PR judicial review applications get greenlight from court

| 09/08/2017 | 108 Comments

(CNS): Five people who have made permanent residency applications but have waited years to have them considered are pushing ahead with a legal fight with government after the court granted leave for judicial reviews of the cases. Alastair David, one of the lawyers from HSM, which has been working with several people impacted by the government’s myriad challenges over the residency application backlog, told CNS that the court gave leave on Tuesday for these five cases.

The applicants are seeking review on the basis that they have suffered considerable damage as a result of the delay and uncertainty in their lives. This five are in addition to several other cases where, although the applicants were granted PR, they have nevertheless pressed ahead with a legal challenge seeking financial compensation because of the inordinate delay in the process.

No dates have yet been fixed for these cases to be heard but they may not be the only ones, as government battles with what is understood to be more than 1,000 outstanding applications.

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Comments (108)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Oh cry me a river, those who apply and have been left to wait boo hoo. Consider it a draw of the lottery, sometimes you win and most of the time you don’t! Turn your frown upside down and smile your way out of here, counting the blessing you had for the chance to stay when you did.

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  2. Anonymous says:

    I hope that on this occasion all 19 MLAs will come together and chase these crazy baldheads outta town in the interest of good governance and because their presence could lead to a breach of the peace.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    Thanks Alden for creating this with your focus on foreign interests over today if your people. I hope the judge cares more about Caymanians and understands the rights of Cayman to establish its immigration policies and related processes.
    Can someone change the law now before we end up having to give citizenship to more if these ungrateful and letigious guests.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Cayman has established its immigration policies. It then ignored them. That is the problem!

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  4. Anonymous says:

    Outsider here, quick question, no sarcasm or nothing, would someone please tell me (from a Caymanian point of view), outside of the point system and legalities, what does it mean to you in order for an expat to be given PR? What makes for a sound decision in order for that to be awarded, because it is luxury. I don’t want to start an argument, no backlash please, I just want to know your perspective. Thank you in advance!

    • Anonymous says:

      Thank you for asking. While I cannot pretend to speak for every Caymanian, my thoughts are that we are a small country with an enormous potential. Our forefathers had foresight and worked hard, often hand in hand with expatriates, to create what we have today. The idea was that the benefit be for future generations of local persons, shared with such future generations of foreign nationals who were genuinely working hand in hand with Caymanians to continue to benefit the society for the long term.

      The grant of Permanent Residence brings persons to the Caymanian side of the table. It is hoped and expected that the persons selected will contribute fully to Cayman’s health and wealth and integrate into the Caymanian community.

      Unfortunately it is clear that a number of persons have recently been granted permissions in Cayman and overtly use them against the long term interests of the community.

      This Caymanian hopes that there are systems in place to tell the difference between the good and the bad. With confidence in the systems, I believe Caymanians would actively embrace future PR recipients. Unfortunately confidence is lacking.

    • Anonymous says:

      It’s the difference between being okay with a certain person doing a certain thing in our society, for our benefit, because and only because a business needed them, and being okay with sharing our 100 square miles with that person the rest of his/her life and that person being emboldened in all their dealings by the fact they have tenure. It’s about whether we let the ancestors, of the very people who enslaved our ancestors, call themselves one of us.

      We know we aren’t perfect…what we don’t hear from ‘you’ is an acknowledgment that you aren’t either. Simon Courtney, currently in prison for knocking down and permanently disfiguring two tourists with his vintage Mustang he could only have afforded on our tax free salaries, was a PR applicant. So, for that matter, is Brent Fuller, the author of nearly every article on PR in the Compass castigating us and calling into question our character and motives. Not okay. We see through that. Naked self interest and entitlement based purely on having held a job here for a few years. Undesirable traits that we do not want introduced into our society. What I would say to any individuals like that is: take your cutthroat approach somewhere else. Leave us in peace and let someone with humility do your job if we really need you. You don’t belong.

      For whatever reason Cayman is a zero sum society. Remember now, we were a colony of a colony for most of our recorded history. Jamaican law applied here alongside the enactments made by the Assembly of Justices and Vestrymen, the latter being limited to things like street lights. We knew our place and sought to rise above it. We have done that with the help of expats, but it appears to many intelligent, informed Caymanian observers, that however many individual answers can be given by all these articulate foreigners to whatever questions we ask, we are being exploited nonetheless because the wealth generated here does not accrue to the true people of the country. All those foreigners have the best view of Hyde Park in London. That rightly offends. As it does all these foreign professionals having the best view of our beaches. I got asked to deliver a box to a visiting Queen’s Counsel at Caribbean Club one day. He was staying on the top floor. As I got out of the lift I said to myself, I have never seen my own country from this high up. I, a born and bred 12th generation son of the soil, have not seen this vista before. But for this visiting lawyer, it is just his hotel room. Do I really need to explain why that gets under the skin?

      What you are in fact seeing is the beginning of a retrenchment. We now know that not all expats mean us well. We have had several decades to observe the character of the people we grant these rights to, and in many cases, it is found wanting. Couple that with the demanding tone applicants are taking on these days, and many are starting to wonder just how much we like being told we’re prejudiced, backwards and incompetent every day by people who purport to want to join our society on a permanent basis.

      If you look at it that way, I really do not see how it could be unclear to a non-Caymanian that PR is a gift, albeit one we have (of necessity) put into law. The fact is that the way applicants or intending applicants have reacted to the moratorium and delay as it relates to PR is telling us what we need to know: you do not care about us, you care about your promotion being blocked. You don’t ‘really’ mentor disadvantaged youths, one of your colleagues just told you snidely in the office one day that the locals really like to see that stuff on applications so down you went to register. We are not stupid. We know that many, many expats carry around a large quantity of wool they think they can pull over the eyes of any inferior Caymanian, those ungrateful mutts. If every applicant is going to bleat on and on about their entitlement to this or that, they shouldn’t be here. I lived in London for 4 years and this, Cayman, is the only place and context in which Englishmen are not prepared to queue.

      Ultimately it is hypocrisy. Yes, decisions should be timely. But start issuing us demands and we will enjoy your long wait because you are attacking the society you are asking to join. That can only be for one reason: venal self-interest. Why would we want such people here? Enough of them slipped through the net in years past. Our quota of economically necessary but socially undesirable people was met a long time ago. There are people who we would put on the next flight out of here if we could. 40 years ago if you were in court for a traffic ticket, you were on a plane the next week. The more demanding applicants get, the more they will find they are not welcome. That is not Cayman. It is Cayman for things to take longer than they should, for better or worse. The ones who get that, and wait patiently, and don’t sue OUR country because their privilege hasn’t travelled with them from whichever country they came, are the ones we want. Everyone else, we can arrange special flights for.

      I hope I’ve given you the insight you’re seeking and my fellow Caymanians will reflect these thoughts as well.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Thank you. That was very enlightening…great perspective, probably the best. I’m not a PR applicant, just a visitor with my family twice a year for vacation. I love your island and people, and have been paying attention. I wish your words could be bottled and fed to every person aggressively pursuing their own interest on this matter.
        Thank you again.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Let’s hope that same bottle doesn’t feed back to the government in your country that it can introduce laws enticing people to spend very significant sums of money and a lot of time and then arbitrarily decide not to apply those laws.

          The respondent seems to imply that people are being asked to wait an extra twenty minutes to pick up a hire car.

          There are many other equally valid comments that could be used to counter the respondents post but you seem to have got the answer you wanted so I will leave it there.

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      • Anonymous says:

        ‘You’re people’, buddy, if we are talking about the ‘founding fathers’ where not enslaved, they were white settlers from the countries of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Slaves were indeeed settled on Cayman, but by no means were they subjected to the brutality that was prevalent on Jamaica and the US at the time. If they were I’ll concede on the production of historical evidence, but I’ve seen nothing to contradict my assertion.
        Remember, without successive immigration this country would have remained a rocky outcrop with nothing to call its own. Because of the foresight of your ancestors, financial services were embraced when London pressed the idea in the early 60’s. This was followed by an influx of experts to manage the business, the growth of the service industry to enable growth and eventually a growing tourism product.
        All of which would have been impossible without a huge growth in immigration and the importation of labour.
        In the early 60’s there were approximately 10k people on Cayman, where do you think you got the population you have now, excluding WP’s?
        Looking around, many obviously came from Jamaica, Honduras and Cuba, many others from a hundred other nationalities. That is what a Caymanian is, a multi ethnic and multi cultural individual who cannot easily espouse to know exactly where and when their ancestors made an impact on Caymans social fabric or population unless they can produce historical documents going back 2 or 3 hundred years. Or if they can identify a recent settlement by immigration, (within 50-60 years) they keep quiet and use the mythical ‘born and breed’ argument to reinforce their clear insecurity.

        Europeans have populated this island since the early 1700’s, others followed as a consequence. It is still a British Overseas Territory and still the responsibility of the British people for many facets of its governance. Remember your history and stop inventing a victim culture that didn’t and doesn’t exist.

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      • Anonymous says:

        This is gibberish. There is a system is place. It is not being followed. 3 years of waiting for applications to be processed is patience enough. There is no excuse. Open and shut. The judiciary will clearly see it that way, hence all the criticism for requesting the mess be reviewed.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    One only wants PR to get status, and one wants status to be allowed to scoop up an income stream from a business while moving back to the civilized world to enjoy that income stream.

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    • Anonymous says:

      This popular dunce theory is that PR is linked to some elaborate and expensive 15 year conspiracy – almost the entire adult human working lifespan. But non-Cabinet CI Status Grants are, of course, revocable (ie. canceled) after 5 years of non-Cayman Islands legal and ordinary residence – so why would anyone contemplate the short-lived and elaborate fantasy described?

      http://www.immigration.gov.ky/portal/page/portal/immhome/livinghere/righttobecaymanian/revocation

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      • Anonymous says:

        It’s popular because it’s true. Ask any retired Englishman who did well for himself in Cayman where he spends his time now, especially those law firm partners we all know about with shares in holding or corporate/fiduciary service companies. I guarantee you the answer will be ‘I go here, there, there’s the chalet in the Alps, I spend a couple months in London, sometimes New York, but I come back to Cayman as often as I need to’. Seriously – ask them. That will be your answer.

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    • Anonymous says:

      One feels you don’t quite get it 8.30. One also feels you probably never will.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    10/8. anon. 1:24pm; You could have planned your future back where you came from and left the island with your earnings. You came here on a renewable work permit that clearly state any Caymanian than can do the job should get the job and the permit will not be renewed. You arrived her clearly knowing you will only be here for a short period, you are blessed to get PR and now you and your cronies/advisers get together to sue us. Says a lot about the New Caymanian.

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    • Anonymous says:

      The law and rules were arbitrarily suspended by Cabinet – as a Caymanian, I blame those that put the Cayman Islands public purse in this situation! They even had (expensive) advice (we paid for), presumably instructing them NOT to do so!!!

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      • Anonymous says:

        Arbitrary: “based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system”. Hmm…not sure about that one.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Sounds about right…. Ritch said stop, government pays him big bucks….HSM sues because government stopped, government will now pay out more big bucks.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Not at all 6.55, it says a lot about incompetence at various levels of Government.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    Hooooom, apply for PR, process delayed, application granted, they thank us by suing us. Sounds like greed and a mental problem, only interested in self, wonder how they will be good ambassadors for Cayman or good example for their offspring.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Asking for fair treatment in accordance with the law is hardly grounds to criticize someone.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    Why is you harassing the poster? I is sure he’ll tell you that he are communicating and that are all that matters

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  9. Anonymous says:

    Everyone is willing to stay. They should be suing their own government for allowing them the privilege to come here, because where they came from is definitely worse off than here. Obviously they who sue the government has no integrity about them. They bite the hand that feed them and still suing for more. Those people mean the Cayman Islands no good. What should really happen is they should have it revoked for protesting. They are not worth being here and most likely they will end up in Social Services offices within The next 10 years. If they were any good they wouldn’t be suing the hand that fed them all the years.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Steady 5.08, pride is a sin, and I wouldn’t overrate Cayman, it suffers from high prices and people like you.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Then leave or explain why you all come and take our monies??

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        • Anonymous says:

          Actually they bring money in. That doesn’t mean it automatically belongs to you. You sound like that real estate agent who got convicted yesterday.

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          • Anonymous says:

            You’re clearly clueless. It’s our financial services industry that brings in the revenues, not expats. Expats merely work for our financial services institutions along many capable Caymanians. If you don’t get that, you’re naive.

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            • Anonymous says:

              How many cayman companies in FS? Most are foreign run or international companies. You are misguided if you think out of a population of 35000 that more than 5% will be able to be at the top of FS companies. Whilst you are right that there are some very clever Caymanians I work with, the majority are seen as a tax, the cost of doing business in cayman. The reason? Lazy, can’t and don’t want to do the job properly, arrive late, leave early, countless food breaks, I could go on.

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              • Anonymous says:

                You can’t have worked many places. In all the places I have worked all over the world there is not much difference between the average Caymanian worker and ones in other countries. I think its because you have moved from somewhere else and therefore a bit more dynamic than the locals either perceived or in reality. However this dynamism you have or perceive to have has given you a superiority complex regarding those who haven’t ever left their country. I am sure if you moved to another place you would say the same things about the locals there.

            • Anonymous says:

              The financial services biz is 100% foreign. Cayman just provides the fake directors.

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        • Anonymous says:

          I am not a thief 6.11, I bring in millions of dollars of revenue to these islands (sadly not mine), that creates employment for Caymanians too. I wouldn’t touch your money. However, if Cayman doesn’t need that money, that’s fine, I can take it to a place where people understand the value of what I do and that is gives them jobs.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Plenty of flights departing Owen Roberts Intl everyday to take you back home where it’s so much better. Oh wait……why are you here again?

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        • Anonymous says:

          Keyboard warrior, behind the face of anonymous when you are free to write your name whereas expats daren’t because they would never get PR for writing the truth. But you won’t, because then everyone would know what you are.

      • Anonymous says:

        8:38 pm, why don’t you leave Cayman if you think it is over rated, just leave and we will thank you for leaving.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    Here is my two cent worth. I don’t think being here seven, eight, nine years, should ever be a path to PR then status. I think two 3 year work permits should be given. After the six years the permit holder should have to leave for at least five years. If they choose to return then they start over. Five PRs per year should be bestowed on deserving individuals from various categories at the descretion of the immigration board and a select committee. Every effort should be made to educate, train and employ every Caymanian interesting in gainful occupation starting immediately and no permit should be granted as long as there is a qualified Caymanian available. Work permits should not automatically lead to PR.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Not enough capable people from Cayman to do the work. And you expect people to move their whole families for 3 years? I don’t think you understand how this works.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Something to note… the government has collected fees from 1000 people and has been holding that cash for 3 years! maybe 15k as an average per application = CI$15,000,000 Do you think that is appropriate? All these complainers below, would you be alright with giving CI$15,000 of your savings to the Gov. just to hold on to for you for 3 years?

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    • Ihaveasay says:

      There is always options. These people don’t need to apply and could go back home to country of birth simple!

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    • Anonymous says:

      CI $15,000,000 not in a separate holding account but on the governments general ledger. CI $15,000,000 adding to the fake surplus. I say CI Government should refuse them all and return all applicants fees before the end of October so all expats that have followed the rules the last 8-11 years can also take their pension money too when they go.

      We can then continue the trend of the last couple of years of recruiting from the developing world. This will ensure wages stay stagnant and a larger portion of dollars earned here get sent out by western union. Most of the 1000 unemployed Caymanians will still be unemployed and probably more as accountants from the developing world work for CI $6 per hour.

  12. Anonymous says:

    My only fear is a mass of PR grant! I personally know lots of people waiting on a response that doesn’t deserve a “temp work permit”, people that keep complaining about the Island, people that bought a property here just for the purpose of getting points, people doing community services just for points and the list goes on…these people does not belong here and it is time to pack and leave!

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    • Anonymous says:

      And so our government needs to pass and enforce laws that protect us. It refuses to.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Spoken like a true student of the English language! Big up Kayman Sköol Bored!

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    • get real says:

      well if YOU know them then they mussssst be evil !

      but lets get this right- they bought property. I believe this includes govt fees and monies into the private sector- what a tragedy huh?!

      and omg they are doing community service- how dear they improve our social structure- selfish pig expats huh?!

      they did this for points – you don’t say?!

      how dear they take the necessary steps to include themselves in our tiny tiny tiny island.

      cant they understand caymanians have it all figured out. we will work every industry -the few we have that is.

      we will account for foot traffic in all retail space, we will develop our own infrastructure including technology, we will police ourselves without bias , we will represent ourselves globally -Mac and Alden do a great job huh?! we do not need no stinking global investors nah true?! we can just start selling our precious lime stone and rum cake – that will carry our nation forward.

      you have convinced me for sure , anyone else on board with this madness

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    • Anonymous says:

      Yeah, we don’t want people buying property and doing community service!

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  13. Anonymous says:

    All of this lands squarely in the lap of the PPM Government! They messed about with Immigration and now we are not only granting PR to a mass of people we are compensating them for their suffering! This is Alden’s version of the status grants, I hope it was worth it

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    • Anonymous says:

      The Government is giving people Cayman Status and then paying them for it. CRAZY, CRAZY. And they won’t give the poor Seamen a raise, everything are for the foreigners, and the Cayman fools keep voting them back in, CRAZY.

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      • Anonymous says:

        They’re already giving seamen vast amounts and half of them never went further than a trip to Jamaica or Belize. And now they’ve got these Filipino women marrying them to get their pension money and health care. It’s sickening.

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        • Anonymous says:

          8:24 pm, you are right the govt. is giving some people that only went to sea for a few weeks and they are marrying young wives that gets the benefits, thats the Govt. fault for not checking it out properly, for the rules for Seamen, says one has to be Cayman, went to sea for 3 years and over and married to the wife living in Cayman Is. when he went to sea and be 60 years of age or over. Also the Govt. is giving the benefits to Expats that never lived in these islands if or when they went to work at sea.. Remember the Seamen (the real Seamen) they supported the islands when there was no Banks, tourists etc, etc, etc., that what put these Islands on the Map and lay the foundation for what these islands are today. How many of you enjoys the Wavier that allows Caymanians to enter the U. S. (not The us, visa), that was put in place for the Seamen and enjoyed by all up until today. Thank you.

      • Anonymous says:

        You did it to yourselves. When you pass laws, you should enforce them fairly, but you never do. You just sit on your asses until things blow up in your faces. This happens over and over. All talk, never any action.

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  14. Anonymous says:

    My dad, a US Citizen petitioned for me almost nine years ago. We were told by our immigration lawyer this process would take about 5-6 years. Should I go trying to sue Uncle Sam because my wait has been longer than I was told in order to move/and reside in his country? GTFOH with this bullshit.

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    • Anonymous says:

      US Law does not require the application to be dealt with in a year. Cayman Law does. You have not suffered significant loss by unlawful treatment. You have not been misled as to how long you would have to wait. Understand the difference? You ain’t in Kansas, Toto.

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      • Anonymous says:

        @11:35am. – Would you please state the relevant Cayman law and section that a PR application must be dealt with in a year?

        Yeah, didn’t think so. Why? Because there is no such “Cayman Law”. Do your research next time.

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        • Anonymous says:

          The Constitution. s.19 Bill of Rights.

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        • Anonymous says:

          “Unlawful Moratorium” was claimed in all cases pending Judicial Review, and is based on Feb 9, 2016 Privy Council precedent, that one year was sufficient time for authorities to act upon an immigration application, and after that damages could accrue.

          The moratorium in that case was between AG of Antigua and Barbuda over a wrongly accused Guyanese “rapist”, Mr Clive Oliviera. You could almost empathize with their AG’s reluctance…but they lost.

          In comparison, our shame is several fold in that this government applied similar and excessive unfairness to law-abiding, upstanding, committed, and contributing members of society for no valid reason. We’re going to loose – and very publicly should this carry on to a higher court.

          https://www.jcpc.uk/cases/docs/jcpc-2015-0022-judgment.pdf

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          • Anonymous says:

            Privy Council decisions are not automatically a part of Cayman law.

            • Anonymous says:

              Correct. If a Privy Council decision is not on appeal from our Court of Appeal, it is merely of persuasive value. And that leaves enormous scope for the judge(s) here to keep a lid on this problem. Our new ambulance chasers know this. Get some popcorn is my advice.

      • Anonymous says:

        11:35 am, i can see that you are one of them people that are only here to get what you can get and not care for these Islands., So we would be delighted if you would leave and go home.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Please provide specific reference to law and section/clause that specifically indicates the PR application must be “dealt with in a year” (which btw I believe you mean within a year).

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        • Fred the Piemaker says:

          There is case law on this at the Privy Council level (the Antigua case) which says that any delay beyond a year is unreasonable. Its pretty clear cut.

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          • Anonymous says:

            Thank god the US is different on this point.

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            • Anonymous says:

              If you prefer old Trumpy and taxation on your worldwide income, perhaps a flight and application for a green card is in order?

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              • Anonymous says:

                I am a relatively satisfied US citizen enjoying my beach house in Cayman (and paying my taxes). How about you? You seem to have some issues to work out.

          • Anonymous says:

            That decision turned on how long it took the authorities there to register her application, and it was an application for citizenship, not residence. All PR applicants are registered; their applications are acknowledged and lodged in a timely manner. That authority is not of as much use as the lawyers who want to use it seem to think.

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            • Anonymous says:

              Clive Oliviera was the male applicant in the Antigua and Barbuda case. He was a guy who had been wrongly accused of rape a few times, and although exonerated of those accusations, the AG had some semblance of fathomable reluctance. In Cayman’s case, the path to citizenship was actively suspended by Cabinet leadership against law-abiding, contributing people on a massive scale, contrary to good governance. Several cases under judicial review as the article states. This Privy Council decision WILL MATTER.

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              • Anonymous says:

                Oh it will matter. It’s just not, you know, binding and all that. Different country, different process, different laws, different applicant(s), different status being sought, different judge. Have you forgotten that Allen & Overy is a university?

              • Anonymous says:

                It likely won’t matter. It can be distinguished easily as 8:40 pointed out. It is not a case concerning an application for permanent residence. Try again.

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  15. Cayman islands for caymanians says:

    This shows what type of people are being granted PR. They are granted right to reside and work in Cayman Islands but still want more money from us.

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    • Anonymous says:

      There are global legal precedence on these type of matters, and whichever way you look at it, these people have a right to be treated better. If you, 7.16 had your life disrupted, at great cost, unable to plan for years how to live applying for something perfectly legal and allowed by CIG then they should be held accountable. Your attitude is just anti foreigner, nothing to do with this. IF CIG screwed you over on something, you would have a perfect right to sue them too.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Life disrupted? YOU disrupted your own life to pack up and move here…did you think that becoming a expat would come without years of uncertainty? Give me a break.

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        • Anonymous says:

          I lived elsewhere for years, a place where I need a visa and work permit, and never had the issues that expats face here. And that place was supposedly third world.

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          • Anonymous says:

            Guess they needed you more than we do. FACE FACTS: there is an oversupply of qualified economic migrants to this country. We can, and will, do whatever we bloody well please! That is tough for you! And everyone else in your position! Sorry, that’s the painful reality! Put up with it, or leave. You will be replaced by someone else with the exact same motives and limits. Cayman can do this as long as it likes. You have to play the ball, and you are trying to play the man. It won’t work, isn’t working, and never will work. GET THAT INTO YOUR HEADS PEOPLE.

            • Anonymous says:

              Needless to say, this makes no sense. Were the 3000 status grants the resulted from the government’s inaction (incompetence?) playing the ball or the man?

    • Anonymous says:

      Actually, they are NOT being granted the right to reside and work (by virtue of their applications collecting dust for years). That is the problem. Maybe give some consideration to bringing yourself up to speed on the issue

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    • Anonymous says:

      7:16 Simple answer – this is a breach of their human rights. You don’t like that? Tough!

      The answer is to go for independence then we can do what the heck we like.

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      • 2:25, Go for independence and see a major drop in your standard of living and an exodus of people from these islands, including many Caymanians who would move to the U.K. You would certainly also see the financial services sector move en masse. Be careful what you wish for 2:25.

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        • Anonymous says:

          If they go for independence, the right to go to the UK will disappear too, and I would love to see that. I can hear all the bitching now about how unfair it would be and how they gonna sue us…

      • Anonymous says:

        Independence would not repeal the system of Common Law that applies, unless you are talking about a suspension of the judiciary as well. In which case, myself and all the other Caymanians and stake holders would be on the same flights out leaving you to deal with the Mad Max Dictatorship that would ensue in that vacuum! Not going to happen, my drunk Rooster caller!

      • Anonymous says:

        Evidently, you missed our mother’s amphibious beach landing at Governor’s last month, and your high school history classes (all of them). Your situational awareness of your hard-fought freedom and democracy is lamentable. I think you’ll find that rights abusers, revolutionaries, and street thugs, are more likely to live a future in Northward than live some kind of anarchistic future Cayman dictatorship where they do whatever they want by birthright. The stakeholders (mainly Caymanian) would never let your vision happen. Myself included.

      • Anon says:

        2.25pm great idea why don’t you start the rush by handing in your British Passport ? In fact I’ll collect it from you ?
        Remeber when the entitlement to a British passport was granted all the MLS at the time jumped to get one?
        I can collect them as well if you want 🙂

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      • Anonymous says:

        for sure that’s a brilliant idea. You now qualify to run in North Side.

    • Anonymous says:

      It is not certain they will get anything.

  16. Anonymous says:

    I got PR a few years ago. Immigration kept coming back for photos and other stuff that I had already given them. It took almost 2 years to get approved. I had another child during this time which delayed it all even further. As a result I was stuck in the same job and salary for a long time. I just accepted that’s the way things are and I had made my choices. I didn’t think to sue the hosts of my new country and blame them or seek money from them. One has to look at the characters of people that would do this and how much is with the active participation of HSM lawyers. To me it’s indicative of a massive sense of entitlement. Is it sensible policy to allow people like this here? I would say they fail the good character requirement.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You made your choice, they made theirs, both of which are within the scope of the current laws, otherwise the court would not have allowed the case. Do not criticize people for exercising their rights in a system which clearly made you suffer too. They are not criticizing your right to do nothing.

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      • Anonymous says:

        I didn’t ‘suffer’ lol. Maybe I am just more culturally compatible. Seriously what ‘damage’ did they suffer? What are we going to do sue immigration for the long wait times? Why not sue their employer for not raising their wages. HSM are the ambulance chasers of Cayman. There wouldn’t be all this nonsense if they had just kept rollover. People go for a year and then come back. There would have been more opportunities for Caymanians and expats working here. Caymanians should sue the persons responsible for removing that.

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        • Anonymous says:

          My point exactly, you criticize them without having the full facts on each case…I know several who have run up thousands in costs keeping their applications upto date at the request of immigration, only for nothing to happen…that’s abuse, whichever way you look at it.

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          • Anonymous says:

            So its not just a jab in the arm and a 25 dollar police clearance then? They are paying the PCW fee and not their employer? Well I would suggest they leave then. They clearly have deep pockets if they can afford the fee every 6 months.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Exactly. You didn’t suffer. Some people are experiencing problems that go well beyond being “stuck in a job” because of this. Educate yourself. Or perhaps better yet, why don’t you ask yourself why people like you think it’s acceptable for the immigration department to take in applications that are often accompanied by large checks (occupation fees must be paid in advance now) and do nothing with them (for years).

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          • Anonymous says:

            So they are suing to get back the money for the blood tests, police clearance and the PCW fees that after 12 months are the same as an annual fee, that they would be paying anyway if they had been given PR? That’s the suffering you’re talking about?

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        • anon says:

          Depending on individual circumstances there are a lot of things that could cause these people to have suffered loss as a result of CIG’s unlawful actions. Here are a few examples:

          1) Unable to accept a promotion they have earned
          2) Unable to acquire new employment following a redundancy – not many organizations want the risk of employing someone without tenure
          3) Unable to acquire recognition and rights for children who have grown up here and know no other home due to delays

          I am sure there are many more directly measurable losses that these delays have caused but these are a few I know about personally. On top of that is the stress and uncertainty of being unable to plan you and your children’s future.

          CIG have to be held accountable and Caymanian’s need to demand that when our legislators mess up in such a stupid and unnecessary way (in this case damaging our reputation, costing us $$ and polarizing our community) that they be held accountable and loose their job at the next election.

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          • Still in the queue says:

            I find myself in one of these situations. My position was made redundant due to taking the job overseas to the US while I was in this queue for my PR application to be heard. Now I have been here more than 10 years and I am finding it impossible to find an employer who will take the chance on giving me a job. I have to reapply for my permit every 6 months, causing them extra paperwork and expense. I have to be tested for STDs every 6 months. I have to get a new police clearance every 6 months. I have continued medicals, x-rays etc. Unnecessary chest x-rays that I do not want increase my risk of cancer. At any time I can be denied renewal, or my PR application can be turned down as my circumstances have now changed since I applied. No employer wants to take me on knowing I have no certainty of being able to remain long enough for their investment and training to pay off. If I had been promptly granted PR, I would not have these issues of uncertainty, and an employer would be more likely to give me a job.

            • Anonymous says:

              I feel sorry for you and it is a fact that there are less and less financial employers in Cayman year after year and more crabs in the bucket. If I was you I wouldn’t wait and keep paying the fee. If you can go to the USA where your job went then maybe that is an option. At some point its not worth it and you probably could try again in a years time. That was the beauty of the rollover system, it gave work opportunities to both expat and Caymanian with an emphasis on Caymanian. The expat would leave and if really good his employer would have transferred him. The job would then be open to others either Caymanian preferred or expat when none were available.

            • anon says:

              I am very sorry to hear this – this can not be easy on you and your family. Despite the comments on here – most educated Caymanian’s see the issue and think it is wrong what has happened and appreciate the contributions that many ex-pats make to our community. We want to be able to control the people we allow to remain and become Caymanian and make sure that those people will help build a stronger better Cayman as this is the best way to ensure the wealth and prosperity of our people. The myth that ex-pats hurt caymanian’s economically is propogated by our leaders, to keep those in our community who are not benefiting from our economic miracle from pointing fingers where they belong i.e at the education system, corrupt patronage, ineffective social services and a cost of living that is out of control.

            • Anonymous says:

              7:43 am, just leave, if its so bad here, leave.

    • Anonymous says:

      People like you help preserve & perpetuate the tolerance that, until this point, has been part of what makes Cayman special. On the other hand, those suing and the one firm which has encouraged this desperation and lack of class are those destroying the Cayman culture of live and let live.
      Those who have suffered the most and who have the most right to sue the Government are the Caymanians denied job opportunities by the granting of work permits on demand to many of those now waiting in the PR line. With proper enforcement of the Immigration law and better vetting of WP applications, many of those griping would probably never have qualified to be here in the first place.
      Those griping about having to pay fees at least have jobs and are able to pay. Think of the vast numbers of Caymanians who dont; those prejudiced by the Immigration system that was supposed to protect them who have been denied jobs because of a lax system. They’re the only ones who have truly suffered loss and who have a legitimate right to sue, the others, & their lawyers, just demonstrate how low and desperate they are and should never be part of the Cayman fabric. We’re becoming a cesspool thanks to them.
      Side note, isn’t it ironic that those suing have suffered loss but still have money enough to pay big legal fees? This is just an entitlement mentality on steroids. Shame on them, they and their lawyers destroying the very tolerance that welcomed them all here in the first place.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Actually, what’s ironic (or maybe unbelievable is the better word) is that the Caymanians that you say have suffered the most have the power (with their vote) to do something that would help everyone (both themselves and the thousand people waiting for the dust to be blown off their PR applications), yet they never exercise it. They never hold the people responsible for these immigration messes (this isn’t the first one) accountable. If the voting population doesn’t want people to be able to get PR, then vote in politicians that will abolish it. That would be their right. The people that are suing to get the applications processed are simply trying to force the government to follow their own rules/laws. This mess has been created by the people that are supposed to be representing the voting population. Take a look at Mount Trashmore. Another prime example of elected representatives doing nothing (in that case for a couple of decades at least). Or is Mount Trashmore the fault of “ungrateful” expats as well?

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    • Anonymous says:

      A sense of entitlement should be grounds for extra points in a caymanian PR application

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      • Anonymous says:

        Lets pretend, in fact lets not pretend because it happens…that masses of people from other countries were turning up in Canada. Should a working man in Canada be accused of a sense of entitlement because he expects a job and life in his own land? I guess many globalists would say yes. I would suspect you would say yes. I would also suspect that many people that are globalists end up in Cayman as they like moving around from place to place like free range chickens. Many work in finance and they like the capital they work with, don’t like borders and they don’t like labour becoming organized. They like China and the fact that the chinese employ slave labour if they can get away with it. They don’t like things like a minimum wage. They also like hiring their friends and associates and don’t like laws that stop them. If they can they ignore them. They like these things so much that when they are DELAYED they sue the government and by extension the people of that government to get these things and quick pronto. One reason offered was that they are delayed a promotion and therefore they should sue the government, they would definitely get those entitlement points then.

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