 12 months before returning to work in the service of a new employer).
The amendments proposed in the White paper impacting upon the right to be granted permanent residency and Caymanian status ar:
- Creating categories of Caymanian (for example, all persons attaining status before 2015 or on grounds of 'descent' will be deemed 'native Caymanian').
- Increasing earliest eligibility to status through permanent residency and naturalisation from 15 years to 20 years.
- Leaving the earliest eligibility to status through marriage to a Caymanian at 7 years.
- Amending the currently indefinite term of Residency and Employment Rights Certificates (RERCs) as the spouse of a Caymanian to a renewable term of 7 years.
- Capping RERCs as the spouse of a PR holder to 10 years (renewable).
Significant other proposed amendments include:
- Introducing a 5-year Certificate for Farmers which may be obtained by a final work permit holder, or a person that held a final work permit which has expired and who has left the Islands and applied within 1 year of the permit expiring. The Certificate would be renewable for a further term of 5 years. However, a Certificate for Farmers would not entitle the employee's spouse or civil partner or dependants to employment rights;
- Renaming the Immigration Transition Act "The Caymanian Protection Act".
The White Paper is now subject to a 21-day public consultation due to close on 3 March 2025. Please click here to view or download a copy of the White Paper. The Ministry has also issued a FAQs document for the most common questions, which can be found here.
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