News from Grand Cayman » Employment Regulations

Government committed to term limits

dave — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:13:09 +0000

Kurt Tibbetts, Leader of Government Business, stated last week that the Government of the Cayman Islands remains committed to term limits for foreign workers. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly he said ‘The Government, after the most careful consideration, has concluded that the choice for Cayman is stark: either we retain a system designed to reduce the number of people who are able to stay here indefinitely and become part of the permanent population with all the attendant rights and privileges that must go hand in hand with long term tenure, or we concede that in ten years or less, the control of the destiny of these beloved Islands will be vested in persons who were not born here. For this Government and we believe for the vast majority of Caymanians, the latter result is wholly undesirable and unacceptable.’

Government data indicates that since the introduction of the policy the ‘brain drain’ predicted by many has not materialised. In fact the number of qualified professionals such as accountants and lawyers has increased significantly.

Chief Immigration Officer issues warning on work permit renewals

dave — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:16:22 +0000

Chief Immigration Officer Franz Manderson has reminded employers that work permit renewal applications must be submitted before current work permits expire. He stated that a growing number of renewal applications are being submitted late, contrary to the requirements of the Immigration Law (2007 Revision).

Under the legislation employees can carry on working after their current permit expires provided a renewal application has been made before its expiration. If an application is made after the expiration date, the employee must stop working until a new permit is issued.

Department of Immigration unveil new website

dave — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:20:10 +0000

The Cayman Islands Department of Immigration have a new website and logo. The site offers comprehensive information about visas, work permits, permanent residence and Caymanian status.

New work permit system

dave — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:47:00 +0000

Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts has announced that changes to the Immigration Law next year will lead to a decrease in the time it takes to process work permits. Under the new system, expected to be introduced in the first quarter of 2008, certain categories of work permits will be processed by administrative staff rather than being approved by the Work Permit Board.

Government reveals work permit statistics

dave — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:23:30 +0000

Acting Chief Secretary Donovan Ebanks revealed last week that in the last 17 months the government has issued over 41,000 work permits. The breakdown for the period between April 2006 and August 2007 was 10,367 annual permits, 20,729 temporary permits, and 10,521 renewals. He was responding to a question from Leader of the Opposition McKeeva Bush in the Legislative Assembly.