Foreign workers may have to wait up to 22 years to be eligible for Caymanian status under sweeping immigration reforms expected to go to Parliament this year.
Government is also seeking to clamp down on marriages of convenience, reform the permanent residency points system and prevent people from “buying Caymanian citizenship”.
Immigration Minister Michael Myles gave a preview of some of the planned policies in an interview on Compass TV’s Forefront talk show, hosted by Compass Media Chief Political Correspondent Tammi Sulliman, on 12 June.
He said almost every political party and independent candidate at the April general election had run on a platform of immigration reform.
“It is time to stop talking about it,” he said. “It is time to do it.”
Myles said revised legislation and regulations would likely go out to consultation over the summer and be ready to go to Parliament in September. He said the aim was not to punish businesses or exclude expatriate workers but to ensure Caymanians came first in workforce development and opportunity.
“We all appreciate we have 40,000 jobs and we don’t have that many people.”
But he said the aim was to reduce Caymanian unemployment from 5% to “close to zero” and ensure that every Caymanian graduate was linked to an apprenticeship, training programme or job opportunity in their field.
Myles said his ministry was working with those responsible for education, training, housing and infrastructure to ensure a coordinated strategy. Plans are in motion for a national workforce development plan, an apprenticeship programme and a database of students on overseas scholarships to sync with immigration planning and strategy. He described the collaboration between the public and private sectors, including working with the Chamber of Commerce as part of that strategy.
Among the concrete changes Myles announced on Forefront are:
- Anyone married to a Caymanian must wait seven years (instead of one) before applying for permanent residency
- Anyone with permanent residency status (whether through marriage or by application on tenure) must have been living in Cayman for 15 years before they can apply for naturalisation as a British Overseas Territories citizen and a total of 22 years before applying to become Caymanian
Other planned reforms include changes to the residency by investment programme. Currently, investors can qualify for permanent residence – and be on the pathway to status – with a $2.4 million real estate investment.
Myles also said there were concerns that people were land banking when applying for permanent residence, rather than making genuine investments that support the economy. As such, government would seek to clarify “developed real estate” in the Act by inserting a definition into the Interpretation section, making it clear the intention is that there must be a structure on the property.
“It cannot be that you’re qualifying simply by just buying property that you have no intentions of building on and then you can end up leaving this country and now that property is worth 10 times what you paid for it.”
Government will also look at tightening up job mobility for work-permit holders.
“What we are seeing is that a person comes to the island on a work permit, and they’re a landscaper, domestic helper or whatever, and then all of a sudden, within a month, they’re changing work permits.”
He said this was clogging the system and making it harder for Caymanians to get a foot in the door in certain professions. He added that low-cost workers from far flung countries were being exploited by unscrupulous employers and driving down wages to a point where local people could not compete.
Myles said the reforms would include a more efficient and targeted approach to enforcement that ensures good, compliant companies were rewarded and the efforts of compliance officers zeroed in on those that flout the law.
He said immigration reforms would take a balanced approach.
“It is a comprehensive package. It’s not about, ‘Well, we just don’t want foreigners’. It’s always about, how do we protect our people and how do we ensure that they’re employable, along with, how do we continue to have the best talent in our country,” said Myles.
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He’s off his rocker if he thinks anyone at all is going to want to work in Cayman. What a joke. Wages already aren’t keeping up with housing for locals and expats. It doesn’t matter, both groups are impacted. Every person can’t have a 200k job because there is far and few. It’s like people with a high school education believe now in social media they are entitled to free money. You have to get an education for those jobs.
Entitled Caymanian or whatever the bumper sticker says that some of you have, if that’s true then what’s all the complaining about. Here come all the thank yous from the some of the locals who don’t understand how the economy runs here. Always pounding the pavement that there is no opportunity for Caymanians and to pit them against locals but as a Caymanian, I can say we have tons of opportunity and don’t need to blacklist expats. We have so much going for ourselves. Get an education, get some social skills and you can have any job you want.
This anti business stance by Michael Myers is going to light our economy on fire. He may as well make it 50 years for expats and slap them in their face a bit more. Make sure to spit on those people that have been here the past 5,6,7 years and change the rules overnight with no grandfathering. It’s pretty disgraceful to have the requirement of 22 years. More than 25% of someone’s life, we are better than that as a group of people and inclusive. This is a hateful proposal to our people and expats a like.
Back to his $500 meetings that don’t have transparency, not fixing the beach, not fixing mount trashmore but instead screwing up the economy.
I think some of the points made are valid. I think the creation of a central listing of Unemployed (but employable) Caymanians needs to happen. It is not enough to say “5% of the Caymanian Population is Unemployed”. Everyone – New immigrants and multigenerational Caymanians – need to understand clearly what the problem is in order to properly solve it. All we hear is vague information. Vague numbers. “Cheap Labour” from Foreign markets. We should abolish Domestic Helpers then. I want to know how many domestic helpers are employed by Government Officials and at what level of compensation? Government needs to lead by example. Transparency is needed.
No mention of work permit fees?. Reducing Caymanian unemployment to close to zero is a rather tall order.
So people that have plans to retire there, build a home in KY, and not just buying land, would invest in KY by spending their retirement money there will not want to build there! I know this will change my mind about building there. Maybe I need to sell and invest my earnings somewhere else. YOU wouldn’t even be there if it wasn’t for MY forefathers finding Cayman. People that have property their and WHEN they build and fill out paperwork to apply for residency should be given residency as soon as they have their accounts and funds transferred. But keep your island and run it into the ocean with your crime and illegals you let there have residency in “3” years, I’ll sell mine and retire on another beautiful island that WILL give me residency from me retiring and building there, your not the only island. Others have beautiful beaches without hotels crumbling into the ocean. You all let the beaches go to shit cuz you didn’t want to pay for it. Ain’t no more 7 mile beach. Ya got billions in the bank and line your pockets with it. No one is coming back once they see that beach and see all the crime there now. Poverty level soon.
Blessings to you Mr. Myles, protect your people don’t build parks!
The island needs parks. It needs education for the youth. So they have social skills and become employable. It needs mount trashmore fixed and the financial services to not be burdened or the law sector. I don’t see this helping our people but rather hurting them. Driving Cayman into the ground and hurting the global reputation and brand. Why would expats that work here support any Caymanian businesses with the way Michael is talking, it’s dividing us and them. I know people already talking to move, pull retirements and more. Expats will soon raise rents or not rent to Caymanians in retaliation. They should look into grandfathering people who have spent time on the island at a minimum.
Imagine the U.S. and Canada blacklist us or Michael. That’s the game he is playing I feel.
Does any information exist on how many people have over the last 10 year, or annually, have been “buying” their PR then gaining status? Is it 20,000 people? 100 people? let’s understand the quantum.
The end result of making it harder and harder for people to make this their permanent home is that we’ll only attract workers who don’t love these islands.
A frequent complaint is that expat workers don’t make an effort to assimilate, why would they want to when the government doesn’t want them here?
Why should they support local charities? Or care about our environment? Why suffer another $300 per ticket Gala dinner to help hungry Caymanian seniors or local cancer sufferers?
Nor is there evidence that wealthy foreigners are buying land with no intention of building on it. Nor any guarantee that they will be able to sell it for 10 times what they paid. Indeed prices are starting to come down.
Let’s be very careful that in our zeal to generate a few jobs for qualified Caymanians we don’t drive away decent, law-abiding, hard-working people who would love these islands and its people.
I think most people would agree there needs to be immigration reform. That being said there is a natural rate of unemployment in any economy. I think if we took a serious look we might find that the natural level of Caymanian unemployment is much closer to 5% than ZERO. Trying to force it toward 0% is probably not the best use of resources.
More troubling is that the requirements for residency are an investment in DEVELOPED real estate, not raw land. The Immigration Minister being ignorant or not understanding the rules is not a good look for the Government. He needs to be better prepared by his support staff, or perhaps read up on things himself.
Great points. Well said
Of course not every person who comes here on a work permit should be able to live here forever and risk being a charge on the taxpayers.
Certainly “marriages of convenience” need to be found out and stopped.
Foreigners that have committed serious crimes should be deported, with no crying about their “human rights”.
Indeed a central job listing for out of work Caymanians is a good idea. I could probably help with this free of charge.
An issue that the minister hasn’t considered is that businesses here are in competition with other countries to attract the most competent employees. What can we offer to make such a person pick Cayman ahead of Dubai, Hong Kong or Singapore? Or even Australia or BWI?
I suggested to a young friend, well-off qualified professional, that they should move here a year ago and they chose Dubai instead. Why not here? Less than excellent schooling and little for their children to do at the weekend except go to the beach. Plus the difficulty of getting permission to work here.
If someone is married to a Caymanian they have to wait 7 years to apply for their RERC? They would have to have a work permit, otherwise to live and work there? Does that even make sense? Has to be a mistake. Someone living with their Caymanian spouse (and children) is dependent on a work permit that may never happen or you wait 7 years??
And IF they get a work permit they would have to leave their families after 5 years for a duration of 2 years??? Is that even humane?? Come again please, this ain’t it.