Can my family apply to be naturalised?

| 06/08/2018

I am an expat who has worked with the government for the last 10 years. I do not have permanent residency. My daughter and wife are dependants on my contract and they have been here with me during that time except for about a year and a half when my wife was studying overseas and my daughter was with her attending primary school. They do not have PR. My daughter was born in the Cayman Islands and she is 10 plus. Is she eligible to apply for British OT naturalisation, having been here for 10 years? What is the process, if so? Are my wife and I eligible to apply for naturalisation? What is the process? Where can I find the law on this matter?


Advance ChevroletAuntie’s answer: I contacted the Office of the Deputy Governor, which handles questions on naturalisation. If you want to look at the relevant law, the British Nationality Act 1981, which covers British Overseas Territory Citizen (BOTC) naturalisation and registration, you can read all about it here.

But I can also give you the short version. An official explained that a person on a government contract like yourself is not eligible to apply for naturalisation. This is because you are not considered free of immigration restrictions like a person holding PR or someone who possesses the right to be Caymanian or Caymanian status. This would also be true for your dependant wife.

Your daughter, however, is a different matter. For her, the official explained, the law says a “child who was born here and has lived here for the first 10 years of his or her life is eligible to apply for registration as a BOTC”.

Since she spent time overseas, though, you would have to provide an attendance letter from any school she attended while not in Cayman to explain the absences and prove that she was in school.

The form you need for your daughter is the Application for Registration of a Child (under 18) as a British Overseas Territories Citizen, which can be found here.

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Category: Ask Auntie, Immigration Questions

Comments (4)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    I thought that Cayman is covered by European Law, so after 10 years being on the island you have the right to remain indefinatly

    • Anonymous says:

      The child automatically has Permanent Residence under the Immigration Law without even having to apply. Nothing to do with EU Law.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Congratulations. Your child can never be required to leave Cayman and has a right to family life. You just got you an anchor baby. It will be the same for all civil servants even if they do not qualify for PR. Just one price to pay by exempting all civil servants from term limits. Sharon, WORC going to fix this? Like so many issues, it is an easy one to fix.

    • Anonymous says:

      That’s why caymanians being outnumbered there should be a limited amount per person like the UK ONLY SUPPORT 2 children per household it should be the same here