(CNS): The new regulations that the Cayman Islands Government is introducing to support changes to the Immigration Act were published on the Government Gazette website on Thursday. The new rules relate to administrative fee increases for work permit holders, changing jobs, marriages of convenience and other amendments to the law, which come into effect in two weeks’ time.
However, there are concerns that the restrictions on job-hopping are unclear, and the ambiguity of language may see the law falter in the face of legal challenges.
As the CIG prepares to implement the amendment bills it passed in December and March, promotional material posted on social media this week made it clear that, despite the changes to the legislation, in certain circumstances, first-time work permit holders can still change jobs within the first 24 months.
The new regulations list a number of potential reasons a permit holder would be permitted to change jobs without having to leave the islands for a year. While the law itself only exempts domestic helpers and carers, the regulations give the director of WORC significant discretion to new expatriate workers to move jobs.
These include employees who have not been properly paid or compensated for overtime, and those who have been discriminated against or subjected to harassment and bullying. But the rules also say an exemption can be made for “any other situation the Director of WORC deems justifies”, potentially casting a very wide net.
Local immigration lawyers at HSM said in a circular that while the information provides insight into the operation of Section 64, which states that only work permit holders who satisfy the prescribed circumstances may change employers during the first two years of employment, it poses more questions than answers. HSM raised several red flags that could make the new law unworkable in some areas.
The lawyers questioned the legal definition of a “first-time work permit holder,” as no such concept is found in the law. There is no distinction drawn between first-time permit holders, repeat permit holders or individuals already present and working in the Cayman Islands.
“On its face, the legislation applies to all work permit holders, subject only to the timing of the triggering event, i.e. when the person ‘ceases to be employed’ within two years of the grant of the permit,” the lawyers pointed out, as they asked what it means for existing work permit holders.
“The new Section 64 contains no express limitation to future permits,” HSM stated. “The only potentially relevant transitional provision provides that existing permits ‘shall continue in force until [their] expiration, loss or cancellation’.”
This provision preserves the validity of the permit itself, not the legal regime governing the consequences of termination of employment, the lawyers explained. “It is therefore not clear how this can be a saving provision. It does not preserve the former Section 64, nor does it disapply the new Section 64.”
They continued, “On a strict reading of the statute, existing work permit holders remain ‘persons who are the holder of a work permit’ and if they cease employment within two years of the grant of their permit after 1 May 2026, they would appear to fall within subsection (3), triggering the one-year departure requirement (absent an exemption).”
This means that any current work permit holder can change their employment without satisfying either the special circumstances test under the old law or the prescribed circumstances test under the new law.
“This degree of freedom… does not appear to align with the intention of the Act. This disconnect creates legal uncertainty for both employers and employees, who may reasonably rely on the Government’s public guidance, but whose rights and obligations are ultimately determined by the legislation itself,” the HSM team added.
See all of the regulations, including the new fee schedules, here.
