UK has expectations on PR issue, says governor
(CNS): The government may soon be faced with no other choice but to grant permanent residency to many of the more than 800 applicants awaiting a decision because of the delay in resolving the human rights and legal issues surrounding the current point system. In response to enquiries from CNS about the issue, which dominated the headlines this week, the governor released a short statement yesterday, in which she pointed to the expectations of the UK when it comes to the legal obligations of the territories.
Following a request issued last Friday by an offshore fund expert for a judicial review over the failure of government to consider his application after 29 months, the Information Commissioner’s Office also turned to the courts this week after government failed to comply with an order from that office relating to a report about the situation.
CNS asked the governor’s office about government’s failure to grant any PR applications since October 2013, following the chief justice’s findings regarding the points system. We also asked if she will be assisting the premier in trying to block the information commissioner’s access to the report by local attorney David Ritch, in which he set out his findings after a review of the law. Governor Helen Kilpatrick did not answer the CNS questions but released this statement:
“Although immigration policy is delegated to the Cayman Islands Government, I am well aware of the current problems surrounding the immigration points based system and the delays in processing applications that these issues have caused. The United Kingdom has made it clear that it expects the Overseas Territories to abide by their international legal obligations.”
She also said that because the matter is currently before the courts, it would be inappropriate for her to make any detailed comment.
“One of the strengths of the Cayman Islands is its professional and independent judiciary. Such independent judicial scrutiny is a key pillar of the good governance of the Overseas Territories,” the governor added.
However, the implication regarding the UK’s expectations is clear, as it already directed the Cayman government several years ago that it must give residency rights to those living on island legally for a decade or more.
Cayman has wrestled with immigration challenges for some 15 years. The historical legacy of not giving rights to overseas workers regardless of long residency eventually resulted in the endlessly controversial status grants by the first United Democratic Party government, led by McKeeva Bush, to some 3,000 ex-pats in 2003.
The UK found that the government could not have workers in the community who were here in some cases for decades with no security of tenure, and directed Cayman to address its immigration dilemmas.
The subsequent immigration law and seven-year rollover policy was introduced to prevent enormous numbers of foreign workers, on which the economy depends, becoming permanent residents by stopping them reaching the ten-year mark. The goal was to prevent them from reaching that time period unless they passed through a selection process that became known as ‘key employee status’.
This was a hurdle that work-permit holders had to jump, proving their ability to take care of themselves financially and their commitment and value to the Cayman community, to get the right to stay long enough to apply for permanent residency.
But the rollover policy was fraught with problems from the start. And when the previous UDP administration tried to prevent a mass exodus of workers employed after Hurricane Ivan, who were all reaching the rollover period at the same time, with a temporary extension certificate for workers in 2011, the problems escalated.
On taking up office in May 2013, the PPM changed the law and abolished the key employee status barrier. The goal was to allow all work permit holders who stayed for eight years to apply for residency. But that placed government in the risky position that applicants could reach the ten-year mark if their applications were not handled quickly. The application process was made harder, with the aim of deporting those who failed to get through well before the ten-year cut-off
But when the point system for occupation was ruled arbitrary and unfair by the courts in one of the first cases considered, government was forced to suspend the application process with the aim of changing the law. It has, however, failed to act, creating a backlog of applications, with some applicants now having been resident for over 11 years, leaving government with a major dilemma.
Premier Alden McLaughlin, who is responsible for immigration policy as the home affairs minister and the architect of the policy which led to the changed law, commissioned David Ritch to conduct a review. McLaughlin has since fought hard to keep the Ritch Report under wraps, claiming it is exempt from the FOI law because it is a legally privileged document.
The premier took that position to the brink this week by also refusing to allow the information commissioner to see the report so he can determine if the information in it is privileged legal advice or public policy advice. As a result, Acting Information Commissioner Cory Martinson wrote to the chief justice Tuesday stating that the premier, and essentially the Cabinet Office, had refused his order and asked the court to consider whether the government was in contempt.
Premier McLaughlin had sent the ICO a “ministerial exemption”, claiming that he could rule the document exempt from FOI. Martinson disagreed and suggested that order, which is part of the legislation, did not cover the eyes of the ICO. He said only the governor could issue an order preventing the commissioner from seeing documents relating to an FOI appeal.
CNS asked the governor directly if she would be supporting McLaughlin’s drive to exempt the document but she did not answer the question.
The speculation now circulating is that the Ritch Report has pointed out that the Cayman government will likely have to make a mass residency grant. Releasing that kind of information, however, less than six months before an election, could be damaging to the PPM, given the populist objections to foreign workers getting PR. The premier is therefore unlikely to allow that report in the public domain until after polling day.
Category: Laws, Local News, Politics
Grant it and lose your country. The UK sold out its own people years ago to globalisation and free trade and now they are selling out Cayman. Its not bad enough the government allows cheap labour onto this island to lower wages but granting 900 PR will see the jobs market higher up freeze up and there will be no positions for Caymanians. When PR is granted it is granted for a certain job title; therefore people will be encouraged and legally driven to stay in their positions. No more mid level or managerial positions for Caymanians. Aside from this you will lose your country demographically.
This mess will get sorted out after the next election which will see many independents candidates elected and Ezard Miller our next premier. CAYMANIANS this is your last opportunity to take our country back.
In case you forgot, it is not your country to take back.
I would like to see THIS directive from the UK or is this another PPM/Jamaican AG proposal like the one that stated we had to grant status because I refuse to believe ANY FAKE NEWS!!!!
SHOW ME THE LEGAL DOCUMENT THAT THE UK HAS DEMANDED THIS!
Caymanians, for the love of God or some common sense, remember it’s not only the USA media being given false information, CNS is there any info from the UK? Thanks
Lol … could see this coming years ago. Sit on it, ignore it then ….
“Not us bobo, we’s fightin the English on this little thing but dey make us do it”
The corporatocracy wants a population of 100,000 and will push to get there as soon as possible. They subscribe to a “growth for growth sake” fallacy.
No real surprise here. Ministerial arrogance does not benefit the electorate.
Worthless PPM, just absolutely worthless. As for me and my household, we won’t be giving one vote to anyone running on your ticket.
So you decide for all voters in your house? That’s called dictatorship elsewhere..
You do not know how stupid the rest of my family are. I blame the wife’s genes.
The problem here is simple. Every time we have a change in Government, they poke holes in the immigration law, by amending bits and pieces of it to cater to the desires of a few. Then after a few years, we come back to this same situation where a bunch of people have fallen through the cracks and end up being compensated through outright granting.
For once, if we had a Government with balls and backbone, we wouldn’t end up in this mess.
I recall right after the TELEPs were sorted out by the PPM, Mr. Alden swore they would deal with the immigration law once and for all. Well well well, here we are again.
PPM should rebrand itself as the TELEP Government, because apart from that they haven’t done one bloody thing.
Under the Caymanian Protection Board, we used to have it that a Work Permit holder had no expectation of PR, and they were rolled over, it was called a break those days. What ever happened to that?
In much larger countries with far more resources, there is no such expectation as a Work Permit holder such as the USA.
Immediately a clause should be placed in both the application form and the grant making that a condition of the award.
What is so difficult about this.
Most larger countries including the USA allow people to apply for citizenship after living in the country after a set amount of time. In the UK and a lot of Europe it is 4 years
I wouldn’t use the U.K. As an example….given the recent developments over there. Why do you think a majority voted in favor of leaving the EU?!
Cayman cannot be considered to be a large country.
Why is government allowing permit holders to apply for PR? A permit is a contract, so when it ends they should move on. Who can demand a permit to stay here beyond a specific time/term?
Rolling people over with no expectation of PR will make a lot of expats change their mind about settling down in Cayman for anything longer than a few years. That’s not good for businesses, and will affect the economy.
People need to move on with their lives, have kids, buy property, etc. and why do that in a country that you know you will just have to leave? PR give people a chance to stay – and if you are law abiding and contribute to the community then why is that such a bad thing?
10.23am Rollover was, and is the right way to go. No way should Cayman be expected to give status to everyone who comes here to work and feels entitled to it.
I agree, and we should get rid of caymanians having anchor babies in the US. Caymanians have all the medical resources they need on the island, so if you are a caymanian, they should not be using US resources. Caymanians have all the frends they need from the carribean and central america, they should not be taking trips to Miami when they can buy from other carribean nations, or buying houses in the US, when they should be investing in Cayman only. No caymanians should be in the US or have US citizenship.
Lets let true Caymanians be who they really are.
PR and pensions theft, time for the door fellas.
This is going to be another situation like the mass status grants because nobody has the guts to stop it! Who will the PPM blame this time?
The majority of PR applicants are wealthy property owners who will not be dependent on the state.
Mackeevas Mass status grants were to the economically needy and uneducated who brought their families over here to swell the lines at the social services handouts window.
That sounds just like something PPM committee member would say. Very elitist. Only there for the rich and not the poor.
5.44pm No.It sounds like something a permit holder with an entitlement mentality would say.Stop trying to put Cayymanian against Caymanian.This is about outsiders wanting what Caymanians have, we need to unite and sort this out.
Does it matter whether the Ritch Report is released or not at this stage in the game , regarding the PPM not liking the back-lash from said report ? Alden and the PPM are like the # 1 of the Titanic’s maintenance division , still polishing the brass & varnishing the hand-rails at 11 pm. Who cares at this stage if Alden likes the outcome of that reports release? The P.R. applicants as well as the islands residents & citizens need to see it , to see the true colours of the administration that is denying them to see it.
I’m not sure that it is fair to categorize the mistreatment of human households as “populist”. I think the opposite is true, that most Caymanians are genuinely decent well-intentioned people that are appalled at this government’s cavalier and high-handed manner in delaying review of these applications. The consequence of this unprofessional approach will be deserved lawsuits from net contributors to Cayman, and 10yr qualification of folks that ought to have been denied (with our thanks) years ago. Both groups deserved fair answers with a short review period.
Official job description of Governor Helen Kilpatrick
1. Advance the gay rights agenda at all costs
2. Address some human rights issues
3. Attend all cocktail receptions and garden parties
4. Maintain the charade of Good Governance
governors are just here for an easy time…. its a pity because she be championing the rights of expats in cayman….
When Cayman were nothing for the British to get, they would not even look this way, now cayman has something for them to get they want to tell us when to eat, what to eat and how to eat. I was a seaman and one time i was going to the far east to join a ship in the nineteen sixties, but the ship was not ready for me just yet, the immigration in London gave me one week only to stay in England, so the agent sent me to Greece which gave me 3 months.
Hahahahaha! Funniest most delusional comment ever!
Sorry I meant to click like. Oops.
Previous white bearded governor was here for much more than expatriates rights.
Give it away give it away give it away nooooow!
UK and Governor’s office are happy to ignore corruption and incompetence by the RCIPS. Did they recover the 24 kilos of cocaine that walked out of RCIPS Central station? They are happy to watch multi-million dollar contracts had to friends and businesses associates
They are happy to ignore strict sentencing guidelines for child molesters and sexual abuse of minors.
The are happy to ignore the systemic corruption within the civil service and abuse of office by public officials. The are happy to sweep the dirt under the rug and promote incompetence to ambassadorial roles in the London office.
The are happy to pay millions in damages to their foreign friends including former Police Commissioners and judges. While no civil servant at any level is held accountable.
They are happy to ignore the many conflicts of interests and the anti-corruption laws involving politicians and political appointees. I wonder if they have read some of the recent Auditor General reports.
It makes you wonder what is important to those who are really in charge. The only thing worse is our MLA’s say and do nothing about these things because the status must remain for them to make money and be called honorable for life.
@Kim Philby Bodden – What Kim said!
class action time….
Just grant the DARN things!!! they are all here working, bought property , kids going to school or even have their own business employing people . Just do it what is the issue here?????
Have to wait until date to register to vote passes?
Issue is that the PPM is xenophobic and myopic
and possibly despotic.
Do it and lose your country
Governor – nonsense. You have had extensive opportunity to intervene and have watched the train-wreck in slow motion over the rim of your champagne glass. The train has been mostly under the control of the civil service, not elected politicians. If you are in charge of good governance, could we have some please? You may have been oblivious until now, but that hardly makes it better.
‘over the rim of your champagne glass’ .. I’ve heard some rippers over the years , but this one is a true keeper & I plan to incorporate it at the soonest opportunity . Your spot-on comment to back it up , done.. What say you, Helen ?
Exactly the same as Mac did with status grants. Round and round we go and where it stops nobody knows.
Can anyone explain why, if the Cayman Islands and Bermuda are both British Overseas Territories, Bermuda is not required to grant PR till after 15 years of residency but Cayman has to grant after 10? That doesn’t make sense and Bermuda’s policy I believe has been JR’ed.
Bermuda has not signed up to the ECHR and has no path to citizenship based on residence.
When did Cayman sign up to it out of interest?
Err, Bermuda is fully signed up. The right to petition has lapsed that is all.
Yea and guess who signed up Cayman to ECHR without ever asking???? Our current Premier
Without asking AND without understanding!
8.38am Exactly when did Alden sign us up. Please give the correct date refer to a document that proves this. I do believe that the UK signed on to ECHR many years ago and Cayman had it extended as a result of its BOTC status.
3.12pm Unlike Cayman, Bermuda refuses to be intimidated by guest workers.
Finally some one has correctly derived the equation that ALL should understand. It is as follows:
WORK PERMIT = GUEST WORKER ( in Cayman)
But that placed government in the risky position that applicants could reach the ten-year mark if their applications were not handled quickly…..But when the point system for occupation was ruled arbitrary and unfair by the courts in one of the first cases considered, government was forced to suspend the application process.
You miss the point that there was a substantial amount of time between the law coming into effect and the court ruling. Given the points system was meant to be quantitative and not subjective, the applications filed prior to the court decision could have been promised well before that time. How long do you need to add up points on a score sheet, after all? There was clearly a policy from the get go not to process the applications at all – the court ruling was in fact related to people whose applications preceded the new law – by years, if I recall.
“How long do you need to add up points on a score sheet, after all?”
And there is the problem. Immigration cannot add up. Even the points “calculator” on the immigration website did not “add up” properly.
I’m a Caymanian who’s out of a job for the past six months and also have my son in school, have a mortgage and several other bills. Now I’m contemplating to leave my country to find a job elsewhere…I’m frustrated with both Mr. Bush and Mr. Allen.
How would you get a job somewhere else if you can’t find one here? Honest question. Help us understand.
Try FOUR+ YEARS and already lost the house! We are all in the same (sinking) boat.
Let us never forget. the PPM’s FAILURE to address the issues with the Points Systems despite constant reminders from the Board is what has led us here. Now 800 people and their relatives will be unleashed on an already strained job market, health care system, Welfare system, not to mention the added pressure tot he Government (free) schools. Well done PPM – NOW THATS PROGRESSIVE!
901 individual applicants as at the end of November and growing quickly, especially since it seems they may all be granted. It may be that all you have to do is apply!
These people are already here working !!!!!
But their kids are in private schools and they dont get the other perks till they get PR eg. Social services and free medical
And so by not having their applications processed they can potentially sue to be compensated for benefits they would otherwise have been entitled to.
What do you mean ‘unleashed on an already strained job market’? They are all working already! They’d have to leave if they weren’t working.
‘Added pressure to the government (free) schools’? What? Ex-pats can’t send their kids to govt schools (outside of civil service members).
‘Welfare system’? What welfare system for expats? Where have you been?
Good trolling post if you were…
You are simply wrong. Hundreds of expat kids are in the government school system.
Thanks, McKeeva!
Or alternatively you could remove 800 employed families from the jobs market, removing all the tax revenue they provide on the goods they buy and the ongoing permit fees they have to pay whilst they await PR,which goes to pay for the welfare and educational system that they do not use themselves, and their health insurance premiums which help spread the already high costs of that system across a bigger base, and send a clear signal to financial services industry that, no matter how critical having long term staff is to that profession, Cayman will throw them out after a period of time, no matter how senior they are, how many people their businesses employ or how difficult it is to find people prepared to build a career here only to be rolled.
I think that if Alden believe withholding publication of this report will help him get re elected he is very delusional. Nothing short of a miracle would see him back in.
I don’t think we should assume Alden is even going to stand for re-election. My bet is that he slips away into the night and our friend Mr Bush will come blustering back into power. I certainly haven’t noticed anyone else who looks like they’d want the job.
I think what’s worrying about the FOI fight is (and this is assuming the reports I’m reading are correct) the Premier is so worried about the Ritch Report becoming public he’s even refused to let the ICO look at it.
The PPM just keeps kicking the ball down the road. They don’t make decisions on the things that really matter in this country. I will not vote for any member of such an indecisive party.
and then it rolls back down the hill, to their own feet.
Well done Alden….less opportunity for your people…good job in the increase in work permit fees….so smart
If they are already here on WP then there is no Caymanian who can do their job, or who wants it, so what is your problem? Despite all the bluster on here at the end of the day the Cayman Immigration Service decides who can work and stay here and who can’t. All jobs have to be advertised and immigration is very good at checking if there are suitable local applicants. Or is this all an expat trick in your foggy brain?
That is not the case anymore…the Premier has prioritized work permit revenues over immigration laws and regulations… the first to do this as others realized it was a very short sighted policy and a disaster for any un or under employed citizen. His policy is followed by the work permit board. Employers are aware and don’t even try to comply with the laws or regulations…merely go through the motions and pay the fees. That is my problem you conveniently deluded expat.
Absolutely not the case. Deluded caymanian.
Definitely not the case and the way my employer does it is by using the job agencies. They new hires that are not entry level are all expats. Promotions by locals never happen. Even when the junior has to train the manager.
No immigration is not good. They rubber stamp the big firms
Just ignore it and it will go away!
Just put me back in office and everything will work out just peachy mate!