Work permits decline

The departure of more than 500 people who formerly held Term Limit Exemption Permits in Cayman fueled a 4 percent drop in work permits between September and January, according to Immigration Department records.  

According to data made public under a Freedom of Information request by the Caymanian Compass, there were 19,793 work permit holders in the Cayman Islands as of Jan. 28. That number includes non-Caymanians working here on government contracts and individuals awaiting the outcome of permanent residence applications or appealing work permit denials.  

Just four months before, there were 20,587 work permit holders in the Cayman Islands. The drop in permits represents a reduction of nearly 800 people or about 4 percent of the total work permit population.  

The somewhat unusual occurrence of work permit numbers declining at the peak of the high tourism season is explained partly by the departure of about 550 people who had been working under term limit exempt status and partly by a drop in the number of people working in Cayman “by operation of the law.”  

The “operation of law” status is usually granted to individuals who have passed their term limit on residency in Cayman, but who have applied for permanent residence and are awaiting the outcome. It can also be given to non-Caymanians whose work permits have been turned down and who are appealing that decision.  

Immigration records show that the number of people working by operation of the law declined from 592 to 389 during the four-month period.  

Also no longer appearing on the work permit list were the nearly 1,500 non-Caymanians given Term Limit Exemption Permits between 2011 and 2013, extending their stay on the islands for up to a further two years beyond when they would normally have to leave. 

Of that group, 274 had been granted new work permits as of mid-January an another 576 had applied for new work permits. Another 54 applied for permanent residence and 547 had left the islands by that time.  

The work permit number did seem to reflect the absorption of some of the former term limit exemption status workers back into the normal permit system. The number of work permit grants increased from 7,558 to 8,048 between September and January. Also, temporary work permits [three or six month permits] increased from 2,539 to 2,912 during the same period.  

Non-Caymanians on work permit renewals remained virtually the same during the four month period.  

The number of non-Caymanians on government contracts went up just slightly between September and January, from 869 workers to 883.  

Another area of work permit holders that increased significantly during the period were employees within the special economic zone, known as Cayman Enterprise City. Those are permits for companies who do not conduct business locally, but who have at least one employee “on the ground” in Cayman and who do business overseas while taking advantage of Cayman’s tax benefits.  

Work permits held within the special economic zone increased from 92 in September to 136 in January – a 48 percent increase.