As Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman ramps up its scrutiny of local marriages, it has confirmed that 69 Residency and Employment Rights Certificate holders are facing ‘mindful to revoke’ notices.
This comes as the department moves to weed out those seeking to abuse the local immigration system.
Deputy Premier Chris Saunders, last December, spoke to the increased scrutiny as he lamented the number of Caymanians who were giving away their “birthright.”
“In my view, it is disappointing that so many people seek to circumvent our immigration regulations by entering into a sham marriage. It is making a mockery of the institution of marriage, which should not be entered into lightly as it has formed the traditional foundation of family life in our society,” Saunders had said in a previous statement.
WORC issues fines
Through numbers released to the Cayman Compass, the department indicated that between January 2022 and February 2023 there have been 50 investigations into suspected “marriages of convenience,” 33 of which have been “actioned”.
The remaining 17 investigations are pending.
WORC has said, in its response to the Compass, that no Caymanians or non-Caymanians have been charged from their probes into marriages of convenience.
However, “WORC administratively fined both subjects for making false statements/representation and failing to answer truthfully.”
The department did not release the dollar value of the fines issued.
As to the issuing of RERCs, over the same time period, the department said 284 were granted, with 57 refused.
HSM partner and immigration expert Nick Joseph, weighing in on the issue, said that at present the firm is not aware of any sham-marriage cases.
However, Joseph, in an emailed statement responding to Compass queries, said there are instances where marriages have broken down, and the authorities have dealt with those.
But, he said, “we are unaware of “Marriages of Convenience” (“Sham Marriages”). We do however believe they exist, and have had an unacceptably high level of prevalence”.
He welcomed the approach to improve the system and remove those seeking to take advantage.
“We will not be critical of any fair and consistent upholding of our laws – especially where their enforcement is necessary for the well-being of our community,” Joseph said.
Examples of abuse
In speaking to the issue of marriages of convenience, Joseph pointed out that the law firm has certainly seen them in the past – including in the most extreme example “when an individual became Caymanian, and needing money for a ticket to their homeland, married an expatriate who was reaching their term limit in exchange for the airfare”.
“The expatriate remaining in Cayman was able to live and work here for 7 years past their term limit (with no advertising or work permit fees) and only left because they couldn’t renew their RERC (it needed their spouse’s signature and they did not know where their spouse was and had had no communication with them since the week of their ‘wedding’),” he said.
Joseph said the firm first became aware of the position only when the person remaining in Cayman was “themselves required to stop work (and leave before anyone noticed). The Caymanian never returned (nor did they intend to).”
The fact that the immigration system knew that the spouses were in different countries (with only one in Cayman) for a seven full years was “bemusing”, he said.
“Customs and Border Control today seemingly have part of that monitoring role – and are required to maintain a central register of non-Caymanians under s. 106 of the Customs and Border Control Act. It may be interesting for the public to know what particulars are maintained on that register (including, according to their records, how many non-Caymanians are in fact here),” he added.
Joseph signalled the potential for abuse is made worse by the fact that, for the spouse of a Caymanian, the RERC is now permanent.
“They do not automatically expire after 7 years – and unlike the position of RERC’s as the spouse of a PR holder, no annual declarations are required. The distinction appears untenable for the longer term, and should be capable of being lightly regulated, thereby dramatically curtailing the issue – and many related issues including (for example) as to compliance with pension and health insurance requirements,” he added.
Under the law, the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board or the director of WORC may revoke permission to reside permanently in the Islands where the person fails to make the annual declaration in respect of “themselves, that person’s dependants, and other prescribed matters”.
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