Cayman Status and PR board to go to Cabinet
(CNS): The chief officer in the Home Affairs Ministry, Eric Bush, has said that the new line-up of the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residence (PR) board will go before Cabinet when it meetsTuesday and should be gazetted later next week. The board will still play a significant part in delivery of the government’s new immigration policy, which will see every work permit holder who remains in Cayman for more than eight years allowed to make an application to live here permanently. Decisions on who stays and goes will be made by immigration staff in the future, based on new stricter points criteria, but the board will still make decisions regarding some applications.
Meanwhile, concerns have been raised by PR applicants who applied before the law changed that they too will be judged under the new harsher regime. Among the criteria that applicants for PR need to satisfy is their understanding of the local history and culture and this is assessed via a multiple choice test, which has been suspended since the new immigration bill was enacted in October.
Officials have not said why the tests have been placed on hold but several applicants contacted CNS with concerns that this is an illustration that, despite applying before the changes in the law, they are going to be judged on the new stricter criteria.
Having already jumped through the key employee status hoop, anyone who applied for permanent residency before the new immigration bill was passed would be judged under the old system with a target of 100 points rather than 120, government officials have stated.
During the government’s public outreach regarding the changes to the points system, Bush said that the PR test would be tightened up and candidates would need to answer more questions to reach the maximum 20 points available from the history and culture test.
However, Chief Immigration Officer Linda Evans confirmed this week that the tests will resume shortly, in the next week or so, and those previously scheduled with an appointment will be contacted for the next available sitting.
“The test will consist of 20 questions with one correct answer earning one point, which is what it was under the prior points system. The level of difficulty hasn't changed,” she added.
Category: Local News
I'm surprised that no one is complainning on the 500K cap to purchase a property . This has compleately killed the real estate market for all properties from 200K to 450K . Many of these properties for sale are owned by caymanians. Are they thinnking of their own people or not?
Basically if your a hard working low paid grafter you will be replaced with no chance at all. If your rich your in. Simple as that
I suggest you learn to spell first before you take the test
This is crap. We have to pay, and repay; submit and resubmit; jump through hoops, and jump yet again to to provide the same information we have already submitted multiple, multiple, multiple, multiple times. With new fees for each submission,
We have to send our employees to wait in all day long lines, for govt to do f-all. Then when they don’t do their part, and deal with the paperwork, guess what, they change the rules of the game, and businesses have to pay again. What a load of $hit. What kind of business can charge customers to NOT do the job they they are paid to do??? They should be ashamed! I don’t get your big A$$ pay for being imcompetent do- nothing prima donnas. I actually have to earn my keep. Stop the crap. I cannot afford to keep paying for YOUR lazy and/or obtuse LACK of action, to not provide for the services that are not received, but paid for, repeatly.
Most of the posters dont want expats to get PR which is fair enough. However when I say I dont want to apply, I am told off that I dont think Cayman is good enough. Dammed you do and dammed if you dont. I thought not applying would help to not overburden the system
Indeed, currently cannot see any good reason to want to apply, and making my plans accordingly-earn as much as I can and get the hell out of dodge to a warmer (and cheaper) mediterranean island- with normal laws!
Like Cyprus where they can tax your savings at 10% overnight?
Interesting, "the board will still make some" decisions. Ummmmm?
This immigration law is nothing but pure unadulterated bearucratic discrimination. Why would we allow a law like this that only invite the rich? Doesn't some of the care givers earning $800 per month worth keeping? Obviously they probably will not pass the point system as $ 800 per month doesn't go far in cayman especially if the are to invest on the island and feed their families back home.
how come the human rights committee have an issue with murderers obtaining life in prison yet an immigration law such as this they have no problem?
Surely you are not suggesting that anyone in this kind land of good upstanding christians pays their helper a meager $200 per week?
This is why they cannot be allowed to get PR, this country don't need any more social service clients, 2003 status grants gave us far too many.
Total bulls###, 12:53, and can be demonstrated to be so but that wouldn't bother you would it? You would still be a small minded village bigot blaming everything on "furriners".
You are very very wrong. Go on. Educate us. The status grants have cost us hundreds of milions and continue to.
Not true 10:07. Just ask staff in the Ministry and department concerned with what used to be called "social services". With a very few exceptions the recipients of handouts are our own born Caymanians -and many of them come from families which have been receiving handouts for 20 years or more.
No – count social services as what it is. Free education for at least 5,000 persons is a direct consequence of the status grants. Free medicine for thousands more is a direct result of the status grants. Permanent residennce grants to hundreds more who would not have gained enough points without a relative being granted status. Then count the marriages of convenience. Then add the lost work permit revenue. Then add the effect on local unemployment. Then tell me it has not cost us hundreds of millions of dollars.
Bigoted bull, 16:13. You could not get anyone from Social Services (call it what you will) to agree with your nonsense because it is just not true. But of course you also believe that 70% of the prisoners in Northward are non Caymanian don't you? So, bwoy, we know yuh is a real genius, bobo.
well if we were being paid the 10k that they pay just for being expat we would gladly pay 400 per week for a helper oops no I mean "nanny"
What? You joking? Which expats are getting10k (guessing per month)? I want in on this action!
You do realize that they don't have to take the job. I made $800 a month bartending at a hotel and I'm a Caymanian. I paid utility bills but the helper can take their whole salary and send home because the employer pays all of the bills. My father figured out that a helper who was earning $75 a week was actually making over $1000 a month with food, rent and utilities included. This was about 30 years or more ago.
I am very glad to know that the point system has been tightened up. As far as you are concerned 4Cayman, if you were so for these islands you would not be seeking to cement more poverty here. With all due respect, those who may be here earning $800 per month have the option not to accept it and to leave. They have the countries from whence they came to return to. I'm sick of the whining and cries of descrimination etc where people like you expect these islands to become a haven to the world's poor. Many of our own are themselves poor and many others fast becoming even more so. The descrimination is already existing and it is against Cayman and Caymanians!
I don't know if the human rights committee will support these people when they fight to have them remain here if they do not meet the requirements to gain residency and ultimately citizenship, because if they don't Caymanians won't. There is no free lunch any where in the world tell this to human rights just in case they don't know, tell people in Bermuda and Monaco this crap too, then Cayman will fall in line otherwise you and human rights go fly a kite.
110 unattainable by 99%.
Yup, that is the plan.
With any luck they will push that figure to 99.99% and be proud of it.
and when it hits the 99.99% expect the unemployment rate to be above 30% amonst caymanians as they won't be able to ride on the coat tails of expats anymore
Good move immigration, there should also be background checks and fingerprints sent to Interpool, FBI and other agencies as we cannot be too careful. Far too many people with criminal backgrounds have been let into these islands with change of names or fake documents. Fingerprints necessary, many people come here with clean police records that have been deported from other countries. Cayman have enough shady characters of their own to want to import and accept anymore.
And too many people with criminal backgrounds are being reported by our own police as having none.
It is true that many lie to immigration including about prior criminal histories, but since we still do nothing when they are caught, they will continue. Stricter penalties in the law are just window dressing.
Ya.. that's right! Fingerprint those Honduran women turning down beds in the hotels because you never know!
There it goes! Less jobs for Caymanians.
have you read and do you understand the law? only the very wealthy have any chance of getting PR so your statement is wrong. any expat remotely thinking about investing any money here should think again. once this law plays out for a few years watch proprty prices tank!
Last time I checked taking a test on which 100% is not the passing mark, means some questions, i.e. requirements can be zero and the person/applicant still manages to pass i.e. get PR so trust me we'll still continue to give everyone access to PR and status.
By deterring investment and increasing the costs of doing business?
100 points to 120 points??? WHAT THE HECK!!! thought it was going to be raiased to 110 not 120 CNS can you PLEASE confrim this is not a type-o??
Typo
QUIET immediately. Any more comments and it will 130 points. No 140 points. Bad applicant. Sit. SIt I say. Bad boy.
Board going to approve SOME? Mmmm contracts will be given, appointments made. Next year at this time we can all sing
"It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas"
Forget points, work will set you free.