HSM Review of the Immigration (Transition) (Amendment and Validation) Bill 2025 / Caymanian Protection Act

In October 2025, the Government proposed a change to the Immigration (Transition) Act (2022 Revision) (“the Current Law”) by publishing the Immigration (Transition) (Amendment and Validation) Bill 2025 (“the Bill”). In a 58-page document the Government set out the numerous changes they wished to bring into the Current Law, which has now been renamed the Caymanian Protection Act (“CPA”) and requested views on these changes.

HSM Chambers submitted a detailed response to the changes in which we set out:

• What we thought was good about the Bill.
• What we thought should be amended in the Bill.
• What we thought should be included in the Bill.

On 8 December 2025, the Minister for Caymanian Employment and Immigration tabled a number of changes to the Bill and these changes have been incorporated into the recently passed Bill, known as the CPA. It is now far more restrictive than previously drafted and will form (and we understand do form) part of the CPA. A commencement date has not yet been officially announced but it is expected that the CPA will become law in the New Year.

HSM Chambers’ position remains that there are issues with the CPA which have not yet been addressed. These issues are varied and detailed and include whether or not a proper consultation can be said to have taken place in the absence of the Regulations that will accompany the CPA when it becomes effective.

In the absence of the Regulations, for example, the following matters remain unclear:

1. What prescribed financial standing will be required to satisfy the Board that an applicant for the Right to be Caymanian (“RTBC”) can support their dependents. It is presumed that this figure will be an income of at least $5,000 per month, with an additional $1,000 income required for each additional dependent, if the same threshold proposed for work permit holders is adopted.
2. Whether the prescribed financial standing will take into account child dependents who are Caymanian or have their own immigration permission. Currently, it appears that where an expatriate applies for an immigration permission and they have a Caymanian child, by way of example, that child is not considered a “dependent” when a review of the individuals salary takes place to see if they have sufficient income to support other non-Caymanian children. It is not clear whether this situation will change.
3. What the prescribed circumstances will be to permit an individual to change their employer within the first two years of the grant of the work permit.
4. Whether there are to be any changes to the thresholds for Certificates of Permanent Residence as a Person of Independent Means, or Residency Certificate as a Person of Independent means.

Likewise, there remain issues with a number of the changes, perhaps most notably for those spouses who are “stay at home parents” who are married to a RERC holder but do not hold a RERC in their own right and are instead listed as dependents on their spouse’s RERC.

For reasons that are unclear, the Government appears to intend that these individuals would, in circumstances where their marriage breaks down or their RERC-holding spouse dies, be unable to apply for an RERC in their own right and therefore would potentially be required to leave the Cayman Islands.

Another issue which remains, post the changes proposed on 8 December 2025 is the punitive elements of the CPA, which seeks to penalize individuals who marry a person with a different term limit from themselves. Those individuals will now acquire the term limit of the party with the least time left in the Cayman Islands.

At present under the current legislation, those individuals can either retain their own term limit or elect to acquire the term limit of the spouse with the most time left. This will now change. It is not clear why approximately 1,000 individuals who currently hold work permits linked to their spouse, or whose spouse is linked to their permit, are to be treated in such a harsh manner.

The proposed changes could operate to penalize those who choose to marry, rather than those who remain unmarried.

Noticeable changes

Reduction in those Protected by the Transitional Provisions

In the Bill as originally published, it was clear that those people who had applied for Permanent Residence (PR) and were awaiting the decision of their application would be protected by the Transitional Provisions relating to eligibility to apply for the Right to be Caymanian. Specifically, such individuals would have been entitled to apply after 15 years of residence (provided they were naturalised), rather than after 20 years as now set out in the CPA.

The Cayman Islands Government amended the Bill, now the CPA, to ensure that it is only those individuals who are actually granted PR at the time the CPA comes into force will be entitled to apply for the Right to be Caymanian after 15 years of residence (and being naturalised).

This amendment will adversely affect at least 600 people who are currently working pursuant to a Permission to Continue Working with pending PR applications if decisions are not given before the CPA comes into effect.

Identity Cards

The Bill published in October 2025, was wholly silent as to Identity Cards. While it is correct that Section 71 of the Current Law allows for the issuance of an Identification Card, the Amendments proposed on 8 December 2025, appeared to make it more likely that an Identification Card, at least for Work Permit holders, will be required, and the associated costs will have to be paid in advance of the grant of the Work Permit.

The proposed Amendments (and which we believe form part of the CPA), make reference to Identification Cards in two separate provisions. Since 2022, there have been rumours of a National Identification Card, and it appears that we are moving one step closer to them being introduced, if the proposed amendments do form part of the CPA.

If it is the case that Identification Cards are introduced for work permit holders, then those Work Permit holders can expect to be arrested and fined if they do not produce upon request an Identification Card or within 48 hours of the request made by a Police Officer, an Officer of WORC (but not Customs and Border Control) and an Officer of the Department of Labour and Pensions. It should be noted that it appears that a request to produce the ID Card can be made without a reasonable suspicion that a violation of the Immigration law, or any law has occurred, and can be made without cause by the relevant officer. This appears a little draconian.

Whether the CPA will result in a wide rollout of the Identification Cards is not known.  However, it does appear that the Identification Card and the associated costs, will be a further cost to employers or expatriates wishing to live in the Cayman Islands. This is in addition to the anticipated increase of almost 700% in the driver license fees for expatriates due to take effect in the New Year.

It is also notable that where a business applies for a work permit and pays the costs of the Identification Card in advance, but the Work Permit is ultimately not granted, there appears to be no provision for the recovery of the Identification Card fees in the CPA.

Conclusion

HSM Chambers reiterates its concerns raised during the consultation period. There are still fundamental flaws in the CPA which have not been corrected and will create uncertainty and difficulties. A meaningful consultation process should still take place, allowing stakeholders the opportunity to comment on the changes alongside the yet unseen regulations with the benefit of full and complete information.