Few people turned out for a public
meeting in Bodden Town on Monday, 1 November, to discuss immigration issues, so
department officials dispensed with their formal presentation, and then talked
with the Caymanian Compass.
Chief Immigration Officer Linda
Evans discussed some of the new programmes the Immigration Department will put
into effect, and how certain processes will be streamlined.
“We are hoping to enhance the front
counter with the addition of four more booths in an effort to improve the
turnaround time for all applications,” she said, adding that the department
will also screen files to capture all active files.
Ms Evans estimated that of the
126,000 files at the department, only 30,000 were active, and the others were
simply slowing down the process.
“We have never distinguished
between active and inactive files and once we get the active portion of our
files scanned, they will be able to be accessed electronically,” said Ms Evans.
Currently, she said, there are also
about 1,500 files or applications for permits that are backed up in the system
at the Immigration Department, down from about 6,000 earlier this year.
Ms Evans said this would be cleared
up over the next several months and added that the files for first-time
applicants for the business staffing plan or companies that hire more than 15
employees are taken care of in two to three weeks.
“We are moving faster in all
aspects of our operation, and whereas it used to take two to three years to process
permanent residence applications, it now takes roughly a year. Part of the hold
up before was that when the Immigration Law (2003) came into effect, it allowed
work permit holders who had been here for a few years to apply for PR. It was
that initial surge that created the backlog. However, the number of such
applications is down to just 300 pending at the moment, and the process between
applying for PR and hearing from the department has sped up considerably,” explained
Ms Evans.
Another aspect of the Immigration
Department that is getting an upgrade is the mailing system, which will be
fully electronic in the next several months, following a pilot project that is
just getting under way.
“We have always taken people’s
email addresses but never used them. Now we will take full advantage of this
information and do away with the current system that requires employees to sign
and mail out each licence,” said Ms Evans.
One other major development that is
pending involves the introduction of a passenger information system. As a
result of the new system, airlines would have to provide an electronic
manifest, allowing officials in Grand Cayman to vet the list to determine who
may not depart the Island. Included on such a list might be children in custody
disputes, subjects of court orders, and suspects of crimes.
The department will also be able to
know who is coming before they arrive and will now be communicating with
Interpol to get access to their database in order to see people who are wanted
by law enforcement authorities, as well as those with fraudulent passports and
such.
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