Divorce and applying for PR
I have been on island for the past 9 1/2 years and currently married to a Caymanian for four years. I received my RERC (Residency and Employment Rights Certificate) in 2015, which will expire in 2022. We have no kids together. My wife and I are having marital problems and she wants a divorce. My question is: Seeing that I have not applied for PR at the nine-year term limit, can I still apply for PR if I get a divorce? I was told that I was too late with the filing and may have to leave the island and reapply for a work permit and start the process all over. Is there any other avenue to get PR for men like me? I am gainfully employed and have the designated points for PR.
Auntie’s answer: What you were told about starting over to be eligible to apply for permanent residence is correct. An official with the Department of Immigration explained that the answer is in the law.
Section 30(1) of the Immigration Law (2015 Revision) says, “Any person who has been legally and ordinarily resident in the Islands for a period of at least eight years but not more than nine years” may apply to be granted PR. You clearly fall under that restriction.
The only way forward is as you describe. The official said that if you get divorced and then apply for and are granted a work permit, the date of that new permit restarts your PR clock, as it were. That means you would then get another nine years on the island and could apply for PR after eight years have passed.
Category: Ask Auntie, Immigration Questions
Auntie. The answer you have been given appears to be a nonsense. The person would have been continuously legally and ordinarily resident for more than 9 years and so is prevented from ever applying for PR unless they leave Cayman for at least a year first. The term limit clock and the PR clock are different.
In a previous post Auntie stated that “an individual may apply for Caymanian status if they have been legally resident on Island for 15 years, or held their naturalisation for a minimum of five years, whichever comes first”. So is it not the case that this person could get a work permit and then in 5 years apply for status and avoid the whole PR situation? Also would the person not be able to mount a court challenge for PR if they are over the 10 year residency mark? It seems to me that this person has quite a few possible options… go see an immigration lawyer (HSM)
PR and BOTC Naturalisation are pre-requisites to Caymanian Status (outside of Cabinet Grant method).
Looking paypas
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