Incoming immigration reform regulations will outline under what specific circumstances expat workers can obtain another work permit if they quit or lose their jobs in their first two years on island.
The Immigration (Transition) (Amendment and Validation) Act 2026 is scheduled to come into force on 1 May. A section of that legislation introduces new measures that mean workers would have to leave the island for a year if their employment ends within two years of the start of their first work permit.
Jeremy Scott, the director of Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman, or WORC, in a wide-ranging interview with Compass TV, outlined some of the expected upcoming regulations relating to work permit rules.
Referring to the new stipulation as a “form of rollover”, Scott noted that exceptions can be made, for example, in cases where abuse of employment rules, or bullying or assault in the workplace occurs.
‘Evidence’
Under the incoming regulations, he said, “It’s intended that the special circumstances would involve where a worker cancels prematurely within two years. In order for them … to be able to acquire a new work permit, they have to show evidence.”
He added that it will not be adequate to simply make accusations, the employee must demonstrate that a formal complaint has been filed with a relevant authority.
“They have to show evidence that … say, for instance, the employer has bullied them, the employer has assaulted them in some way, that there’s some sort of labour dispute, [such as] the employer may have employed them illegally, or asked them to do a certain line of work that wasn’t approved.”
In the case of a labour dispute, a complaint would have had to be filed with the Department of Labour and Pensions, for example, or if there is an accusation of an assault, a report would have had to be made to police, Scott said.
That evidence of official complaints would need to be submitted to WORC within three days of termination, he explained.
“So, if you have a worker who self terminates their work permit, within three days, they would have to supply evidence … If not, then they’re running the risk that they’re going to be barred from acquiring another work permit in the Cayman Islands for a year,” he said.
The WORC director stated that these steps are being taken to protect employers, “because we were seeing quite a bit of cases where we believe that there may have been unjustified reasons for the worker to actually leave their employer, and we were having a lot of complaints by employers that this was happening too frequently”.
Regulations
Section 64 of the legislation that amends the immigration law notes that a work permit holder who ceases employment within the first two years “may apply to the Director of WORC in the prescribed form and manner to be exempted from the requirement to leave the Islands for a period of not less than one year before any other prospective employer is able to apply for a work permit in respect of the person”.
Lawyers have questioned why, with the legislation coming into effect in just over two weeks, the regulations governing this aspect of the law have not yet been released.
A government spokesperson told the Compass on 15 April that the regulations are expected to be published on 16 April, after approval by Cabinet.
Law firm HSM, in a statement posted on its website recently, said, “These regulations are needed to prescribe in what circumstances a work permit holder can change employer during the first two years of employment.”
It added, “The absence of regulations, means that as of 1 May 2026, work permit holders may be subject to the full effect of Section 64 and the mandatory departure requirement, while being unable in any meaningful way to access the exemption regime intended to mitigate its harshness.”
The firm said this raises “not only issues of fairness and proportionality, but also legal uncertainty for both employees and employers, who are left without clear guidance as to how applications will be assessed in the interim.
“Unless and until the relevant regulations are introduced, the new Section 64 may operate in a manner that is more rigid than the legislature may have intended.”
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