HSM LAW
Moving Matters: Wills and The Domicile Trap
The concept of ‘domicile’ is an ancient but highly relevant set of legal rules which, in a nutshell, seeks to determine where an individual’s true home is during the course of their lifetime. As a broad statement of principal, if Read more +
10 Interns Join HSM’s 2025-26 Internship Programme
The HSM Group is proud to announce the launch of its 2025/26 internship programme in collaboration with the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre (CIFEC). HSM recently welcomed 10 ambitious interns to its team: Mia-Ariel Torres Gordon, Dimitri Seymour, Jureimi Monotero, Read more +
HSM in The Legal 500 Caribbean 2026 Rankings
The HSM Group was featured recently in the Legal 500 2026 Caribbean rankings. HSM Chambers, a full-service law firm, received rankings across multiple practice areas for their expertise in the Cayman Islands and are highlighted below with some of Legal Read more +
Keep Calm and Carry On – Proposed Changes to Cayman’s Immigration Act
With the publishing on Friday (17 October 2025) of the proposed new Immigration Bill, numerous clients have sought advice/reassurance that they will not be adversely affected by any proposed changes. Like with any change in legislation, there will be those Read more +
Permanent Residence as a Person of Independent Means in the Cayman Islands
There have been recent reports in the UK Press about certain Caribbean countries “selling” citizenship. The BBC report that Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia all provide Citizenship by Investment (“CBI”) for as little as $200,000.
While such programmes are not new, they occasionally attract controversy. For instance, in 2003, Nauru, a small Pacific Island, sold Citizenship to an individual who was later arrested as a member of Al-Qaeda.
More recently in April 2025, the EU Court of Justice ruled that the Maltese scheme which one could purchase Maltese Citizenship (and thus become a citizen of the EU) for 600,000 Euros was unlawful.
The Cayman Islands’ approach differs significantly and is unlikely to fall foul of similar legal or ethical scrutiny. Notably, obtaining Permanent Residence in the Cayman Islands as a Person of Independent Means (“PIMS”) does not automatically confer British Overseas Territories Citizenship (“BOTC”).
For $2million invested in developed real estate in the Cayman Islands, one can become a Permanent Resident of the Cayman Islands as a Person of Independent Means (“PIMS”). That means the individual has only crossed the first step into becoming a BOTC. To become a BOTC, the individual would still have to live in the Cayman Islands for at least 5 years and the Cayman Islands will have to be their home throughout that period. We are noticing several applications for BOTC are being rejected when the individual has spent more than 90 days outside of the Cayman Islands in the year proceeding the application, or more than 450 days outside the islands in the previous 5 years.
It therefore would be highly unlikely for a PIMS to become Naturalised as a BOTC if they had spent minimal time in the Cayman Islands.
For these reasons, it is believed that the current residency programme in the Cayman Islands is far more secure and superior to those of other countries. Investors to the Cayman Islands should be aware that a PIMS permission is only the first step to becoming a BOTC and potentially to becoming a Caymanian. It is not an automatic endpoint. This long-term and merit-based structure makes the Cayman Islands progamme a more attractive and credible investment opportunity compared to the other international offerings.