Topic: Caymanian status
Canover Watson’s Caymanian status revoked
Disgraced former football executive Canover Watson has had his Caymanian status Caymanian revoked because of his criminal conviction.
MPs show wide support for sweeping immigration reforms
Sweeping changes to immigration laws were widely supported by MPs during a lengthy debate in Parliament this week.
Immigration minister calls for 22-year wait for Caymanian status
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 unveils proposed immigration reforms
A parliamentary white paper has outlined a raft of proposed immigration reforms, including requiring work-permit holders to leave Cayman for a year before they can work for a new employer, and extending timelines for status and permanent residency applications.
Government to tighten rules on marital eligibility for expats seeking status
Government is moving to increase the number of years expats must be married to a Caymanian before they can qualify for status as it continues to clampdown on sham marriages.
Immigration lawyer warns of ‘ludicrous’ backlog for status and PR applications
At the rate status applications currently are being processed, a person applying now for the right to be Caymanian through naturalisation would not get through the system until 2032, according to immigration specialist lawyer Nick Joseph.
Premier signals changes coming for Caymanian status
Premier Juliana O'Connor-Connolly, in her first official statement on immigration reform, hinted that changes are on the horizon when it comes to obtaining citizenship in the Cayman Islands.
Minister demands ‘immigration reform’ from his own government
On a huge billboard at a busy junction on Crewe Road, Minister of Tourism Kenneth Bryan has demanded immediate immigration reform from his own government.
Opinion: The gap confronting most persons who are Caymanian by entitlement
A longstanding issue is the simple question of “Who is a Caymanian?” With many different options and processes for achieving (and maintaining) Caymanian status, widespread confusion has caused whole aspects of the Immigration (Transition) Act (and other laws in the Cayman Islands) to be almost incapable of proper application.
Bank rates, pension reform up for debate as Parliament set to resume
Lawmakers are set to return to Parliament on Wednesday where they are expected to debate approval for supplementary appropriations for the 2022 budget, as well as private member's motions aimed at addressing bank rates and pension reform.
Bryan, Seymour call for moratorium on Caymanian status grants
Government ministers Kenneth Bryan and Dwayne Seymour are calling for a moratorium on the granting of some forms of Caymanian status in Cayman.
Conference highlights Cayman’s residency by investment offering
Although real estate-based and business-related investment paths to residency in the Cayman Islands have existed for years, service providers called it one of the migration industry’s best-kept secrets at the Cayman Islands Residency by Investment Summit on Tuesday.
‘Caymanians’ hail from all over the world
Cayman Islands citizens hail from more than 90 different countries across the globe, according to data from the census.
Counselor gets Caymanian status after 19-year fight
A legal dispute over a substance abuse counselor’s work permit fees that began in the late 1990s has finally been resolved.
Uproar over the ‘right to be Caymanian’
Legal difficulties in proving the right to be a Caymanian, identified in reports by the Cayman Compass more than two years ago, have left the local government trying to explain to multigenerational citizens why they might need to visit the Immigration Department.
Reminder to secure travel documents before hurricane season
The Passport and Corporate Services Office is urging residents to ensure that their official documents are updated and secure as hurricane season nears.
Developer David Morritt receives Caymanian status
After staying here for some 30 years as a visitor, Morritt’s Properties East End developer David Morritt has been granted Caymanian status by the Cayman Islands Cabinet.
Immigration faces legal challenge over lengthy bureaucratic delays
It is taking the Cayman Islands Immigration Department up to six months to stamp the passport of a Caymanian status or permanent residence recipient, if that person won their permission to remain in Cayman following an appeal to the Immigration Appeals Tribunal, court papers filed last week allege.
Status application delayed for 5 years over residency fees
A substance abuse counselor, who was required to pay a doctor’s work permit fees to maintain his permanent residence in the Cayman Islands, has sued a government-appointed immigration board over its refusal to hear his Caymanian status application since 2012.
Thousands receive ‘right to be Caymanian’ since 2009
More than 3,700 people have received grants of Caymanian status via either the naturalization (citizenship) process or through marriage to a Caymanian since January 2009, according to records presented to the Legislative Assembly by Premier Alden McLaughlin last week.
Lawmakers in quandary over proving Caymanian status
It seems individuals sometimes referred to as “ghost Caymanians,” as well as multigenerational Caymanians born in the islands, have a shared immigration problem that is now haunting members of the Legislative Assembly.
Third lawmaker backs limit on Caymanian status grants
Deputy Opposition Leader Alva Suckoo said Thursday that government should “strongly consider” limiting grants of Caymanian status only to individuals who were Caymanian by descent or who had received that status through marriage.
Immigration, permanent residence: Time bomb continues to tick
Three-and-a-half years and three lawsuits later, the Cayman Islands government has granted a total of two people permanent residence out of close to 1,000 applications filed under the current Immigration Law.
Third court challenge filed over permanent residency delay
A Cayman Islands insolvency accountant is the third person to file a legal challenge over government’s three-and-a-half year delay in considering his application for permanent residence.
Law firm: Changes to residency system ‘largely cosmetic’
The Cayman Islands law firm at the center of two high-profile court challenges to the local Immigration Law said Thursday that Cabinet-approved changes to...
Work permit applications rarely refused
About 5 percent of the work permit applications submitted to the Cayman Islands government were rejected during the previous budget year, according to records made public last month by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
EDITORIAL – Haunted house: ‘Ghost Caymanians’ and PR limbo
Just about everyone in the Cayman Islands has heard stories about duppies. Some may actually believe in them, too. We can assure you that yes, here in Cayman, “ghosts” do walk among us … But not in the supernatural sense.
Jury in status scam trial told not to speculate
Justice Michael Wood began his summing up on Monday in the trial of Paul Anthony Hume Ebanks, who has pleaded not guilty to 27 counts of obtaining property by deception and one count of theft of a passport.
Judge to sum up Caymanian status scam trial
Justice Michael Wood is scheduled to begin summing up the evidence in the trial of Paul Anthony Hume Ebanks on Monday morning. He told jurors he planned to send them out to consider their verdicts on Tuesday morning. Trial began the week of Oct. 10, with Ebanks facing 27 charges of obtaining property by deception.
Defendant says status seekers threatened his life
Paul Anthony Hume Ebanks continued to take money from people by representing that it was for Caymanian status or permanent residence even after he suspected the offer was a scam, he told a court on Tuesday.
Immigration scam case: Former press secretary to McKeeva testifies
Charles Glidden, former press secretary to the premier from 2010 to 2013, gave evidence last week in the trial of Paul Anthony Hume Ebanks, who is accused of collecting $164,700 largely by falsely representing that cash was required as payment for a legitimate grant of Caymanian status or permanent residency.
Immigration scam witness claims she paid $32,000 for status grants
A woman who paid $32,000 for what she believed would be legitimate grants of Caymanian status told the court on Tuesday that she had a meeting with McKeeva Bush and his attorney. Norma Richards was giving evidence in the trial of Paul Anthony Hume Ebanks, who has pleaded not guilty to obtaining a total of $167,400 from various complainants.
Travers joins Bush in call for more open immigration policy
Leading attorney and financial services advocate Anthony Travers took to the stage alongside former Premier McKeeva Bush at a Cayman Democratic Party rally Monday night to call for a more open immigration policy. Both Mr. Travers and Mr. Bush criticized government’s lack of action in dealing with hundreds of permanent residency applications and said the approach had to change.
Applicant wins residency appeal after it lay dormant for 7 years
An appeal of permanent resident status that lay dormant for more than seven years after it was initially rejected has finally been awarded to the applicant in the case, a former staffer of the Cayman Islands governor’s office.
Cabinet approves Caymanian status for 2 business leaders
Two longtime Cayman Islands residents have been approved for Cabinet grants of Caymanian status, Premier Alden McLaughlin confirmed Wednesday. The residents are Monique Hamaty-Simmonds of the Tortuga group of companies and Fraser Wellon, well-known developer and owner of the WaterColours property on Seven Mile Beach.
Gov’t to end ‘paper shuffle’ by 2019
By the time non-Caymanian residents who stay in the islands at least eight years have applied for permanent residence, territorial citizenship and Caymanian status, they will have given a copy of their passport to immigration or to police at least a dozen times, assuming they are successful in each step of the application process.
Independents ‘wrong’ on immigration issue, premier says
Banning grants of Caymanian status to long-term non-Caymanian workers who have no family ties to the Cayman Islands would be a “regressive” move that would hurt the local economy and the average Caymanian worker, Premier Alden McLaughlin said last week.
PR applicant misses deadline by one day
A permanent residence-seeker had his application to stay in the Cayman Islands for the rest of his life rejected because he missed the filling deadline by a single day, according to claims made in the Grand Court last month.
