The dependant spouse of a Permanent Resident can and (in most cases) should apply for their own Permanent Residence and Employment Rights Certificate (RERC) in their own right, as soon as their spouse is granted Permanent Residence. We also talk about the situation as it pertains to children.
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We explain here how and why you should apply for Permanent Residency in your own right as soon as your spouse gains Permanent Residency or Caymanian Status. There is absolutely no reason why you cannot apply in your own right, and in fact many problems have arisen later for people who have simply left their residency status tied to their spouse's as a dependant.
Spouse and Child of a Permananet Resident
Permanent Residence as the Spouse of a Permanent Resident
Permanent Residents will have to continue paying CI$500 per year per dependant until they (or the Permanent Resident) become Caymanian. If you are on a government contract and receive PR, you appear to have the choice of putting your dependent children on your PR (and paying the CI$500 fee per year) or keeping them on your government contract and paying no fees for them. These fees, and associated rules, are expected to change imminently. There are other rules worth considering.
The dependent spouse of a Permanent Resident can and (in most cases) should apply for their own Permanent Residence and Employment Rights Certificate (RERC) in their own right, as soon as their spouse is granted Permanent Residence. They do not have to wait the usual eight years of residency and do not have to take any test or be subject to the points system. They should also apply to be naturalised after having PR for one year and then apply for the Right to be Caymanian as soon as five years have passed, or they have been living in the Cayman Islands for a total of 15 years. Do not overlook your children’s Naturalisation and Status application in this process!
Many people just carry on having their Residency and Employment Rights Certificate (RERC) as the Spouse of a Permanent Resident ‘tied to’ their spouse’s PR since there is no time limit on the award. This can, however, create problems down the line. For example, a problem arises when one of the spouses applies for and is granted the Right to be Caymanian. At this point, the RERC holder/spouse (and children) must have their Immigration status in the Islands ‘regularised’ within 45 days. In effect, and according to the interpretation applied to date by the authorities, the spouse can no longer be deemed the dependant of a PR holder when the person is now a Caymanian – and if applications are not made promptly, they can lose the right to live in Cayman.
As it pertains to accompanying children, as long as they are under the age of 18 and the parent acquires Cayman Status, they can apply for the ‘Acknowledgement of the Right to be Caymanian by Entitlement’ within those 45 days, provided they have resided in Cayman for a minimum of one year. If there are some accompanying children who are over the age of 18, they must apply within 45 days for a continuation of their Residency under Section 39 of the Immigration (Transition) Act, but only if that child has been legally and ordinarily resident in the Islands for a minimum of seven years. Being away for schooling does not affect their ability to apply (provided Cayman has clearly remained their home throughout). Such applications are dealt with by the Director of WORC. It is very important that this rule is understood, as applying for Permanent Residency under Section 39 of the Immigration (Transition) Act grants the child PR independent of their parents.
Serious issues have also occurred when Permanent Residents have become Caymanians. A policy provides that all dependent spouses have exactly 45 days to apply for Caymanian Status (if they have been married for over seven years) or for a Residency and Employment Rights Certificate as the Spouse of a Caymanian (if they have been married for under seven years). However, people have run into immovable problems if their marriage has broken down in the intervening years. One of the requirements in the Immigration (Transition) Act is that you can hand-on-heart tick the box saying you have a stable marriage. If you cannot, then there are no particular rights remaining for you in the law; your certificate, as the spouse of a Permanent Resident, may have become void and you cannot now swap it for Caymanian Status. This means you may not be allowed to stay in the Cayman Islands. If you have children, the consequences can be devastating. It can accordingly be extremely important to make all relevant applications in a timely manner.
The ability to seek and obtain Permanent Residence based on marriage to a Permanent Resident (or even to a Caymanian) is about to end. Instead, extended visas will be available for qualified applicants. We will update our website when full details are confirmed.
Permanent Residency Based on Being the Dependant Child of a Permanent Resident
An expatriate child of a Permanent Resident (even if the child has a BOTC “Cayman” Passport) must, in most cases, be a dependant on a parent’s Permanent Residence. Upon turning 18, most will be eligible to apply for Permanent Residence in their own right under section 39 of the Immigration (Transition) Act. They can do this without being subject to the points system, provided they have been legally and ordinarily resident in the Cayman Islands for seven years prior to the application being made, were named on their parent’s application and approved, and are of good character. Their parent must also continue to be a Permanent Resident or have become Caymanian. Any such application must be made before the child turns 19 (ideally prepared even before they turn 18), but if the parent’s RERC has been varied to allow the child to be a dependant past 18, it can be made up until the child is 24, provided the child is still in tertiary education or within six months of the end of such education. They will then be able to apply to become Caymanian once they have been in Cayman for 15 years and are Naturalised or Registered as a British Overseas Territories Citizen (BOTC), or five years after having been Naturalised or Registered and become a BOTC. A non-Caymanian child of the expatriate spouse of a Caymanian, and whose expatriate parent holds a RERC (Residency and Employment Rights Certificate) as the spouse of a Caymanian, can be added as a dependant of their parent until they are 18 (unless they continue into tertiary education and the perent’s permission is varied).
Please note that the 5- and 15-year timeframes described above are slated to imminently increase to 10 years and 20 years respectively. Whether an individual is impacted by such changes will depend on whether they are “grandfathered” by the amending legislation.
Permanent Residence as the Spouse of a Caymanian
The spouse of a Caymanian has no inherent right to live or work in the Cayman Islands (apart from any unexpired permission they may have held before being married to a Caymanian) unless they apply for and have been granted a Residency and Employment Rights Certificate as the Spouse of a Caymanian. The Cayman Islands Government has now amended the Law and these RERCs are now permanent in nature. Unlike other RERCs, these place no restrictions on occupation, presently require no annual declaration and require no annual fees. These certificates can, however, be revoked and may become void in the event of a breakdown in marriage. It can take several months to obtain a RERC as the Spouse of a Caymanian and so it is recommended that you apply as soon as possible. Only where the application is made while the applicant has a work permit, can the applicant continue working while the application is pending. Further, the spouse of a Caymanian may have no right to be in or remain the Islands unless and until an RERC has been granted. Given this, prospective spouses of Caymanians are encouraged to seek and obtain work permits before they marry a Caymanian and then apply for an RERC as soon as they are married and before their work permit expires, in order to ensure that appropriate permissions exist and are preserved during the application process.
Imminent changes to the law will remove the ability of many spouses of Caymanians to apply for and gain Permanent Residence based on marriage. Instead, an extended residence visa will be available. We will update our website once full details are known.
Death or Divorce From a Permanent Resident
The surviving or former spouse of a Permanent Resident is required to notify the Director of WORC and the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board of their change in circumstances within six months. Within these six months, the surviving spouse or former spouse may be eligible to apply for the grant of a Residency and Employment Rights Certificate in their own right. It may be important to consult with a lawyer or reputable immigration services company to confirm your standing and options in the event of appropriate circumstances arising.
Permanent Residency Based on Registration by Entitlement as a British Overseas Territories Citizen
Any child who is born in and remaining in the Cayman Islands and whose parent subsequently becomes a Permanent Resident (or Caymanian) may apply immediately for Registration as a British Overseas Territories Citizen (BOTC). Further, any child born in Cayman who lives the first 10 years of their life here may, immediately following their tenth birthday, seek Registration as a BOTC. All persons so registered have prima facie right to remain in the Cayman Islands for life (and hold a BOTC (Cayman Islands) passport). Applications in relation to children who have lived in Cayman for the first 10 years of life are independent of a parent’s immigration status and cannot be denied to a child who meets the criteria. This reality is a reason for the rollover policy. It also creates an enormous opportunity for the Cayman-born children of those to whom the rollover is not applied, including (under the present regime) Civil Servants and anyone exempted from term limits, such as persons married to government employees or even work permit holders.
