More than 150 companies and individuals breached immigration laws last year and were fined a combined $351,660.
Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman said they had committed one or more of several offences against the Immigration (Transition) Act (2022 Revision).
These included unlawful payment of a work permit, failure to disclose Caymanian applicants, failure to notify the board and providing incomplete details, among others.
WORC Director Jeremy Scott said in a press release his team acknowledged there has been a delay in processing permit applications.
However, employers who become impatient and allow their workers to work without permits or outside of their permit terms may “open themselves up to greater scrutiny”.
He added that they may be flagged as high risk and this could potentially lead to delays in future processing of applications.
For the last quarter of 2022, WORC, in a press release issued Wednesday, 5 April, said there were 48 offences with fines totalling $82,690.
The top three offences for the quarter were employing people without a permit, people working outside terms and conditions of a work permit, and making a false representation.
During the whole of 2022, there were 153 breaches and total fines of $351,660.
Of that total, $320,210 was collected, $30,400 is outstanding and $7,250 has been deemed uncollectable.
WORC will continue to investigate reports they receive.
Anyone can anonymously complain or provide information about illegal working activities or other breaches of the Immigration Act.
To do so they can complete the online form on www.worc.ky under the ‘complaints’ tab or directly report the complaint to [email protected].
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