Cayman Islands Jobs And Immigration Policy:A new law seeking to reduce any instances of terrorism requires all American citizens traveling to the Caribbean as of January 23rd, 2007 require a valid passport and a return or ongoing airline ticket for entry into the Cayman Islands. http://travel.state.gov/travel/passport Immigration law in the Cayman Islands is very specific as it pertains to obtaining a work permit. There are actually two types of Cayman Islands Work Permits issued. The first is a temporary work permit. Temporary Work Permit A temporary Cayman Islands Work Permit is issued upon certain conditions. Before January 1, 2007 the Cayman Islands Immigration department issued one-month temporary and six-month, short-term, work permits, that has since been abolished and the Immigration department now ONLY issues a single temporary work permit for a period of only six months. This means that no one can work on a temporary work permit after 6 months. Applications for a temporary Cayman Islands work permit is made by the employers directly to the Cayman Islands Chief Immigration Officer or his primary designate. Temporary Work Permits in the Cayman Islands are neither extendable nor renewable hence the applicants must specify the length of time. However most applicants wonder what are the criteria or criterion that must be satisfied to be issued a temporary work permit. All employers must identify the need for the expatriate and prove that they cannot find a Caymanian to fill that position. A temporary work permit cannot be converted to either a one year permit or any other longer period work permit. This essentially means that a one year work permit should be submitted before a shorter term work permit expires or the employee cannot continue to work in the Cayman Islands. One Year, Three Year and Five Year Work Permit One year to five year work permits issued by the Cayman Islands are a much different prospect. Primarily these work permits are not approved only by the Chief Immigration Officer and or his primary designate but by the Cayman Islands Work Permit Board or the Business Staffing Plan Board. The Work Permit Board handles applications for employing companies that have less than 15 expatriates on staff, while the Business Staffing Plan handles applications for employers with over 15 expatriates on staff. Before we review these types of work permits, we look on the process. Before an application can be submitted the employer is required to advertise the position to ensure that they are no qualified Caymanians that can take up the position and to demonstrate that they operate a training programme geared at educating local staff to eventually take up these positions. Undoubtedly the employer must also prove to either board that the employee is needed for day to day functions. Both the Work Permit Board and the Business Staffing Plan Board can issue valid Cayman Islands Work Permits between the periods of one to five years. The usual granting is up to a three year period. A three year permit is usually granted for domestics, civil servants such as teachers, doctors and even preachers. In rare circumstances is a five-year work permit granted and this is done by the Business Staffing Plan Board. The Rollover Policy and the Term Limits for Work Permits The rollover policy has been a source of much contention in the Cayman Islands. At its main point is the term limit for work permits. A work permit holder can work continuously in the Cayman Islands for as MAXIMUM period of seven years. After this amount of time neither board normally issues that person with any further Cayman Islands work permits until that expatriate has left the Cayman Islands for a minimum of two years. However there are exceptions to this law, that would require the employee to be designated as an exempted employee or what is called key employee status by the Business Staffing Plan Board under non-prejudicial exceptional circumstances. Where this application is granted then it would eventually allow the worker to remain for a period of eight years and then apply for permanent residency. Dependents, Spouses and Children Under normal circumstances dependents can be added to an employees work permit. This is normally done for spouses and children. However where in the past due consideration was only given based on the real disposable income of the worker and IF he or she could afford to maintains a minimum standard of living for themselves and all other dependents living in the Cayman Island, consideration is now being given to external dependencies being relatives, spouses and children and if the worker must also support these individuals off island. We have added several forms for the immigration process below. These forms are mainly used for Grand Cayman. As there are very little applications for the sister islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman these can be found directly from the Cayman Islands Immigration Department. FORMS Temporary Work Permit Application Work Permit Grant Checklist Work Permit Grant for Employees Work Permit Grant for Employers Work Permit Grant Fee Schedule Work Permit English Test Notes Work Permit Renewal Checklist Work Permit Renewal for Employees Work Permit Renewal for Employers Work Permit Renewal Fee Schedule Work Permit Medical Form Work Permit Accommodation Form Work Permit Form to Add Dependents
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