Government ministers Kenneth Bryan and Dwayne Seymour are calling for a moratorium on the granting of some forms of Caymanian status.
The two ministers, who appeared on Radio Cayman’s ‘For the Record’ on two occasions this week, said they were speaking in their personal capacities, rather than as spokespersons for the government, as no decision had been taken on the issue by caucus, Cabinet or Parliament.
On Monday, Bryan said he felt it was time for Cayman “to lock the gate”.
The moratorium the two are suggesting would only apply to those seeking the grant of status through Cabinet or through their length of stay in Cayman, rather than to people who apply for status by birth, descent or marriage.
Bryan, who is the minister for tourism and ports, said one of the reasons for halting the creation of new status holders, which confers the right to vote, was managing the future balance of political power.
Noting that, in the future, new “non-generational Caymanians” may have a “foundation of principles that is different to us” could mean that, at some point, the government would be elected by a majority of voters who holds different values and not have a strong understanding of Cayman’s culture and traditions.
To illustrate this, he gave an example of a government being elected by a majority of voters who might ban the eating of turtle meat, as they may not have a grasp of its cultural significance for the local population.
He said the issue of housing was another major factor that had to be considered when granting status.
Both ministers say the points system for permanent residency in Cayman should be amended to remove credit for ownership of property or land. Currently, applicants who have invested in real estate can get up to 30 of the 110 points required to qualify for permanent residency.
Bryan and Seymour say this requirement has negatively impacted the availability of housing in Cayman, and has helped to price affordable homes out of the reach of Caymanians on island.
Seymour stated that it was vital that Caymanians benefit from Cayman’s growth, and the more new status holders are created, the more diluted those benefits become for Caymanians and current status holders.
“We need to slow it down, to try to find a way for Caymanians to benefit,” he said. “If we had a model that was wrong for the last 40 years, we need to review that.”
Bryan agreed, saying that as more “new” Caymanians are created, fewer business opportunities would be available for born Caymanians and the existing status holders, who can own or open businesses on island without requiring local partnership.
He added that the issue of status grants could not be tackled without addressing permanent residency.
Under the current immigration rules, work-permit holders can apply for permanent residency after eight years. If they are granted permanent residency, they can then apply for status after five more years or if they have lived in Cayman for 15 years. If their application for permanent residency is refused, they must leave Cayman.
Bryan said, “Once a person gets residency in Cayman, it’s a straight path to being granted status, unless you’ve committed a crime.”
Seymour, reading out the latest figures provided to his ministry by Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman, said, as of Monday, 22 May, there were 35,646 work-permit holders and 6,599 permanent residents in Cayman.
Noting that the eight-year term-limit figure had been chosen to adhere to an international interpretation of a legal requirement to give long-term residents rights in the country in which they lived, Bryan queried whether work-permit holders’ term limit in Cayman should end after, for instance, five years, with no option to apply for permanent residency. “That would be the moratorium in itself,” he said.
He added, “How do we stop this automatic flow for grants of status? We have to re-examine residency requirements because we recognise that the problems that are coming along with the increase in the number of status grants are affecting our people in a negative way.”
Bryan listed some of those impacts that he said he was hearing about from Caymanians, including “a dilution in our voting power majority in this country… a very high demand on the housing market; … increasing our costs, by having to build more spaces for schools for kids, and every child in government schools gets free lunches; … an increase in demand at [Needs Assessment Unit] dependency; … [and] an increase in healthcare [costs].”
Seymour said, as minister for labour and border control, he was working on bringing a paper to caucus and Cabinet that would create a “stricter PR points system”, but said those who had already applied once those new measures were in place would be grandfathered in.
Bryan noted that limiting the number of permanent residents and status holders would not necessarily lead to a decrease in the size of Cayman’s overall population, but rather would “control who has power and control in your country”.
Related Videos
Finally something intelligent and that matters to Caymanians!! Hear our pleas and we will support!!!
When I was 7 years old I lived at the end of a cut-de-sac next to a crabapple orchard. I used a rope to hoist a discarded shipping pallet to the top of the tree where I managed to get it to sit perfectly as a flat platform. Then a second one next to it. My friends and I started to improve the tree fort and it was a great place to hang out. Soon kids from the next street came over and started “improving” my tree fort. Before long it was really busy and a nest of activity. One day I got into a disagreement about the growth and direction of my fort and all the neighboring kids took the additions they had contributed and built their own fort across town. Over time my friends joined their friends there and my Fort became abandoned and fell into disrepair. I ultimately joined the other fort because mine was lonely and I learned not to take for granted the community I had, but to work to manage what I had, better.
If culture loss is a concern it might be good to consider creating a class of “natural born caymanians” to vote on important matters relating to shaping of our culture. I think anyone willing to naturalize over a 15 year time horizon is more inclined to shape toward Cayman culture rather than try to change it anyway. Also Cayman culture is constantly changing on its own as young Caymanians grow up and shift their own outlook toward how things should be.
I love this place and its people and I would hate to see us lose new blood entering our pool, by becoming isolationist and closed to the idea of new Caymanians from elsewhere naturalizing and investing time here. Every one of us here have ancestors who originally came from somewhere else and naturalized.
Well said. I agree.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Preventing Permanent Residents from obtaining Status and the right to vote would have no effect on the demand for housing for the obvious reason that all of these people, whether Work Permit holders or Permanent Residents were already living somewhere. In fact it’s a condition of their Work Permit.
To truly reduce the pressure on housing one needs to stop awarding Work Permits. This would certainly cause the population to decline, along with government revenue from Work Permit Fees.
Government income would also drop due to the reduced sales of expensive real estate.
All of these things would hurt, not help Caymanian people.
As for the eating of turtle meat; I have many born Caymanian friends, none of whom eat turtle meat. Furthermore no one I know has proposed that eating it should be banned. This is a smoke screen.
People do not automatically get Permanent Residence after 8 years, only a limited number of people qualify, those who truly contribute to this country.
What we need is better standards of education in our schools.
Also control of the current crime wave. If it continues then be assured the cost to our economy and tourism industry will be astronomical.
As someone who has chosen to call Cayman home coming from the US – if the current crime wave continues in Cayman – people will find another island and take their money with them. The best distinction of Cayman from other Caribbean Islands has always been “Cayman Kind” – I pray this island remains a safe, inviting place.
I spend about 5 months on the island for the past 17 years I know many people who were rolled over after 9 years. They did not want to vote they only wanted to continue working and helping the country. What is happening is that qualified people are forced to leave and then new people have to be trained. There must be a way that people can stay on the island for extended periods of time with out becoming citizens
This is concerning isolationist actions coming from Bryan and Seymour. If they want to protect Cayman they will do it at the expense of revenue because this will drive people away from our shores. and as a tax free jurisdiction how else are they going to raise funds to keep cayman as a 1st world caribbean destination? the burden to pay their exorbitant salaries will fall further on the common Caymanians shoulders.
How do you define “non-generational Caymanians”? How many generations do you have to be? Is 2 generations enough? Or 3 or 4 or 5? As everyone who settled on these islands over 400 years ago came from somewhere else, what definition is it going to be? Who decides? What’s next DNA tests?
Many of those obtaining Status are educated poeple who have lived other places, worked hard, contribute to Cayman, and bring positive ideas to government – outside of cronyism and patronage. Is that whe you are afraid of?
The proof of “the pudding” will be if any of these Sound Bytes become meaningful, well thought-out, and a practical blue print for action. Definitely a series of Public Meetings to foster a proper “national conversation and consensus” on this issue, and a near-term plan of action is a priority.
What a pile of rubbish. Never did I hear something so crazy. The housing issue has nothing to do with status and/or residency. Smoke and mirrors. Maybe limit the number of properties overseas investors can purchase. Ah but that would reduce the funds going into the government coffers! Can’t have it all ways.