What is the minimum amount of time required to reside on island every five years to maintain the right to be Caymanian? Can several visits every two years be sufficient if the person has a job overseas?


Auntie’s answer: The Immigration Law (see the complete law here) seems pretty clear on this point, and from what I understand, you cannot simply visit every two years to maintain your status.

Specifically, the law says that the right to be Caymanian granted by the Caymanian Status & Permanent Residency Board may be lost under a few difference scenarios.  The one pertinent to your question is “where the holder has ordinarily resided outside the Islands for a period of five years and can no longer be said to be settled in the Islands”.

See the Revocation (of the Right to be a Caymanian) page of the Department of Immigration.

For a person living in Cayman, the law defines legal and ordinary residence as “a person’s uninterrupted voluntary physical presence in the Islands for a period of time without legal impediment (other than a tourist visitor or transit passenger) during which period the Islands are regarded as his normal place of abode…”.

However, if you go overseas for no more than six months in a row for such things as education, health, vacation or business, you will still be considered a resident.

If you are away for more than six months but less than one year you “shall raise the presumption that there has been a break in residence”.

And, finally, “absences abroad for 12 consecutive months or more shall constitute a break in residence”.

But, as I am far from an expert on these matters, I would recommend you contact the Department of Immigration (949-8344) for further clarification or find an immigration consultant.