Government has announced details of proposed increases to work permit application fees amid delays to the rollout of new immigration legislation.
The proposed new fee schedule includes tiered increases in the cost of applying for work permits, a new work permit ID card fee and a non-refundable repatriation fee for work permit holders.
The changes were proposed as part of a package of immigration reforms alongside the Caymanian Protection Act which passed in Parliament late last year.
The Act had been scheduled to come into effect on 1 March, but that date has been pushed back, immigration ministry officials confirmed.
The announcement of the delay in the effective date of the Act drew criticism from Opposition MPs who called for greater clarity around the timeline for the changes and details of how the delayed implementation would affect public funds.
Tiered increases
The proposed increases are set out in the Immigration (Transition) (Fees) Regulations, 2026.
While existing work permit fees will not change, work permit application fees – currently $100 for all permits – will be restructured and several new fees introduced.
Under the proposals, application fees for annual work permits would be tiered at:
- $150 where the annual permit fee is $2,100 or less
- $250 where it is between $2,101 and $10,400
- $500 where it exceeds $10,400
Some of those increases were discussed in Parliament last year and have now gone out to formal public consultation.
The draft regulations also formalise and expand an existing express processing mechanism, which has largely applied to temporary permits, to cover annual work permits. They introduce a structured express determination fee schedule – ranging from $100 to $300 depending on the annual work permit fee bracket.
The move could potentially pave the way for a work permit “express lane”, which Premier André Ebanks proposed in his interview with the Compass earlier this month.
The draft regulations also confirm a non-refundable repatriation fee of $250 on the grant of a work permit, along with a $50 work permit ID card fee.
Ebanks had signalled in that interview that implementation of the wider immigration reforms could be pushed back. He said it was normal for complex legislation to require additional time to finalise supporting regulations and that he was comfortable with government taking a little longer to make sure it was right.
“Even if it takes a little bit beyond March, I would prefer that than to squander the opportunity to reimagine it to work for the betterment of the whole country,” he said
Related Videos
