Local seniors to get free passports

| 30/08/2021 | 36 Comments
Cayman News Service

(CNS): Cayman Islands passport holders aged 65 and over will no longer have to pay passport fees after Cabinet amended the relevant regulations following a recommendation by the Council of Older Persons made some two years ago. The order waives fees for first-time applications and renewals of British Overseas Territory Citizen (Cayman Islands) passports, change of name on passports, replacement of lost or stolen passports, provision of temporary passports, call out fees and US visa waiver services.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Border Control Chris Saunders said that analysis had showed that the implementation of the policy would have a negligible impact on public revenue but would provide a real benefit to Cayman’s elderly population.

“It’s important to my Cabinet colleagues and I that, as a government, we appropriately facilitate all of our people living their lives to their fullest potential,” Saunders said in a release announcing the waiver. “For our senior citizens, who have spent their lives working to build our community, a key concern is living on fixed incomes after retirement. 

“By waiving these fees, we aim to reduce and remove the financial load our seniors have to bear in their day-to-day lives. After a fee review and careful analysis, it was determined that the reduced revenue collected through passport services would be a minimal loss to Government coffers but would offer a real long-term benefit to our seniors by reducing their financial obligations,” he added.


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Category: Policy, Politics

Comments (36)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Open question to anyone who has the answer.

    Some years ago CIG changed the RETIREMENT age to 65. Prior to that, it was 60.

    60 was also ALWAYS the age when one was “designated” as a senior citizen.

    Where is the association between “senior citizen” and “retirement” which justifies changing the designation of senior citizen age to 65??

    Did the law which changed the retirement age also change the designation of senior citizen to 65… or as usual, did the morons in charge of our public sector and legal drafting even consider this “non-correlation”??

    Or, is this just a misplaced assumption which we blindly accept and don’t question, like Customs charging importers insurance after-the-fact!!

    Anyone, please?

  2. Anonymous says:

    Granmpa all dressed up…

  3. Anonymous says:

    Just renewed mine, refund?

  4. Anonymous says:

    Like they can afford to go off island

  5. Anonymous says:

    why??…and why not means test it?…end of story.
    nothing makes sense around here.

  6. Anonymous says:

    This Government has truly been making some major steps to help its people get forward and catch-up – it truly must be commended.

    Yes, there are many older people who will benefit from this; CI$100 every 10 years may not seem like much to many but when a senior is living on $500 per month with no possibility of even saving $5 a month because something always comes up, this makes a huge difference.

  7. Anonymous says:

    It is a reality that it will be very difficult for people to live here in their retirement years.

    Any steps taken to reduce the financial burden on our seniors is a good one.

    Let’s focus on health insurance now.

    • Anonymous says:

      Please let’s focus on health insurance. I’ve heard reports of some seniors being quoted over $3000 a month for health insurance. It’s obscene.

      • Anonymous says:

        Pre-covid, my seventyish year old parents were paying around $3600 per month for years. There was some slight reduction during Covid, but I’m sure afterwards the premium will be even higher to make up for the “losses”. With the borders closed, their self-employed income barely covers the monthly premium. It hurts to hear my mother say that she’s reluctant to seek medical help sometimes because she’s concerned that will be cause for the premiums to increase. Of course, on top of all that she still has to pay out of pocket for most treatments. Yeah, I guess she can go with CINICO, but she wants to have a choice in her healthcare providers.

      • Anonymous says:

        You don’t need health insurance, the HSA is free. They send you a bill but they can’t refuse treatment if you don’t pay it, so why bother?

    • Anonymous says:

      How about focusing on the root cause for a change? People like you (and PACT) are part of the problem, not the solution.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Will the passports have a stamp in them so we can tell whether the holder is Caymanian, a Permanent Resident, or even permitted to be in Cayman?

    • Anonymous says:

      You can line up at Worc, during limited window when that specific stamp lady is on duty, and they’ll put one in. It’s not really necessary as it comes up with file when barcode is scanned.

      • Anonymous says:

        Sorry, untrue. The process of applying for a stamp takes at least 2 weeks, unless you have been previously acknowledged. Hundreds of foreign nationals have Cayman passports despite not being Caymanian. The lack of stamps creates chaos in employment and other areas where immigration status needs to be demonstrated. There are foreigners with Cayman passports who are not even allowed to travel to Cayman because they are prohibited immigrants. The barcode is an irrelevance in most circumstances when the information is needed.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Our passports are typically valid for 10 years or approximately 3650 days. The issue/renewal fee is $100. Therefore, according to the minister, the “real benefit” to our people = $100 / 3650 days = $0.027 per day. I completely agree with the effort to assist. However, if they were serious about protecting our aging citizens from the crushing financial reality of retirement in the Cayman Islands, this would be towards the bottom of a list of benefits, with health care reform at the top. Breathtaking health care and Rx costs and inadequate pension schemes are where PACT should focus its efforts. Just a small change in these areas will bring “real benefit” to many Caymanians.

  10. Anonymous says:

    The new passports are Black now, since U K is no longet in the E U

  11. Anonymous says:

    “..financial load our seniors have to bear in their day to day lives…” – what a load of happy horseshit. How many seniors have passports – how many NEED passports – and how many NEED a passport in the normal course of their day to day lives. These MPs ( there’s a joke) just like to flap their mouths to hear themselves talking.

  12. Anonymous says:

    While it is a good guesture fee should be charged for replacement of lost passports as they may be negligent as it will be free just like all otc medicines to free cinico card persons

  13. Anonymous says:

    oh please! This is the right thing to do. I am quite sure that the statement below is erroneous.

    “Deputy Premier and Minister for Border Control Chris Saunders said that analysis had …[shown] that the implementation of the policy would have a negligible impact on public revenue but would provide a real benefit to Cayman’s elderly population.”

    Please, the number of our elderly population who will wish/desire/need/want/have an interest to travel today or anytime in the near future will not put a finger dent in the public purse. What has and continues to put a huge dent in the public purse is the government’s continued waste of monies and the continued increase in MPs’ salaries, which I might admit, is overly inflated for the actual work you all perform in your term in office.

  14. Anonymous says:

    Handout capital of the world.

    • Anonymous says:

      So giving a senior citizen over the age of 65 is really going to hurt someone like you? I for one say thank you Mr Saunders and glad to give back something to the seniors who are now in their golden years.

    • Anonymous says:

      I thought those capitals were the UK and/or Canada?

  15. Anonymous says:

    Border closed, what the hell they need them for? To get in to the club?

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