Sweeping changes to immigration laws aimed at protecting Caymanian workers and making it harder for foreigners to acquire residency and status were widely supported by MPs during debate in Parliament on Thursday, 11 Dec.
The reforms, which include a new 20-year residency requirement before most foreign nationals can apply for Caymanian status, were debated after Immigration Minister Michael Myles tabled the bill on Wednesday afternoon. Parliament was adjourned at 9pm Thursday night before several MPs, including Premier André Ebanks, had contributed to the debate, which will continue on Friday.
When tabling the bill, Immigration Minister Michael Myles said the goal was to update an “antiquated” system that had left Caymanians “displaced, marginalized and discriminated against in our own labour market”.
Citing challenges faced by Caymanian graduates in securing appropriate employment, despite government spending $39 million each year on tertiary education scholarships, he said the public was “crying out for reform”.
Myles said the National Coalition for Caymanians government was responding to concerns raised “around dinner tables, in living rooms, at community meetings and on the campaign trail”.
He said many Caymanians felt like “strangers in the land their grandparents built with their own hands”.
The minister insisted the Immigration (Transition) (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2025 – which government plans to rename the Caymanian Protection Act – would address longstanding “injustices and inefficiencies”, while creating a clearer, more coherent system for businesses.
Myles also argued the changes would help protect Caymanian identity in the face of rapid population growth.
“Beyond the economics of the problem, we also have a socio-cultural problem,” he said.
“The answer is simple and devastating: We lose our identity. We lose our people. We lose the very soul of what makes these islands home.”
He noted that around 80% of the bill had originated under the previous government, with the new coalition adding several additional measures.
Key changes in the bill:
- Extends the timeline for eligible guest workers to apply for naturalisation to 15 years
- Increases the residency requirement for Caymanian Status to 20 years (or 15 years for spouses of Caymanians)
- Introduces term limits for non-Caymanian civil servants
- Raises the minimum income threshold for non-Caymanians with dependents to $5,000 per month and an additional $1,000 for each dependent
- Restricts work permit holders from changing employers for two years to prevent job-hopping
- Expands WORC’s investigative and data-sharing powers and strengthens its authority over Caymanian Status and PR decisions
- A further 17 amendments were tabled on the eve of the debate, including provisions allowing the Director of WORC to revoke Caymanian status grants in certain circumstances.
Opposition voices concerns but supports bill
The late inclusion of significant amendments triggered strong opposition from Progressives leader Joey Hew, who accused the government of bypassing proper scrutiny.
Calling the process “rushed”, he questioned: “Since when do we legislate fundamental rights by surprise?” Hew also doubted whether the changes would achieve their stated aims, saying most of the businesses affected by new fees and administrative burdens are Caymanian-owned.
He warned the rhetoric surrounding the bill risked deepening social divisions and argued that several measures would likely increase the cost of living.
“I think it is rushed. It is internally inconsistent, it is procedurally tainted and it is socially divisive,” he said.
Deputy Opposition Leader Kenneth Bryan said he supported much of the substance of the bill but not the “us versus them” tone of parts of the debate. He acknowledged widespread community support for reform saying it would be “political suicide” to oppose the bill, but he added concerns that some elements may not stand up to legal challenge.
Government: Cayman still welcomes foreign labour
Myles rejected claims that the bill could undermine recruitment in sectors heavily dependent on expatriate labour, which include financial services, healthcare, construction, tourism, policing and public education.
“We still very much welcome the labour we need to fuel our economy. We have more jobs than we have Caymanians,” he said.
Quoting former legislator Roy Bodden, he added that expatriates “should never forget they are guests in another person’s country”.
“We owe them a fair immigration process, and we owe them safe and fair working conditions. We do not owe them a fast track to residency or a guarantee of the same privileges as Caymanians.”
He acknowledged that government must modernise work permit processing and improve education and training programmes to ensure Caymanians are ready to fill roles across the economy.
He said the bill is “step one” in a broader immigration overhaul, with changes to the permanent residency points system expected early in the new year.
Cayman status rules set to tighten further
Myles said the existing system made it “too easy” to gain PR and ultimately Caymanian status. More than 9,000 people received permanent residency over the past decade, with almost a third via the points system. During that period just over 7,000 people became Caymanian, a figure he described as “shocking”.
“Permanent Residency and the right to earn Caymanian Status are important,” he said, “but the current parameters are unsustainable for our infrastructure and are creating barriers for Caymanians to live and work in our country.”
Coalition MPs rally behind the bill
Infrastructure Minister Jay Ebanks said high participation in the NICE pre-holiday work programme showed that many Caymanians were willing to work but too often passed over.
Urging MPs to support the reforms and “save the back and forth for the pickleball court,” he said Caymanian Status must remain special.
“Everybody deserves to enter the gates of Heaven, but not this one (Cayman). This one is special. This one is very special.”
Home Affairs Minister Nickolas DaCosta said increases in permanent residence and status grants reflected “structural shifts in demographics” that had left “generational Caymanians in a minority”.
“Without reform we risk cementing a future where Caymanians no longer have pre-eminence in their homeland,” he said.
Health Minister Katherine Ebanks-Wilks argued the bill would enable economic growth “without sacrificing the soul of our nation.”
“Our families and our traditions matter and they are under threat when we allow unchecked immigration and we fail to prioritise our people in employment, housing, healthcare and education,” she said.