Premier Alden McLaughlin has said that his ministry is considering the challenge that many local people face proving that they are Caymanian by right when applying for work which is seen as another barrier to employment for locals.
Answering a parliamentary question from the member for East End during the Legislative Assembly last week McLaughlin, in his capacity as the minister responsible for immigration, acknowledged that it was difficult for some locals to prove that they are Caymanian, especially when they are asked for the first time later in life.
He said that it is easier for people who have been granted status to prove that they are Caymanian because they get a certificate. Caymanians by right, on the other hand, need to get a letter from the Chief Immigration Officer, and to get that they need to produce a number of documents, including the birth certificates of their parents. Further, this process can take a considerable amount of time.
Cayman Islands does not confer status on people just because they are born here and some people who are not yet Caymanian have a Cayman British Overseas Territories passport in order to avoid falling foul of the immigration law. Employers need to see proof that a local employee is Caymanian and does not need a permit. McLaughlin said the issue of how locals prove their status is forming part of the overhaul of the immigration law as the human resource agency is developed, but he was unable to tell the Legislative Assembly when a solution would be adopted.
He suggested that a possible solution would be for newborns to have their status confirmed at the time of birth so it could be noted on their birth certificate that they are not just born in the territory but that they are born to a Caymanian parent and have status by right.
The Premier warned that without some way of proving someone is Caymanian, there was a danger that people who do not have the right to work without a permit could end up working without one. McLaughlin said that in the end the objective was to ensure those working outside of the immigration regime were truly Caymanians, as he warned of the problem of locals being disadvantaged in the job market, with workers without status securing jobs without a permit.
There are no records at immigration about local people who are Caymanian by right, which presents a problem if persons cannot produce their own birth certificates and also that of their parents’.
