(CNS): A freedom of information request to Customs and Border Control by a local law firm has revealed that as of August this year there are 19,607 people banned from entering the Cayman Islands. The Stop List held by the agency is part of immigration legislation but it should only apply to prohibited immigrants yet there are thousands of individuals on it that the law never intended to include. There are just 3,412 actual prohibited immigrants and the remainder includes 13,766 persona non grata as well as 472 permanent residents and Caymanians who by law cannot be refused entry.
In their regular email update to their clients in relation to the latest information on immigration issues lawyers at HSM chambers explained that it was not clear how a Caymanian or a permanent resident can be on the stop list, potentially prevented from coming to their home. “As a matter of law they cannot be Prohibited Immigrants because they are specifically excluded from this designation by the relevant legislation,” the lawyers said. “We suspect that these people may have been placed on this list prior to them obtaining the relevant permissions they are now shown as having.”
There are also eleven dead people whose immigration status was unknown who are listed in a category of their own on the list, who the HSM team said are presumably not considering returning to the Cayman Islands in the near future but they presumably are prevented from being buried here or having their bodies or ashes brought here.
“We suspect that this is just an administrative mechanism to record the death of a person previously alive and on the Stop List,” they added, as they tried to make sense of the list.
The category of PNG does not only refer to those diplomats who have been asked to leave the Cayman Islands but also includes people who have opted to be administratively fined or convicted of an offence (anywhere in the world) and been sentenced to imprisonment as well as overstayers. The PNG policy that CBC operates has however not been published published.
“Reliance upon it by the Department, potentially could lead to challenges especially for those who accept an administrative fine rather than challenge the allegation that they have breached the Immigration Act in some way,” the lawyers have warned as they noted some of the more serious aspects of this incredibly long stop list. “It certainly does not appear that WORC specifically warn an individual who is considering accepting an administrative fine that they might well be prevented from coming to the Cayman Islands again.”
HSM said anyone who thinks they are on the list or that they may be placed on it upon arrival in the Cayman Islands should contact the Director of CBC ahead of time and request that they are permitted entry into the Cayman Islands so as to ensure they can enter.
Caymanians and permanent residents by law cannot be refused entry by law cannot be refused entry as they had an unconditional right to enter but customs has said that they maintain a person of interest list foe Caymanians as they may be prohibited from leaving the jurisdiction.
