Cops warn of immigration con
Cayman Islands Department of Immigration
(CNS): Police are currently investigating reports of cons surrounding the purchase of permanent residency and are warning those seeking to secure the right to live in Cayman that the legal regime for acquiring PR cannot be circumvented. Officers from the RCIPS Financial Crime Unit (FCU) are asking anyone who is approached with an offer of cash for PR outside of the normal protocols to contact the police.
“It is not within protocol of the immigration department to have their officers or other persons representing them approach members of the public to offer permanent residency or to solicit funds to pay for permanent residency,” the police warned, indicating that there is only one process that can be followed, even if the con men are claiming to be from the immigration department.
“An application for permanent residency can only be made by persons who have resided in the Cayman Islands for a minimum of 8 years,” police advised. “The process involves submitting a completed and signed application form as well as a number of supporting documents. These include a cover letter, a police clearance certificate, a medical questionnaire, character and bank references and evidence of property ownership. The applicant must also pay certain prescribed fees at the time of making the application to the immigration department.”
The financial cops stressed that there is no other way to apply for permanent residency.
While the police have given only a few details regarding the latest immigration scam, it is not the first time that people have been conned out of cash regarding immigration matters.
Currently, one local man is facing prosecution, accused of some 17 counts in a case alleging cash for Cayman status. Paul Ebanks (48) pleaded not guilty at the end of last year to all charges and is expected to face trial in the Grand Court in June.
Meanwhile, the immigration department is still facing disruption as Chief Immigration Officer Linda Evans remains on required leave and the Director of Boards, Kimberly Davis, is facing criminal charges in relation to immigration offences. Davis appeared in court recently charged with two counts of knowingly making a false statement or representation to the immigration department and one count of employing a person without a work permit in relation to private business.
Evans was suspended from her job after being placed on required leave in December following unrelated allegations. However, it is understood this remains an internal investigation within the Ministry of Home Affairs and Evans is not expected to be charged with any criminal offences.
Nether women are alleged to have been involved in any PR or status scams.
For further information, please contact the Financial Crime Unit at 949-8797.
Category: Crime, Immigration
I purchased a home in cayman 9 years ago then I paid one of your local leaders 7 years ago over 10k to set up a business & get my workpermit and after 3 years he promised I would get residency. I was really enjoying Cayman everybody was so nice
I did all of that & I was shocked to find out after 2 years of paying I had no work permit and my corporation fees had not been paid either I sent many letters to the top
I guess they are still investigating
There are others that did the same thing. The fee was brokered through a local law firm – I believe it was a >$10k donation made out to a serving leader, payable to them, in personal cheque form, and cashed by a carrot eating, milk drinking, MLA that shall remain nameless.
RCIP?
Wow I guess you went to the same law firm But my check was made out to the lawyer … and is still in power I see him in the news all of the time.
I still have the cashed check as a reminder
Why and how didn’t you know that you didn’t have a work permit? Why and how didn’t you know that corporation fees had not been paid either? Why did you pay one of ‘your’ local leaders such an amount of money? Why did you expect the promise of residency?
What, exactly, is the con? It is a bit difficult for the public to avoid a con if they have no idea what said con is.
The Con: Authority figures selling expedited (or deferred) outcomes in relation to the established (albeit leisurely) Immigration process. Usually ending with, “let me see what I can do for you”.
I unearthed another con. Apparently people have to buy houses bigger than what they reasonably need to be able to stay on the island. I thought in a good Christian country the meek and humble would be welcomed, but apparently not.
I think this refers to the cruel and subjective judgement letters people have received over the years authored by nasty Immigration clerks…need more house, need more income, don’t have any (more) kids! Appalling stuff. We should start a driftwood thread and publish some of those. Some of them are hard to believe.
Then there are the predatory intermediaries that collect extortionate fees from the most helpless segment of society. Their gambit is to seek a multitude of false continuances on immigration matters to defer the likely negative outcome on their clients’ applications.
Which of these two will carry a heavier charge of fine? Employing a person without a work permit or giving status to a friend’s family? Just asking.
Ouch!
People that apply for PR can continue to work (under operation of law) paying the equivalent of their last annual work permit fee. So they would legitimately have the right to work for as long as the gambit runs.
This is not news – immigration scams have been going on for years. The classic was always charging a handling fee of between CI300 and CI500 to ‘expedite’ WP applications. That particular one goes back 25 years to my knowledge and still continues unhindered.
All this story shows is how out of touch with reality some sections of RCIPS are.
I think your figures may be a bit out of date. CI$300-500 was probably the going rate pre-Ivan but one well known local figure has recently been quoting over CI$1000 for their firm to handle WP applications. Apparently they employ a former immigration officer who uses old contacts in the department to ‘grease the wheels’ as part of the service.
I’ve been working in these islands on and off for over 20 years now and one of the first things I learned was that putting money in the right hands makes dealing with immigration a lot easier. How else can you get a TWP issued in four working days (the forms went in Thursday, my passport was stamped the next Wednesday) when you are already on-island as a visitor? Is it wrong to pay someone a fee (a kickback if you like) to make sure that your WP paperwork doesn’t get lost or delayed and you don’t get messed around with things like additional blood tests?
To me this is just an extension of the ‘baksheesh’ process I had to deal with in the Middle East. Out there it is customary to pass payment over to officials in handshakes or in your documents and if you don’t observe this protocol they can and will make your like hell.
So where does the real problem lie? Is it with the scammers or with the system that supports them?
Individuals and firms that support the illegal backdoor apparatus are the problem and should be rooted out.