The Government submitted the IMMIGRATION (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) BILL, 2013 to the Legislative Assembly and it was published on Friday, 20 September, 2013, as the first phase of the reform of the Immigration policy of the Cayman Islands.

In the first instance, the Amendment will address the impending expiration of the Term Limit Exemption Permits, granted by the previous Administration, so as to regularise the status of those work permit holders whose permits expire on 28 October, 2013. Caymanians will have an opportunity to apply for those 1,522 jobs and those interested in filling any of the jobs for which they are qualified, are urged to apply so that the Immigration Department has all of the relevant information required in determining the grant or refusal of new work permits.

Employers should note that it will now be an offence, carrying a fine of up to $20,000 in the first instance, for an employer to fail to disclose to the Immigration Department when making an application for a work permit that a Caymanian, a spouse of a Caymanian or a permanent resident has applied for the position.

To discourage abuse of the work permit system it will no longer be possible to work beyond the date of refusal of an application for a work permit while awaiting the outcome of an appeal.

The Amendment also abolishes the provision for key employees and extends the term limit from seven to nine years for work permit holders. The break in stay required at the expiry of the term limit before any further work permits may be granted will remain at one year.

In order to ensure greater efficiency and transparency of the Immigration policy the Chief Immigration Officer and persons designated by her will now be allowed to process all types of work permit applications, including those where a Caymanian has applied for the position.  Going forward, permanent residence applications will also be processed administratively as well as by the Caymanian Status & Permanent Residency Board.

A number of issues relating to the permanent residence provisions in immigration legislation will also be addressed.

Anyone who has lived in the Islands for eight years will be allowed to apply for permanent residence (as the Law presently allows) provided they do so within one year from becoming eligible after year eight.

To address the problem of permanent residence fees not being paid on time, or at all, it will now be required that all fees must be paid at the time of making the application for permanent residence. This includes the application fee, issue fee, fees in respect to dependants and the annual fee in respect of the first year. The fee to make an application for permanent residence is being increased to $1,000.

Permanent residents will, in the future, be required to submit an annual declaration in respect to their investments, employment and other factors. Failure to comply with this requirement will be an offence.

If a permanent resident is selling property that was listed in his permanent residence application for the purpose of buying an alternative property they will be required to complete the purchase within 180 days and he must notify the Board or the Chief Immigration Officer of the details of the new property.

A permanent resident also must inform the Board or the Chief Immigration Officer if there is any change to his employment circumstances, for example that he has been employed by a new employer, or has been terminated, promoted, demoted or re-designated. Failure to comply with this requirement is an offence.

The right of a dependent child of a permanent resident to reside in the Islands will now cease at the age of eighteen unless their parent applies to have their Residency & Employment Rights Certificate varied to reflect the fact that the child is in full time tertiary education. It will also be an offence if a Residence & Employment Rights Certificate has been varied but the dependent child is not in fact pursuing full time tertiary education.

New, stronger grounds for the revocation of permanent residence are being introduced where the holder:

Is delinquent in respect to payment of his annual fee

Is working in an occupation that is not authorized in his Certificate

Fails to make the required annual declaration

Anyone who has appealed the decision of the refusal of their PR application will now have to apply to the Chief Immigration Officer to continue working. This change of process will allow for the permission to be varied during this period if necessary to reflect a change in circumstance with respect to the applicant, for example the need to add or remove a dependant.

Any person who has been in the Islands for nine years already when the Law comes into effect will have 90 days in which to apply for permanent residence. They will be allowed to continue working until the application is decided (including any subsequent appeal).

With a view to improving efficiencies, the appeals process set out in the law is being reformulated to allow faster determination of appeals; especially those that have been made to take advantage of a backlogged system.

There will now be a two-stage process: As part of a prescribed application process the appellant must first file grounds of appeal and there will be a hearing on those grounds. If the Tribunal accepts that grounds are made out, then there will be a rehearing of the appellant’s original application taking into account any change of circumstance. Appeals will now be entirely based on paper submissions and the appellant or his representative will not be allowed to be present at either the hearing on grounds or the rehearing of the application unless they are invited by the Tribunal.

The fee to lodge an appeal with the Immigration Appeals Tribunal is being increased to $1,000 and the Immigration Appeals Tribunal will have the ability to make an order for costs against an appellant in respect to a frivolous or vexatious appeals.

Phase two of the immigration reforms will focus on the work permit system, in particular the relationship between the granting of work permits and unemployment amongst Caymanians. Work on this is already under way and a committee will be making a preliminary report to Cabinet in October and a full report in April 2014.

See also iNews Cayman story published September 11, 2013 “Deadline for immigration review will not be met” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/2013/09/deadline-for-immigration-review-will-not-be-met/