Topic: work permits
Details on exemptions to job-hopping regulations published
Government has published regulations relating to its immigration reform legislation, which will come into effect on 1 May, including the rules that will apply to job-hopping.
Evidence of complaints required for job-hopping exemptions
Incoming regulations will outline criteria expat workers need to meet for new work permits if they leave their jobs in their first two years.
Business Staffing Plan accreditation scheme back on the cards
Companies that recruit and promote Caymanians could be in line for a special seal of approval, a government minister has revealed
Efforts under way to clear work-permit backlog
Government has hired additional staff and is moving to clear a massive backlog of delayed and deferred work permit applications.
Labour shortages hindering Cayman’s luxury tourism boom
Hotels are full and tourism is booming in Cayman. But industry leaders say staffing shortages and permit delays are making it harder to deliver the five-star service visitors expect.
Recruitment patterns reshaping Cayman’s workforce
Nepal and India are now among the top five countries for work permits in Cayman, part of a wider shift in where the island sources its workforce across all sectors of the economy.
Path to Caymanian status in line with competing jurisdictions
Amid a focus on border protection around the world, small island jurisdictions have taken steps to tighten up on immigration
40,000 temporary work permits processed a year
Immigration Minister Michael Myles says the processing of temporary work permits is getting out of hand, with Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman dealing with up to 40,000 applications a year, leading to delays in the granting of full work permits.
Business leaders bristle at ‘hardline approach’ on work permits
A new hardline approach on work permits is fuelling panic and uncertainty in the business community, industry leaders have claimed.
Stern warning issued for non-compliance of Business Staffing Plan requirements
Companies that are required to have Business Staffing Plans in accordance with the Immigration (Transition) Act have been warned they will not have work permit applications approved unless they meet all of the conditions concerning scholarships, internships, apprenticeships, succession planning and advertising.
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.
Nepalese now among top five work permit nationalities
The Nepalese community has grown in the Cayman Islands to become the fifth nationality with the most work permit holders, according to data released from local law firm HSM.
Work permits near 37K mark
After a slight decline at the start of January work permits have begun trending upwards once again and appear to be heading to surpass the 37,000 mark based on numbers shared by the HSM law firm last week.
Fast-food chain fined $125K for hiring workers illegally
A Cayman fast-food chain has been fined $125,325 for hiring staff without the correct work permits.
Premier: Cayman struggling to cope with population surge
The Cayman Islands is struggling to cope with the impact of a surge in population that saw 8,000 new residents arrive on island in the space of a year, Premier Wayne Panton told business leaders Wednesday.
Cayman’s demographic growth: Shifts and opportunities
As at 16 Jan. 2023, 34,067 foreign nationals were recorded by Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman as having a work permit or government contract in the Cayman Islands.
Number of foreign workers at record high
The number of foreign workers on government contracts and work permits in the Cayman Islands reached a new high of 34,067 in January.
Four arrested in immigration crackdown
Four people were arrested at West Bay Road Public Beach for work-permit and immigration breaches last Wednesday, Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman has said.
WORC nets $273,170 in fines for work-permit breaches
A total of 78 work-permit-related offences were recorded between the first and third quarter of 2022, resulting in $273,170 in administrative fines being levied on companies and individuals.
Two arrested for work-permit violations
Two people were arrested on Thursday, 6 Oct., on suspicion of working outside the limitations of their work permits.
Staffing board chair: “Urgent need” for reform of work permit process
In a comprehensive letter to government, Business Staffing Plan Board chairman Richard Barton said there is an "urgent need" for legislative reform to address the ongoing abuse of the work-permit application process that is increasingly detrimental to Caymanians.
Work permit challenges hamper tourism recovery
Recruitment challenges are impacting the recovery of the tourism industry as Cayman businesses attempt to bounce back from COVID-19. Premier Wayne Panton has promised a 'better balance' amid work permit processing delays.
10,600 work permits deferred over last 10 months
Just over a third of work-permit applications have been either deferred or refused since April 2021, with the majority being placed on hold as Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman seeks to place Caymanians in employment.
McLaughlin urges gov’t to address work permit delays
Red Bay MP Alden McLaughlin has called on the PACT government to sort out delays in processing work permits, saying the backlog was impacting local businesses, as the islands begin to open up to tourists.
Cayman’s Deputy Premier Chris Saunders appears on The Resh Hour
On the 28 July episode of The Resh Hour we sit down with Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Chris Saunders to discuss government finances,...
1,350 sign up as jobseekers
Just over 1,350 jobseekers had registered with government's new employment portal by 1 June, government officials said Friday.
Bermuda copying Cayman’s pension cash-out
Bermuda is following a move by the Cayman Islands that allows residents to withdraw a portion of their pension savings to help them cope with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
WORC asks employers to report cancelled work permits
Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman has reminded employers of their legal obligation to notify the department if employment of any staff member has ended.
Year in review: Population surges amid work permit growth
Cayman’s work permit growth has always been a double-edged sword for successive governments. On one hand, it is a significant contributor to the public...
Concerns over rising work permit numbers
As many as 10,000 new work permits could be granted within the next year, according to Cayman's leaders.
Immigration officials expect the number of permits...
EDITORIAL – A clear picture of a thriving economy
The governor's observations about Cayman's workforce were clearly intended to be positive and unifying. They should not have been controversial.
Work permit numbers: Cayman’s expatriate population changing
The number of Indian nationals holding work permits in the Cayman Islands has increased by 26 percent in just the past two years, according to Immigration Department data reviewed by the Cayman Compass.
Employer faces possible prison time for work permit offenses
An employer who pleaded guilty to four sets of charges involving work permits was ordered to pay over $4,000 last week and given a prison sentence of three months, suspended for two years.
Cayman closes in on 26,000 work permits
There were 25,870 work permits and government contracts for non-Caymanian workers active in the Cayman Islands as of Tuesday, according to records from the Immigration Department.
Premier: Cayman must reject ‘insular thinking’ and ‘prejudice’
The Cayman Islands must spurn isolationism and “over-protectionist” political policies if the British Overseas Territory is to continue to thrive as it has done for the past 40 years, Premier Alden McLaughlin said Monday night.
Residency delays may clear up by mid-2018
A backlog of more than 1,100 permanent residence applications – some of which have been in limbo for three or four years – could be cleared by mid-2018 if immigration officials continue the pace they set in August for hearing those applications.
EDITORIAL – Work Permits: Pick your category, pick your price
The absurdities might be comical if they did not engender such serious consequences. Consider the costs to companies to comply with the system, or the costs to taxpayers as government attempts to administer and enforce it.
Work permits: A confusing jumble of job categories
Eighteen months after Cayman’s legislative Public Accounts Committee said the territory’s work permits job category system must be simplified, more than 1,100 job categories remain, along with more than 5,000 sub-categories of positions within the larger job groupings.
Work permits rise 22 percent in 3 years
The Cayman Islands has seen a sharp rise in work permits within the past three years, according to figures released to the Cayman Compass by the Immigration Department under the Freedom of Information Law.
EDITORIAL — Year in review
Today we are featuring excerpts from some of the most interesting, compelling and entertaining editorials that have appeared in the Cayman Compass in 2016, on some of the most important issues facing our country.
Work permit numbers stabilize at about 24,000
The number of foreign workers on work permits in the Cayman Islands leveled off during the latter part of 2016, with just less than 24,000 non-Caymanians employed here as of early December.
EDITORIAL – The agony of hiring overseas
For our readers who may not have much experience with human resources, we’ll walk through the process required to hire one single employee and bring them to Cayman.
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.
More than 24,000 hold work permits
The number of work permits held by non-Caymanians rose in July to their highest level since before the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, data produced by the Immigration Department revealed.
Gay couple wins immigration appeal
The Immigration Appeals Tribunal ruled in favor of a same-sex couple, allowing law professor Leonardo Raznovich to be added to his spouse’s work permit as a dependent.
Businesses bemoan immigration complexities
While customer service and friendliness at the Cayman Islands Immigration Department has improved in recent months, complex regulations and administrative practices that serve to stymie local businesses have not, according to a recent survey by the Chamber of Commerce.
Government expects increase in work permits
The Cayman Islands Immigration Department is expecting an increase in temporary and full-time work permits for non-Caymanian employees over the next year, according to records for the upcoming 2016/17 budget.
5,000 work permit categories ‘must simplify’
A work permit processing system at the Cayman Islands Immigration Department that includes about 5,000 different job categories must be clarified, according to civil service managers who confirmed last week that even immigration employees are baffled by it.
Work permits rise to highest level in six years
The number of active work permits held in the Cayman Islands rose above 23,000 this month, reaching a level not seen in the past six years.
