All foreign nationals gainfully employed in the Cayman Islands are currently entitled to be considered for the grant or renewal of a work permit for up to the ninth anniversary of their arrival as a resident. After eight years of continuous residence in the Islands, most adults can apply for Permanent Residency under the Points System.
However, if they do not apply and are subject to the nine-year term limit, they will not normally be granted any form of work permit until they have ceased to be resident in the Cayman Islands for at least one year. In most instances, this means they will be expected to “break their stay” and become resident outside the Cayman Islands for a minimum of 12 months. Short visits in the intervening period for vacation as a genuine tourist does seem to be generally permitted.
Note: There are exemptions to the term limit provisions. For example, and at present, a person married to a government worker or a person whose term limit is set to expire before that of their spouse can seek to arrange for their permit to be renewed for as long as their spouse is permitted to continue living and working in Cayman. Following extensive and widespread abuse including the identification of hundreds of “sham marriages” proposals for imminent change will end this treatment – and instead appear destined to shorten the term limit of both spouses to that with the least time remaining.
In order to understand the reasoning behind the Government’s creation of limits on work permit terms, it is helpful to know the history of the population increase in this diverse community.
The Cayman Islands has undergone a dramatic change since the early 1970s. At the start of that decade, the population was approximately 10,000 people and now, 50+ years later, around 95,000 people live in Cayman. Much of this dramatic increase has come about as a result of foreign nationals settling on the Islands and obtaining permanent rights of tenure. With that change has come not only strains on infrastructure, but also recognition amongst generational Caymanians that their culture and way of life has been overwhelmed due to ineffective management of the challenges. There is also a perception by many Caymanians that their participation in the success of Cayman is diminishing. Whilst the people of the Cayman Islands are welcoming towards foreign nationals, there has been a realisation that continuing to invite ever-increasing numbers of individuals to acquire security of tenure and become permanent inhabitants of Cayman is unsustainable. The Government has announced that it is taking steps to deal with the situation, but the detail of these adjustment is not yet fully known.
