Cabinet approves term limits for expat civil servants
(CNS): After years of political discussions about introducing term limits for expatriate civil servants, just three weeks after taking office, the National Coalition for Caymanians has approved drafting instructions to change immigration legislation to introduce a “rollover” policy for government workers. While rollover is already a long-standing policy for private sector workers, the public sector has been exempt.
According to a press release issued Thursday, the decision to approve the new rules, which are expected to take effect by 1 January 2026, was made at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. It follows “extensive consultation of employers and employees within the Civil Service, and detailed statistical and policy analysis of the implications”, the release said.
This incredibly quick win for the new government, which is likely to be very popular with voters, was a campaign promise made by almost all MPs elected in April on both the government and opposition benches.
In addition to the inequity between the private and public sectors, the issue has caused concern for a number of other reasons. It has become increasingly common for expatriate workers, when they approached the time when they would have to leave the Cayman Islands, to begin applying for government jobs to avoid the PR process and the risk of refusal and rollover.
There have also been growing concerns that by holding onto the jobs in order to remain in Cayman indefinitely, locals were finding it harder to find jobs within government or to earn a promotion.
The new rules go further than rollover in the private sector in that they will require civil servants to take a two-year break before they can return to work for the CIG again. The changes will also designate specific posts in the public sector exclusively for Caymanians to strengthen local career pathways.
The new government plans to introduce “contractual terms requiring the training and development of Caymanian professionals to ensure succession planning” and will look at controversies that have arisen in relation to foreign private sector employees joining the civil service.
“The framework will also incorporate necessary safeguards such as exemptions to uphold the independence of the judiciary to ensure that they remain unaffected in line with the Constitution and also preserving the Governor’s special responsibilities for the Civil Service under Section 55 of the Constitution. There will also be a requirement for any approved exemptions to be reported,” the release stated.
From the date of commencement, term limits will apply to both existing and new non-Caymanian civil servants. Existing non-Caymanian employees will have 1 January 2026 as the start date for counting their term limit.
The release said that this approach would avoid disruption for those working in education, the police, the prison, as well as Children and Family Services, which collectively hire most of the non-Caymanians within the civil service.
Governor Jane Owen said she was satisfied that the amendments respect her constitutional responsibilities, including internal security, and do not impinge upon the governor’s reserved functions under the Constitution. “The proposed exemptions ensure continuity in critical areas while supporting Caymanian advancement,” she said.
Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, who heads up the civil service, said that more would still need to be done to advance local people in the service.
“While it is important to align public sector employment rules with private sector immigration policies, we must accept that term limits alone will not translate into more jobs or the upward mobility for Caymanians in the workplace,” he said, adding that the civil service had “developed an enhanced term limit policy which provides additional mechanisms for hiring Caymanians”.
Manderson further noted, “Additionally, it must be recognised that many essential services, such as provided by our police officers and prison officers, are not available anywhere else in the Islands. Therefore, any changes must be carefully implemented to ensure we remain fully equipped to deliver the services our people depend on to make their lives better.”
Premier André Ebanks said the changes initiated one of the aims of the new government, which was to reform immigration policy. “We are moving words into action,” he said. “These changes are pro-Caymanian, prepared in consultation with the civil service, as our aim is to work in partnership.”
He thanked the governor and the DG “for their effective action in developing these proposed amendments, which align the public service with our national immigration approach while safeguarding key essential services”.
Ebanks said the NCFC will also be moving private sector immigration reform forward as a priority. It is expected that the changes to introduce immigration term limits for non-Caymanians working within the civil service will fall under the Public Service Management Act and Personnel Regulations, which govern the employment of civil servants.
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Category: Government Administration, Politics
Lol! Any time there is ANY change/reform of the civil service, the first thing you see is that the Judiciary manages to ensure it doesn’t apply to them!! It was the same in the old days under General Orders. Everyone had to follow certain rules….except the lawyers.
You can’t generate sufficient high calibre judges from Caymanians: be serious. Look at the educational results: 70% of school leavers are illiterate and innumerate. For the remaining 30%, getting a law degree is just step 1. Decent judges are those who survive and thrive decades in legal practice, and who are among the top e.g. 10%.
For example, the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) exemplifies a cosmopolitan judiciary, comprising both local judges and a distinguished panel of international judges hailing from jurisdictions such as the UK, Australia, the US, France, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, and China. This reflects Singapore’s strategic initiative to position itself as a premier hub for international commercial dispute resolution.
The SICC’s recruitment approach involves appointing eminent jurists with substantial expertise in commercial law, often former senior judges from apex courts in their respective countries.
99.999% of Caymanians simply don’t have the experience or global credibility. Even the current chief justice isn’t Caymanian. That’s because selection of any internationally-important professionals must be based on merit and excellence.
If you want a Caymanian-first policy, you can have that for e.g. security guards and secretaries, because it won’t damage Cayman to have second-rate security guards and secretaries. If your xenophobia starts damaging the financial services sector or the wider rule of law however, you may as well just shut up shop, announce that you’re reverting to becoming couple of mosquito-infested fishing villages, and openly invite international firms and clients to migrate to Singapore or Dubai.
Or, to put this more bluntly: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION DOESN’T WORK – HOWEVER ENTITLED YOU FEEL, AND HOWEVER LOUD YOUR TANTRUMS.
@11:03am: XXXX Security guards and secretaries! XXXX
For your information, over 66% of the financial industry is Caymanian. That means trust officers, bank department managers, mutual fund administrators, etc. A Caymanian took up identifying the various COVID strains during the pandemic. It is not the fact that they are foreigners that makes some people unwelcome here, but their blatant disrespect for Caymanians abilities. What keeps you living amongst “savages”, Dr. Livingstone? Go back where you came from.
The phrase “their blatant disrespect for Caymanians abilities” is missing a possessive apostrophe after the word Caymanian.
Unless you have any further questions, I rest my case.
Not just any person that can manage to hold down a job in the financial services industry will have the ability to be a judge.
In the UK, 0.0021% of the population are judges. Cayman’s Caymanian population according to the 2021 ESO Census is just under 40,000. If Cayman produced the same proportion of judges with its Caymanian population, we would have produced 0.84 judges.
This isn’t saying that Cayman and Caymanians are stupid or incapable. This is saying that a population this small, with such high need for judges will never ever be able to produce a high enough number of high quality judges to support its needs.
Including the Chiefs and Presidents of the various courts, we currently have 4 magistrates, 10 judges of the Grand Court, and 7 judges of the Court of Appeal.
To replace each with a Caymanian judge would mean that Cayman would need to produce 25x the judges by population than the UK.
I’m a citizen of the US. Several years ago I bought condo in Grand Cayman and want to be able to use it whenever and however long I wish. I will not be seeking work, I simply want to enjoy the island, the weather and the people. I’m sure I contribute to the economy…eating out, buying groceries and personal items, using taxis and tipping service workers. As of now I stay 6 months(because I’m told I can’t stay longer and have to wait 6 months to return). I have my own health insurance and the means to support myself. Why am I limited to only 6 months? I won’t be seeking PR or status. I wish there would be a category for ” long term visitor” that would include those of us who would like to remain longer than 6 months especially when we own our property.
What you seek is called Residence for Persons of Independent Means.
6 months is an important line, including in the USA – you cannot just live in another country (spend more than half of the year there) without going through some kind of vetting.
Should we just let anyone that buys a condo here, move here?
Sound Immigration Policy:
Everyone that buys a home can come here and stay as much as they want, for as long as they want.
NOT!
Your entitlement only works in the States of America.
Accept our laws or not but never should the Cayman Islands continue to bend or change laws to suit you entitled Americans/foreigners.
As your racist fellow American, Stephen Miller, said “America is for Americans” only. Well Karen or Kevin, the Cayman Islands are for Caymanians least you forget.
Cool. Maybe Trump will send Caymanians home.
Reply to 27/05/2025 @ 8:40am
For your information, 99.9% of the 0.0000000000000001 % of Caymanians living in the States of America are legal residents or citizens. So, unless they commit a criminal act then why should they be sent back.
Excellent news for CAYMANIANS. Well done to your government.
Now, Mr. Premier, in your government’s Immigration Reform Policy, please consider amending the one-year that is currently the law to two years for private sector workers to have to leave the jurisdiction after they have reached their term limit. This will then create a fair ‘playing field’ for ALL foreign workers in the Cayman Islands.
Take away British Passports for all Caymanians!
British Citizenship is afforded to Caymanians because we are a British Territory least you forget.
Remember if you do not like our laws, you can leave BoBo or TeeTee.
I thought it was good news when the government was announced, but boy was I wrong.
Idiots, the lot of them.
If a Caymanian applies for a role who is both qualified and has the right experience, they should get the job, yes. However, for a professional role, just because a Caymanian has a degree or other qualification, which may or may not be relevant, doesn’t mean they are qualified for the role.
A lot of employers here are relatively small and cannot afford to take on someone with little or no experience. They need the job done properly or it risks their entire business. Likewise, many employers cannot name a Caymanian successor that they should train to do most roles, as it would also reduce efficiencies in the business by taking up time of postholders for years. Regulation 6 is a joke.
Grow up people and sort the education system. Even if you do that, once most Caymanians have gone and studied abroad, they don’t want to come back. And those that do, should get a few years experience in the real world before coming back and expecting to be hired over and above a qualified and experienced person.
Congrats, NCFC Government, for enacting a way overdue policy. This is fair, and your fast-paced action gives us Caymanians ‘hope’ again that we have a government for the Caymanian people and not for their own self-interest.
Now, as you said, put your New Immigration Reform Policy into action next.
For consideration:
New IMMIGRATION REFORM POLCIY SHOULD INCLUDE Redefined Terms:
Definition of Terms:
1. CAYMANIAN – A person possessing Caymanian citizenship through descent. No loss provisions apply.
2. STATUS HOLDER – A person possessing Caymanian citizenship through grant. Loss provisions apply.
3. PERMANENT RESIDENT – A person possessing ‘Rights’ to live and work in any of the three Cayman Islands. Loss provisions apply.
4. LEGAL RESIDENT – A person possessing the means to finance themselves throughout their stay. Maximum stay is 6 months per year. No ‘Rights’ to work are applied. Loss provisions apply.
5. WORK PERMIT HOLDER – A person possessing ‘Rights’ to live and work in any ONE of the three Cayman Islands throughout their work permit. Loss provisions apply.
6. VISITOR – A person possessing ‘Rights’ to stay up to a minimum of 1 month in the Cayman Islands, with a possible time limit of up to 3 months without the ‘Rights’ to work OR remain past the expiration of time given at the point of entry or time limit. Loss provisions apply.
Suggesting that CI Status Holders aren’t also full Caymanians is lousy logic, super-disrespectful, illegal, and needs to stop.
Is every Canadian an Inuit?
You understand that Caymanian is an ethnicity? With its own distinct culture?
Not anymore Bobo! What defines the culture now?
Use of Bobo, for a start. And Stew Conch. And Heavy Cake (and I will share it with unnah, but not all of unnah). And saying hello to strangers as you pass them on the street. And not urinating in the open. And standing for God Save the King and Beloved Isle Cayman. And shunning division on the basis of race or wealth. And exhibiting kindness, and being your brother’s keeper. And driving on the left on land and on the right while at sea.
some facts. the Civil service has 1400 non Caymanians. the majority work in 4 departments police teachers care home nurses and prison officers. do we have 800 Caymanians trained and ready to do these jobs. does Caymanians even want these jobs.
Non Caymanian civil servants are on 2 to 3 years contracts so no one is guaranteed 9 years of employment.
the 2 year break is the real game changer and must be extended to the private sector and their 37,0000 work permit holders.
This is what happens when the DG was the chief immigration officer and we elect Government of people that actually thinks.
Well done to all. we have not seen anything happen this fast in 4 years.
That’s pretty much what the law already says. We just ignore it – and then suffer the consequences of what may well be our own negligence, or corruption.
Guessing this low IQ ignoramus doesn’t understand that if every so called “non-generational” Caymanian became fed up with this nonsense and decided to leave, there would be no Fosters supermarket franchise, no Camana Bay, no Kirks supermarket, no Tortuga franchise, no Tony’s Toys,no Shetty hospital etc etc.
Reply to poster 26/05/2025 @8:41am.
Please poster, you forgot one major factor why people from foreign places come to the Cayman Islands to work – the strong TAX FREE KYD. No other reason. So from your perspective, if this policy is put in place, which it will be, such companies and others will shut down.
Oooh no BoBo or Tee Tee, Not! When one worker leaves, 5 or much more are waiting for that same job as it currently happens.
So your comment holds no validity EXCEPT to say the Cayman Islands’ Government should be for everyone EXCEPT its own people.
It is your sentiment and many, many other equal anti-Caymanian comments of such that has caused Caymanians to vote out other governments, such as the PPM and UDP, and ‘sure up’ a government by the people and for the people going forward – e.g. NCFC.
You’re perfectly entitled to compete on your merits. That’s what we do.
What’s irritating is when knuckle-dragging, window-licking MLAs spend 4 years between elections gorging themselves on kickbacks and abusive labor practices, and then JUST BEFORE EACH ELECTION start screaming that everything is the fault of evil expats, and that Caymanians must be immediately appointed as CEO of every company in Cayman, and are far too good to start at the bottom like the rest of us did, etc.
It’s the sense of entitlement. We’re INTERNATIONAL businesses, serving INTERNATIONAL clients. We’re just temporarily in Cayman because you need the work permit fees. The constant demands are getting tiresome, and Dubai, Singapore, et al are looking every better every year.
If anything, your oft-cited ‘Put Caymanians on a perch’ legislation undermines you all, because clients suspect that you’ll all diversity hires. It’s not the winning move you think it is.
Take away British Passports for all Caymanians!
Sorry Bobo. Traditional Caymanians ARE British and always have been. We were settled by the British and are and always have been British.
Without so called non-generational Caymanians, there would be no Fosters supermarket franchise, no Kirks supermarket, no Camana Bay, no Shetty hospital, no Chrissy Tomlinson hospital, no Tortuga Rum company, no Le blue Water company no wrecking truck service, nearly no police, nurses, teachers, doctors, sportsmen and sportswomen, etc etc etc. Next you will be grumbling about who is more Caymanian whether 1st or 2nd or 3rd or 4th generation
Well done N.C.F.C. Government. WELL DONE!
My only clarification is about the paragraph below.
” . . . The new rules go further than rollover in the private sector in that they will require civil servants to take a two-year break before they can return to work for the CIG again. The changes will also designate specific posts in the public sector exclusively for Caymanians to strengthen local career pathways.
A two-year break is great, but does “return to work for the CIG again” mean an automatic employment opportunity, or does it mean that if such persons desire to do so, they will have to apply for a job?
Curious minds wish to have a clarification on this..
Well done NCFC Government!
On behalf of ALL CAYMANIANS a huge heartfelt CaymanKind thank you.
Now start on your immigration reform plan or my own.
My own would be:
1. No more Status Grants Or Permanent Residency for the next 100 Years. EXCEPT for persons married to Caymanians or have close Caymanian family ties.
Lol. Let UK step in yet again. Go for it, please !!!
Poster Why? The NCFC Government is looking out for the betterment of CAYMANIANS. Unlike other governments in the past, actions are now being applied. Other governments just made ‘fake promises’ while on their campaign trails.
If the government of these islands do not look out for the betterment of CAYMANIANS, do you really think UK gives a sh*t. The UK has its internal problems, and unless you have not been paying attention, IMMIGRATION and matters that trickle down from that umbrella are its top problem and have been for some time.
If we enforced rollover, the UK would have no complaint.
Status grants from cabinet should also be curtailed.
The “who you know” culture has gifted us a few undeserving undesriables.
You need expats, unless you force Caymanians to perform better. How’s that’s going? ⬇️
“Premier Wayne Panton has said the civil service headcount cannot continue to grow… Panton said that the government must move away from “social hiring””
https://caymannewsservice.com/2023/09/premier-says-civil-service-must-stop-growing
“It’s the duty of communities all over the world to give their children an education to a standard that enables them to become full members of their home communities. It takes a village, as they say. By that measure, Cayman’s government has failed, and continues to fail. Some of our Islands’ children succeed, but most don’t…”
https://www.caymancompass.com/2016/01/21/barlow-education-versus-protection/
“Cayman’s current representatives have their knickers in a twist, trying to resolve the consequences. An uncomfortable number of the tribe’s members are coming up short in the following respects:-
· Unschooled beyond a minimal level
· Unemployable because of an anti-work attitude
· Untrained and undisciplined in the management of their personal finances
· Intolerant towards foreign ethnic groups
Those deficiencies have steadily worsened in recent years; the drift to full dependency on government handouts has passed the point of no return. There is no apparent solution on the horizon. It looks as though, in time, our “native” citizenry will become overwhelmingly dependent on welfare.”
https://barlowscayman.blogspot.com/2015/05/caymans-entitlement-culture.html
If Caymanians want better jobs, they must perform better. That starts early. See:
(1) 2021: “Almost 60% of Year 11 students miss 2021 exam targets …according to the Data Report for the Academic Year 2020-21, just 40.3% of Year 11 students achieved the national standard target of five or more Level 2 subjects including English and maths.” https://caymannewsservice.com/2022/04/almost-60-of-year-11-students-miss-2021-exam-targets.
(2) 2023: “A data report released by the education ministry reflects a decline in external exam results…with standards in mathematics dropping back to 2017 levels… despite the significant investment that has been made in public education… Only 27% of all students at Key Stage 2, when they leave primary school, had reached the expected standards in all three core subjects of reading, writing and maths.” https://caymannewsservice.com/2023/05/report-shows-school-leaver-results-drop-from-peak/
(3) 2024: “…only 26% of children leaving all government primary schools achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, according to a data report published last month by the Department of Education Services and the Ministry of Education. This is 1% down from the [previous] academic year.” https://caymannewsservice.com/2024/04/education-data-report-reflects-poor-school-results/
Also:
https://caymannewsservice.com/2019/09/school-standards-gap/
https://caymannewsservice.com/2018/12/2018-year-11-exam-results/
https://caymannewsservice.com/2017/05/education-results-fall-in-2016-data-report/
Businesses are not welfare schemes for the unemployable (that’s the World Class Civil Service™ AKA NAU). The equivalent of the obsessive navel-gaving about Caymanian affirmative action, and whinging about expats, is the Black Economic Empowerment legislation in South Africa. As with all attempts to impose racial preferences/unmeritocratic tribalism, it has been a failure: https://theconversation.com/only-south-africas-elite-benefits-from-black-economic-empowerment-and-covid-19-proved-it-189596.
If Cayman wants to regress to being a handful of fishing villages, then it can have a hissy fit about expats. If not, keep quiet, knuckle down, and focus on educating your kids so that they can outcompete our kids for jobs in Cayman. On merit: not skin color. It may be our *grand*children, though: an island of only 30,000 so-called “multigenerational Caymanians”, with the record of educational achievement documented above, seems unlikely to be able to rapidly generate any more that a tiny % of competent, internationally competitive, white collar professionals to fulfil the wide range of roles here. If I’m wrong, why are 60% of Caymanian kids leaving school functionally illiterate and innumerate?
The expats ate our fish, including the smallest ones, so reverting to fishing villages is not an option.
Marriages of Convenience, way to go!
hahaha
Take away British Passports for Caymanians!
The only way to truly stop the rot is for all Civil Service posts to have a 9 year term limit, irregardless of immigration status.
Go home foreign debull! hahahahahaha
It seems from many of these comments that we have a friggin ton load of brilliant highly qualified Caymanians standing off at the side unable to get jobs in the higher ranks of government service and a similar ton load of worthy but non academic Caymanians waiting to be prison officers, policemen and garbage collectors. Is this true?
of course not. Caymanian unemployment is a myth. If you ate a skilled Caymanian, you will be employed most likely in the private sector. The only unemployed Caymanians are those who are not employable due to physical or mental disabilities, like any other population in the entire world.
Nope, 7:38. But no one on here wants to admit it.
I can see the line right now. Oh wait, that is the departing line for highly educated staff tired of the BS here.
I believe the supervisor at the prison who was being groomed and entrusted for management duties was a crash test dummy run then ? God help us.
What will everyone do when people only come to work for 10 days per month too? 😂😂😂
The new Northward resort will result in a couple of hundred low wage imports and families.
A further ongoing cost to Caymanians without any benefit.
should be implemented starting June 1st. No need to delay!
Hopefully Cabinet’s next move is to implement term limits for themselves. 8 years is enough to do some good, without becoming completely corrupt.
I totally agree with poster 2:10pm.
But I would add that an amendment be made to our Constitution to state that ALL Members of Parliament can only serve the Cayman Islands for no more than 2 Terms (Eight Years) consecutively or not.
4 years of Mac Kenny Dumbdum Juju and Saunders was too much.!
Cayman is the only place on this planet that is pushing this foolishness about we cant do with out expats. Go back to where you come from!
you dont sound small minded at all, will you tell british folk coming to help after a hurricane to ‘go back where you come from’
That’s where they will head to using the known passport. Hypocrites.
You are wrong. We need expats, for a variety of reasons. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t enforce existing legislation that puts Caymanians first. That ideal appears to have been sidelined in the last decade. We should keep Caymanians first, assist with their education, favourable loan rates, etc., but never ever think that we don’t need expats.
So you are implying that ‘Caymanians’ cannot be self responsible for their own education and handle market loan rates. They have to have preferential treatment?
Correct!
Jamaicans, Bajans and Trinis are expats right…?
Yes, it is popular and will make everyone feel warm and fuzzy inside. And it will solve absolutely nothing.
Great move. Except clock should have started ticking from June 1, 2025 for those already here and the term limit should be applied retroactively – adding a maximum of 2 years for succession planning and training for those already at 9 years or over so they can properly handover to a Caymanian. And for those saying we won’t be able to attract talent, I call BS. People will still want to be paid in tax-free CI$ with free health care and non contributory pension. Plus they are already making more money than where many of them come from – if there are even jobs available in their homelands.
Well said poster! 👏👏👏👏
You are using the wrong comparator. You shouldn’t compare Cayman to failing First World welfare states: they are all collapsing under the weight of high taxation.
Rather, the comparator is better-run places (yes, I know, it doesn’t take much!) like Singapore or Dubai. On the latter:
“UAE Taxes in a Nutshell
Dubai’s zero-income tax rate is definitely one of the pros of living there.
It’s no secret that the UAE earns its revenue mainly through the oil industry and uses its no-tax policy to attract skilled expats and global companies to diversify and enrich its economy further.
The UAE doesn’t have:
– Income Tax
– Wealth Tax
– Inheritance Tax
– Payroll Tax
– Capital Gains Tax
– Property Tax
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/your-guide-taxes-dubai-kathleen-di-paolo/ ”
For a far wider range of destinations, please see https://nomadcapitalist.com/
Pointless populist rhetoric to rile up the natives. Read the fine print
We have WORC, the Scholarships Secretariat, the Work Permits Board and the Business Staffing Plans Board. Those four entities urgently need to sit at the same table and compare notes (said notes must be accurate, organized and objective). Each unit has information that can effectively guide the relevant MPs in formulating short, medium and long-term action plans but this unit does not want to share info with that unit or the next. We have too many silos, which cause waste of time and money, short-sighted planning and flawed decision-making.
lack of communication between government agencies and even utilities are costing us alot of frustration and money. Here is one example Government paves the road next the water company comes and tears it up … brand new pavement.
On the one hand, I’m glad they’ve done this. Long overdue.
I’m also glad that they’re going to start the clock in 6 months instead of when you got here, only because that would be a nightmare to administrate and I’m sure bring a few law suits.
One thing I think they MUST add to this bill:
All civil servants being grandfathered into this new timeline will have been here 15 years or more by the time their potential roll over comes. That means they can apply to be Caymanian without ever having to go through the points system. The points system has its flaws for sure. However, it’s criminal to let anyone who has managed to stick around for 15 years regardless of community contributions or character to get status without being vetted through some sort of points system.
So, while the PR system is flawed, it’s better than nothing. They must add a points requirement to civil servants.
Don’t forget, there’s several ways besides being a civil servant, to stay here for more than 15 years. Any and all of those way should still require you to have the minimum amount of points for PR prior to receiving status or naturalization.
They should start it from now and time already served.
normally I’d agree. But think about what that means for someone who’s been here for 8 years, and 364 days…or someone who has been here for 12 years.
You’d have to come up with a way to deal with both those scenarios and everything in between and it would get far too chaotic. But giving everyone here another 9 years guarantees that anyone here 6 years or more already will potentially get status with no vetting via points whatsoever.
That’s a big hole in this plan.
Some expatriate civil servants and their extended families know this, and are grinning ear to ear.
This is false. Ex-pat Civil servants must first attain PR based on the same points system as anyone else before applying for status, regardless if they have lived in Cayman for 20 years. Automatic status at 15 years of residency isn’t a thing.
But automatic passports for all kids born here and still here at age 10 is a thing.
And Customs & Border Control treating everyone born here and holding a Cayman passport as being Caymanian, is a thing.
And many employers including Departments of Government treating everyone with a Cayman Passport as being a Caymanian is a thing.
And Human Rights considerations hampering Cayman from requiring anyone who has lived here for 20 years from being forced to leave is a thing.
Rubbish. Do not presume to project your own bias and ignorance on to others. Only the BOTC Passports that carry a CI Status stamp in the back pages are demonstrably possessed by Caymanians. Every gatekeeper agency knows to check for this stamp, especially Airport Immigration Officials, and the Elections Office. We need to stop gossipy homegrown xenophobic crabs from making $#!& up.
Explain the hundreds of “ghost” Caymanians freely operating in our country and relying on Cayman passports with no stamps in them, freely transiting our borders…
Sounds about right.
Like the many offspring spawned following Mac’s mass status giveaways.
You sure have a lot of things.
Is it true after 10 years service a Civil Servant gets free health care for life?
so after 9 years of constantly approving the same person to stay because there is no local to do the job…you then ask them to leave???….
who does this benefit?…cig will end up with another fresh expat with no experience of that role.
or will you just employ an under qualified local…and the civil service is weakened again?
welcome to wonderland.
term limits don’t work and never have.
It should well cut down on job adverts which are crafted to support the expat to stay in the job, to the exclusion of qualified Caymanians, or Caymanians able to train in the position.
So much for qualifications and experience! NAU 2.0!
What on earth would make you think there is no local to do the job? How stringent do you actually believe the local hiring and training requirements really are?
Government should be forced to apply for work permits – and advertise all positions, just like the private sector.
Term limits are not the only thing civil servants have been able to exempt themselves from.
Government positions are advertised in newspapers and WORCs website—same as every other employer—and on the government’s careers website,
https://www.careers.gov.ky/application/login/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f
And which Board do they have to report the fact of Caymanian applicants to?
And who denied the opportunity to the expatriate if a qualified Caymanian applies?
And who enforces training schemes if the Caymanian needs a qualification or experience to fulfil the role?
And who refuses the permission on the basis that the workplace does not have a proper demographic balance?
And who requires any dependant children to be enrolled in private school or pay for their children’s education?
Not the same. The positions are not registered with WORC and subjected to that scrutiny. They should be.
How about asking them to contribute towards the cost of their health and pensions.
That will at least ease the burden on the ever increasing recurring costs to government.
It rather depends on the job. Ask yourself how many people in any organisation are truly not replaceable, or where a lack of on the job experience in that specific job in that specific organisation is critical and cannot be overcome after a few months of bedding in. We all like to think we are irreplaceable – the reality is people leave employers all the time, or get fired, and they get replaced. There are over 1000 expats in the civil service – do you honestly think that all of them are completely irreplaceable by another expat? Conversely, the reality if granting people in effect a job for life is that you will inevitably keep expanding the Caymanian population – sooner or later they will qualify for PR and then status. And by having a different treatment for immigration purposes for civil servants and private sector you not only raise the valid argument of hypocrisy against the government but also open a barn door sized hole in the protections intended to limit status by simple passage of time. Term limits are fine – there were adequate protections for employers in the key employee provisions under the old regulations. If anything this new rule doesnt go far enough – but not starting until next year it already grandfathers in a mass number of expat civil servants who are virtually guaranteed to now achieve status, without any consideration to the rules designed to ensure that new Caymanians dont become a burden on society and make a positive contribution. Tighten the PR requirements, and apply them equally to all within 9 years of their arrival in the islands.
JUNE 1st 2025 not January 2026 these people overwhelming the civil service need to go now!
Totally agree.
Disappointed with Hon, Premier’s following post on Linkedin:
“Thank you very much Minister Kathy-Ann! Appreciate you hand delivering the approved Coastal Works Licence for the Morgan’s Harbour dock to the Minister of Planning yesterday in Caucus! All West Bay MPs are delighted for works to begin in the weeks ahead.🙌🏾”
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/andr%C3%A9-ebanks-12825a27b_thank-you-very-much-minister-kathy-ann-appreciate-activity-7330932935467962368-hca7?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=android_app&rcm=ACoAAALoX68BBFnZVcLk2jvrzi1wvvtIGm1Lj8k&utm_campaign=gmail
The Cayman Islands Constitution Order 2009 establishes that Ministers are not permitted to micromanage or direct specific operational decisions. [Section 55 of the Constitution outlines the responsibilities of civil servants and emphasizes political neutrality.]
The correct protocol would be for the Chief Officers to handle matters. Hon Premier if you are interested in Good Governance then that should extend to your social media posts too.
She hand delivered a document? And he can make his own social media posts too. What kinda sour grapes u chewing on?
Those PPM grapes.
Sour grapes make cheap Whine…
Joey can you please go back to being an absentee MP again?
You do understand that a Coastal Works Licence is approved by Cabinet not CIG.
All LCCLs are also approved by Cabinet. That does not mean Ministers can hand them out. CIG civil servants do that
To 10:04am: She handed in a set of papers. What exactly is your beef with that? Please, sit down. You stink of PPM manure.
I suppose they just wanted to get it done. Civil Servants would have added months to the process.
Thank you NCFC! It is about time.
Now would you please ensure that all the wasteful UDP/UPM/PPM projects that are still running are immediately shut down or at least paused while you determine the policies that are affordable and that the people want.
Start with looking at Kenny’s vanity projects and JuJus. We don’t need Kenny’s consultants to advise us on spending $800 million on expanding our airports while at the same time destroying our environment. The report they just released shows that they propose to spend over $100 million that we don’t have on paving over a large part of Little Cayman to expand the airport. That is pure foolishness that must stop!
Kenny’s consultants hang about car parks drinking 345
you are aware that the Little Cayman airfield operates on an exemption from the Civil Authority which is due to expire soon? No exemption = big problem.
Nine years’ term limit starting January, 2026?! NCFC: please reassess that. Let us identify Caymanians who already have at least 80% of the core requirements, give the contract people two years in which to train them and wish them au revoir after that.
Yes, if there are trainable recipient brains, no if not. The priority in CIG should be onboarding the years of OAG comments in regards to lapses in accounts, procurement, and record keeping. That is the problem area, regardless of the originating nationality of the post occupant. Any civil service employee should be held to the minimum legal standard, including those responsible for this workflow: Mr Manderson and his department heads.
@8:11am: You are being “economical with the truth”. The Civil Service offers training through UCCI, ICCI, Civil Service College, LinkedIn Learning, The Institute of Leadership (ILM), and a few others as well as procurement and business case training. Many civil servants hold Bachelor, Master, Doctorates—a couple even hold a PhD. Either have no knowledge of this, or you are being malicious on purpose
Majority were obtained via the secret prize in the Cracker Jack box.
@11:14am: You are just a hater who loves Cayman’s money, but does not respect Caymanians’ heritage or achievements. People with such mentality are not needed here. They do not care to integrate, only use and take.
I applaud this as a start. My concern is that for those currently here for years, if their limit does not start until January-2026, are they now going to be able to apply for PR based on the amount of years that they have already been on island? Please now amend the PR requirements so that this is not the case.
Define “CAYMANIAN” because there are Jamaicans who have been granted “Status” and have been counted as “CAYMANIAN”.
These Status Grant Caymanians have a very strong National Identity and Heritage which is NON Caymainian and will promote the land of their birthright citizenship, and fellow countrymen, above persons of Caymanian Heritage.
So in realty unless the Govt employee numbers can be broken down to show Status Grant Caymanians verses Caymanians then the numbers will be false.
If the Govt was genuinely looking to Protect “Caymanian” then one way to do this would be to pass a law that would require any person who wanted to be counted as “Caymanian” will have to give up any other birthright citizenship and renounce the citizenship of same. That way the person ONLY has Caymanian Citizenship and Only a Caymanian passport and no other National Identity. Thats in a nutshell what a REAL Caymanian is.
So, how does that work for a Caymanian with a British passport and the chance to freely move to a country that they have never contributed to and claim UK taxpayers benefits?
I wish the UK would walk away from CI and shut the back door to the UK for every nationality on the planet that gets status here.
When the UK conscripts UK passport holders to fight against the Russians I hope you’re ready.
This is a nonsense made-up scenario looking for something to be mad at, but even if it wasn’t: we could send every single Caymanian that has ever existed to the UK today and they would barely fill a small town. We both know it is not even remotely similar.
Couldn’t they also have (or, could obtain) a British Passport?
First thing Jamaicans do when they get status, is apply for a British passport.
Why stay here and scam the system when you can get it all for free in the UK.
Wait, seriously? What kind of logic is that? It’s baffling how people keep pushing these divisive narratives about Caymanians. By law, status-granted Jamaicans, Filipinos, Canadians, Indians, Honduranians—anyone who has obtained Caymanian status—are Caymanians. That’s just a fact, plain and simple.
And now you’re saying that people who weren’t born here should give up citizenship elsewhere to prove their national identity?
So, what, Caymanians should renounce their UK citizenship too? That doesn’t make any sense! National identity isn’t about surrendering rights—it’s about recognizing the legal reality that Caymanian status is granted and valid, no matter where someone was born. The way people frame these discussions is just frustrating.
Caymanian is Caymanian. The laws do not differentiate (or rank) how Caymanian citizenship was obtained – just like any other country in the world.
First: We are not a country
Second: Caymanian is a nationality. Not a citizenship.
Third: If you got status through a criminal act, we reserve the right to consider that you are not part of us.
Start with that as a reality and adjust your considerations accordingly – and try to spare some respect for the people who welcomed you here.
Not according to Cayman Government.
Renounce second citizenship – like all the MLAs who ran still holding their US or Jamaican citizenship? And all those in the Cayman merchant class, borne overseas before first class health care here? Certainly a good way of testing commitment to Cayman, but your chances of the MLAs agreeing to these changes is about as likely as them agreeing to an investigation onto he status grants.
Lord have mercy guys. I’ve been supporting you in front of the skeptics, and this is how you repay me? With this asinine policy as your first major act?
Instead of seriously considering the issue, you simply adopt a program which has failed in the private sector for the public sector?
So when my specialist doctor gets rolled over in two years will you have trained a Caymanian to do the job by then?
Not even two months in and I’ve already lost faith in you guys.
That’s a very narrow view to take. The vast majority this affects will not be medical specialists. Who is not to say that they can’t build in exemptions, too, for certain fields?
Or the Doctor can apply for PR!!!
The sese of entitlement amongst a sector of our expatriate workforce, and a number of civil servants, has to stop!
😁😁😁…..sense of entitlement….oh the irony of that statement.
Expats aren’t displaying entitled decals on their cars and trucks.
The entitlement to have to uproot your life when your contract doesn’t get renewed. Come on. What are you talking about?
You mean exactly what every private sector expatriate has successfully navigated for 20 years? I am not sure you should be allowed any role operating my government if you cannot handle that.
Pot, meet kettle.
Everyone seems to be saying this but ignoring my second paragraph. This policy has FAILED in the private sector! What makes any of you think it will work in the public sector?
Once again: they chose a quick “fix” to please the public rather than a holistic review.
What’s the evidence that the policy has failed in the private sector, please?
Learn to read. The term limits don’t start running from the time they got here, they start from now so no one is going anywhere for 9 years and that’s only if they can’t apply for PR the normal way.
.. to take effect by 1 January 2026…
FFS read the full article before you post and mislead people. Existing employees timeline starts on Jan 1/26.
Before you start cursing, who are you replying to…the post you are replying to was copied from the article and the same date in your post!
Exactly – and imagine, these are the immigrants that are supposed to be here to save us poor uneducated island-dwellers, yet they can’t comprehend a simple timeline.
we will see more of the 25 year work permits that are for essential staff. wait and see
That’s a good thing, surely? You avoid them getting PR or status, so you don’t lose political power, but you also aren’t recruiting idiots to fill jobs for which they are unqualified.
The way we overwork our health care specialists, we will be fortunate indeed should any of them choose stay through the end of their contract. This is a health crisis.
Those dependents not even living in Cayman who are on Our Health care benefits need to be cut off immediately whilst Caymanians struggle to even get basic health care. Telling Caymanians about they vested and can’t even get a Cinco Card whilst these leeches living it up on our backs . Time for them all to go Cayman and take their Cayman backers with them too.
Only window dressing Cayman they will hand them PR You Franz and Mary and your little entourage clearly need to go with your title the amount of Third world scions piled up now in our civil service is a National disgrace and they need to be remove for their anti Caymanian stance !
CIG is currently only allowed to recruit non-Caymanians if there are no suitable Caymanians available. Presumably, this change of policy now means that non-Caymanians will consider CIG jobs far less attractive, and so they will be harder to both recruit and retain. There must be risks to that in terms of hiring competent people who have experience beyond Cayman (there’s a whole world out there, Bobo!).
Wayne Panton warned back in 2023 that the civil service is a form of ‘Alternative NAU’ for otherwise unemployable Caymanians (he used the euphemism “social hiring”, but it’s the same thing: https://caymannewsservice.com/2023/09/premier-says-civil-service-must-stop-growing/). This change doesn’t seem to assist the ‘Alternative NAU problem’.
The blunt and unpalatable reality is simply that on a tiny island which produces nothing there are only a certain number of decent jobs. Affirmative action can only go so far, or you end up employing idiots as “expensive furniture”, to appease WORC/the dumbest voter.
People need:
1. Education/qualifications.
2. International experience (the private sectors serves international clients, who prefer not to instruct people who have only ever worked in Cayman, and even within CIG many jobs cannot credibly or competently be done by people whose horizons are so tiny that they don’t have years of experience in the wider world).
3. Aptitude. Many people should realistically be aspiring to be e.g. security guards, checkout workers and bar staff, because that’s their ceiling. Don’t be a snob – there is nothing wrong with those jobs, and someone must do them. 🤷♀️
4. Attitude. Anyone who’s grown up in a First World major city understands how it is infused with an atmosphere of competitiveness that is simply absent in the famously relaxed Caribbean. That ‘hunger to work’, and to commit oneself to one’s career is noticeably absent even with the children of first generation ‘Status Caymanians’, e.g. Canadians who moved here in the last 15-20 years.
Surely it would be better to subsidise the bottom e.g. 20% of people, who are unemployable without affirmative action, to resettle to the UK. This would provide them with access to a lower cost of living, and they would be in a normal economy, with opportunities to earn a living within their limited ability, rather than just being bitter and disgruntled in Cayman, and constantly demanding special treatment. It seems unfair to say to such people, as we are at the moment: “You too can compete with the best international professionals”, when it’s simply not true.
Careers in the Civil Service are available to Caymanians but only if they are from Barbados, Trinidad, or Jamaica. Education is not necessary but if undertaken, encouraged to be at the University of the West Indies.
Jamaican mafia has to go. No more. No more.
HSA also prefers young Jamaican doctors…
Patients don’t.
And INDIANS!
—> Does it extend to all the SAGCs and Commissions as well, because in many instances, it coming like the “civil service” only exists at government building. Places like the airport authority, water authority, Law reform commission, and a host of others also need to be weaned off contracts so that more qualified Caymanians (with solid work ethics, obviously) get an opportunity. Caymanian low performers at all levels need to be put on notice, as well.
It should apply to SAGCs. If not, CIMA will continue hiring workers from continental Africa instead of hiring qualified Caymanians that are already here. Andre knows about this.
Equal rights is good, now also have all government employees pay for health insurance and pension contributions!!
bout Fn time !
Limit their dependents and benefits too. eg Free Health and Schooling for All!
Please n Thanks.
There are No spaces for local kids!
My Jamaican civil servant coworkers are seriously freaking out right now — the entire GAB was shaken by this, or at least from what I saw this afternoon. Honestly, it’s kind of funny, especially considering how openly they used to brag about their plans to exploit the system to get PR or status. Looks like those plans just took a sharp turn🤣🤣🤣
You read the part about their term not starting until Jan 2026 right? This changes nothing for them.
That is disgusting and must change.
Agreed this didn’t go far enough and basically they have 9 more years before Caymanians can be trained or qualified for their position. Carving out protected sector exemptions will be the downfall of this policy. You cannot tell me that the average RCIP patrol cop with only 6 months of training needs to be retained for 9 years before a Caymanian can be trained to replace them. Caymanians can get their teaching degrees in 4 years so giving them 9 years starting in January before rolling them over doesn’t help those graduates.
Do any Caymanians actually want to be cops?
Nearly half of RCIPS, and almost all of Coast Guard.
Bingo!
I find this hard to believe. I worked in GAB for many many years and most of the civil servants in there are Caymanians or spouses of Caymanians. The very few who are foreigners are specialized and never want to stay permanently on the island. They are always eyeing up leaving so that they can cash out their pension.
Even if they were freaking out. Why? They have 9 years from Jan 2026 to sort out their PR/Status, and undoubtedly they would have been on the island for a few years before hand right?
Truth is, I don’t believe you work in GAB and your comment is just xenophobic wishful thinking. I’ve rarely seen a foreign civil servant stay for more than 5 years before leaving on their own accord. After that they get replaced by another foreigner.
👍🏻
Good past time for that to happen. thanks NCFC
While the intention behind limiting expat civil servant terms might sound appealing, it’s crucial to remember that many of the skilled professionals in our public service are here because Cayman lacks the talent pool to fill these roles locally. If we push out experienced individuals after a set period, we risk losing essential expertise, which could ultimately hinder our growth and development.
Moreover, it’s important to note that not all expats are here by choice; many are recruited to serve specific roles where local candidates may not have the necessary qualifications or experience. We should be cautious about implementing policies that punish people for contributing to our society just because of their nationality. We need to strike a balance that supports local employment but also acknowledges and appreciates the value of those who help keep our civil services running smoothly.
um…..any expat that is recruited is here by choice! they can choose to not work here.
Blah, blah. Those arguments are no relevant. Cayman is for Caymanians. If you don’t like it, then you do have a home to go back to.
It is still their choice to apply for a job in Cayman if they wish well knowing that their time to work in Cayman is limited to 9 years.
Please do not fret Sir or Madam. The sweet tax free Cayman dollar plus free health care and non-contributory pension for 9 years will still entice people to scrawl to Cayman from whatever corner of the world they are coming from.
I am an expat working in the HSA and leaving the island in December when my contract expires so I’m not biased and have no agenda. Of course Caymanians should be given preference in jobs in the islands. but the way to achieve that is by proper training and development, upskilling, points based recruitment, and ensuring fair opportunities for progression. you don’t achieve it by a blanket arbitrary cut off point and booting many hardworking skilled and dedicated people out. it’s a very shortsighted policy brought in by a very inexperienced cabinet looking to curry favour and capture headlines.
Wrong. Properly equipping Caymanians is not happening, because expats are intercepting Caymanians employment opportunities. This system will work just fine.
Sure. Wanna invest in oceanfront property in Arizona?
The cutoff point is not arbitrary but is imposed by Human Rights considerations. And Shetty and Doctor’s Hospital are managing fine with it…
Health City has no Caymanian doctors!
quickly… tell us how many caymanian doctors are there in general?
yeah exactly, not that many to fill multiple hospitals
HSA is one of the worst for just renewing contracts until Status achieved even when person should have been sent home. Right now there’s an Asian dentist w/no bedside manner who does shoddy work but I bet he’s here to stay. In fact quotas are needed for all nationalities asap.
a big big mistake
More like common sense move.
Favored by those with no common sense.
racism against skilled people like doctors and surgeons kicking them out when no caymanians available to replace what happens then
Racism?
Rotate them out instead of importing them permanently to set up their mansion and further gentrify every square inch while diluting our cultural pot.
You come here with skills, yes, and you are paid generously in return. Stop acting like you’re also entitled to our VERY limited homeland, which is – literally – thousands of times smaller than where you came ya from.
what highly skilled person will come for 9 years then leave? This is essentially killing their career back home. if they come it is with the view of longterm creating new life….
The same ones that come here to serve the private sector, at levels of efficiency and competence usually well ahead of those of many in the public sector.
Don’t bother trying to reason with them. They’re too stupid to understand. They will have to suffer the consequences before they recognise their idiocy.
This is spot on! If there is no Caymanian to fill the roll then another expat comes to take it. Rolling skilled work over is the way to go and that used to be norm until past Government put themselves for sale.
@8:20pm: I surmise that your comment refers to physicians from the East End and outlying facilities. We have a number of Caymanian physicians returning home shortly. The expat doctors will have nine years to contribute to their residency programs.
Why would I spend 9 years training my replacement?
how much will it cost the government to fight the incoming judicial review???????
As much as it takes to uphold this decision. How much will it cost you?
The rollover policy in force in the private sector has passed judicial muster. There is no reason to believe it will be any different in regard to its application in regard to government employees.
The interesting part is that the general rollover policies would apply to the government had it not been for the fact that CIG employment was specifically excluded when the law was implemented. In simple terms, exception will no longer apply.
and just like that!
Great move by the new government. Congrats to all that are addressing the mess of immigration.
About bloody time! Send them back home to reset their term limits too many are just useless
…by “home”…you mean West Bay?
Not half as useless as many of the Caymanians I try to hire and train. WHEN they can be bothered coming to work, they expect to be able to. One in 30-45 minutes late, go home early and even expecting the first 20 minutes eating breakfast at their desk. Then the ‘sick’ days! Unbelievable.
Do something to prevent the Caymanian ‘brain’ drain. Many young and older Caymanians are leaving the Islands by choice to work abroad.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if the UK washed its hands of the place, took away British passports and stopped Caymanians going there to live and work or claim benefits.
Excellent. The right thing to do to show whether it will really work.
Now we’re cooking with gas! The NCFC has a clear mandate and they are moving to deliver. Excellent start. 🥳🥳
A government with a spine! A government we can count on to ensure Caymanian come first and that we can be proud of! Don’t mess with Gary Rutty, Andre Ebanks and the rest! 👏👏 They will not be getting away with much anymore!
Next thing you know they’ll de demanding accountability. 🤣🤣🤣
Yes, but give them a few weeks.