Following concerns expressed by the public regarding the length of time being taken to process Permanent Residency (PR) applications since the law was changed in 2013, the Ministry of Immigration (MOI) and the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board (CSPR), has confirmed that the CSPR will begin considering and deciding on PR applications starting next week.

CSPR Board Chairman, Mr. Waide DaCosta, advised that the CSPR Board will review all outstanding and recent permanent residency applications filed under the current 2013 Immigration Law in the order in which they were received. The intention is to process them as quickly as practical while ensuring that each application is given proper consideration.

MOI Chief Officer, Mr. Wesley Howell, noted that a plan of action has been implemented to overcome various human resources and other challenges, to ensure that the processing of applications can move forward.

The Department of Immigration has reassigned staff members and has recruited Caymanian university graduates to advance the processing of applications, and supply the board with an adequate supply of applications to consider.

Additionally, several Immigration administrators will shadow board members and receive critical training to help with the processing efforts.  There are also three vacant positions on the CSPR Board, which Mr. Howell expects to be filled shortly.

Mr. Howell says Department of Immigration officials will begin contacting applicants as early as this week, if additional information is needed to process their application.

“I would sincerely like to thank Mr. DaCosta and the Department of Immigration for working through the challenges; and the forthcoming efforts by him and his board to resolve the issue of application backlog,” he states. “I also want particularly thank Mr. DaCosta for adding the PR considerations to his already heavy board agenda and for assisting in getting the Administrators up to speed.”

The 2013 law authorised Administrators to consider and decide on PR applications and once the knowledge transfer to this cadre of Administrators is complete the consideration of applications will be further improved. Compliance checks will help ensure that decisions made are sound and fair.

“I would also like to thank all of the applicants, their families and their employers for their patience during this time,” Mr. Howell explains. “I want to reassure them that we are working hard to resolve this matter.”

At the beginning of his second term as the government’s leader, the Premier and Minister for Immigration, Mr. Alden McLaughlin, raised the issue as a top priority for the new government.

“I am pleased the CSPR Board and Immigration leaders have stepped up to the challenge, and together have developed a plan for resolution that looks to guarantee a high level of speed and efficiency in dealing with applications going forward,” Mr. McLaughlin states.