The process for residents marrying in the Cayman Islands is fairly simple. After you have selected your wedding celebrant (a Civil Registrar/Marriage Officer), during your first consultation they will tell you the required forms that you will need to fill out and steps that you need to take.
Before your wedding ceremony is allowed to take place, your Banns of Marriage must be published by your wedding celebrant for seven clear days. This is to give anyone who might object to the marriage the opportunity to make their objection known, in writing, to your wedding celebrant.
Most of the marriage officers in the Cayman Islands are Ministers of Religion and can be contacted through their churches. Refer to the Churches & Religious Services page for a list of churches. You will also find a list of Marriage Officers on the Cayman Government website.
Civil Registrars in Grand Cayman work out of their offices where they can be contacted, and where the Banns of Marriage are published, usually on a Public Notice board, outside their office.
Documents Needed by Residents Getting Married in the Cayman Islands
- Proof of identity – a Cayman Islands Voter’s Registration Card, passport or certified/original birth certificate
- Proof of marital status (legal divorce decree or death certificate, if applicable)
Marrying a Caymanian
A person who is newly married to a Caymanian may wish to apply for a Residency and Employment Rights Certificate as the Spouse of a Caymanian (RERC). Such a certificate (which is available on application to the Director of WORC or to the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board) allows the holder to reside in the Islands and to work in any occupation, without any annual fees being payable. The certificate remains valid for as long as the marriage remains stable.
The law very strongly discourages the grant of a work permit to a person who is married to a Caymanian, and in most instances, such an application will be denied. It can therefore be important for a person to seek and obtain a work permit before they marry a Caymanian. They can then, while the permit remains valid, apply for an RERC and be able to live and work in the Islands while the application for the RERC is pending.
If the RERC is approved, then the holder will be treated as a Permanent Resident of the Islands. This would mean that if they have already lived in Cayman for four years then, one year following the grant of their RERC, they will be eligible to apply to become naturalised as a BOTC as little as one year following its grant. If the Caymanian to whom they are married is also a BOTC, then the RERC holder may be able to apply for naturalization based on as little as 3 year’s residence.
Anyone naturalised as a BOTC may (under the current regime) apply to become Caymanian as little as 5 years later. Alternatively, anyone who has been married to a Caymanian for at least 7 years can apply for the Right to be Caymanian based on marriage, whether or not they have been living in Cayman for an extended period or are naturalised as a BOTC.
An application for an RERC as the Spouse of a Caymanian requires payment of a non-refundable application fee of CI$300.
The holder of an RERC as the Spouse of a Caymanian, who has been continuously legally and ordinarily resident in the Islands for at least 8 years may apply for Permanent Residence under the Points System and thereby attain a right to reside in the islands independent of their marriage.
Please note that an application for an RERC as the spouse of a Caymanian can take several months to be processed. Many documents are required to be submitted, including an affidavit to the effect that your marriage is not one of convenience. The spouse of a Caymanian has no right to enter or remain in the Islands based solely on their marriage, and appropriate applications should accordingly be made in good time.