On the same day Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts announced the appointment of a review team to look at the Immigration Law 2003, chairman of the Work Permit Board David Ritch announced vigilant enforcement on two aspects of that law.
Mr. Ritch said the Work Permit Board, the Business Staffing Plan Board and the Immigration Department would enforce term limits for work permit and pay close attention to the demographics of the expatriate workforce to avoid a disproportionate number of work permit holders from one geographical region.
Mr. Tibbetts said the Cabinet had decided to appoint the 10-person review team headed by Mr. Ritch to examine the Immigration Law 2003, which went into effect 1 January 2004.
‘A significant number of difficulties and inconsistencies have been identified with the legislation, which was hastily drafted in the aftermath of the Cabinet Status grants,’ Mr. Tibbetts said.
‘Furthermore, it did not cater to the type of emergency that Hurricane Ivan created last year, which necessitated unusual measures.’
After examining the Immigration Law and the issues encountered by the various Boards that give effect to the law, the review team will make recommendations to the Cabinet as to practical solutions by way of amendment or otherwise, Mr. Tibbetts said.
In the meantime, in the press release issued through Government Information Services, Mr. Ritch urged employers to pay greater attention to ‘appropriate geographical balance’.
‘The importance of maintaining an appropriate balance in the workforce and the need to avoid allowing a disproportionate number of work permit holders from one geographical region has always been recognised and was previously embodied in Directive 5(4) of the Immigration Directions (2001 Revision),’ Mr. Ritch said.
‘The Immigration Law, 2003, also imposes a statutory obligation on the Work Permit Board to take into account the requirements of the community as a whole when considering work permit applications and the Board considers that it would not serve to protect the interests of the community to allow such a situation to arise and or continue.
‘The risks of allowing the numbers of any particular nationality to rise to the extent that this nationality represents a significant proportion of the population are clear,’ Mr Ritch stated.
‘We shall be looking closely at work permit applications and where the employer is employing a disproportionate number of workers from any one particular country the application will be refused.’
Mr. Ritch also urged employers and employees to take the time to educate themselves about the term limits for work permit holders so that difficult situations can be avoided.
In most circumstances, work permit holders can only remain in the Cayman Islands for seven years.
Another concern expressed by Mr. Ritch involved inadequate information to justify the need for work permits.
‘We are seeing applications with no more than one or two sentences of explanation as to why they need to employ this person and in many cases no documentary evidence in the form of contracts to provide services, etc., is provided in support of the application,’ Mr. Ritch said.
The chairman said that statements such as ‘hurricane restoration’ or ‘multiple construction projects’ will not suffice.
‘Employers must provide copies of signed agreements for the projects that they are working on or will be starting,’ he said. ‘They must also give an accurate estimate of how long each project is expected to take and the number of personnel who are working on each project.
‘Failure to provide this information will result in the application being refused.’
Mr. Ritch also said the granting of a temporary work permit does not necessarily mean a one-year work permit will be granted for the same employee.
‘While there may have been a need to employ a person for periods up to six months, this does not automatically translate to a need to employ a person for a full year,’ he said. ‘It follows that an employer will be expected to demonstrate a need to employ the worker on a full-time basis for the duration of the work permit.’
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