Jamaicans Top List For Most Work-Permit Holders In Cayman Islands; 42% of the Total
Currently, there are 36,049 work permit holders in the Cayman Islands, which is a new record that continues to grow daily by around 12 people arriving on a work permit, and Jamaica is responsible for 15,241 of those permits.
The majority of the work permits are issued for manual service works such as cleaning, gardening, and hospitality.
It was evaluated that the work permit holders come from 135 different countries, of which more than 27,500 are from six countries. Jamaica sits at number one and accounts for 15,241 people, or 42% of the total, the Philippines (5,803, or 16.1%), United Kingdom (2,082), India (2,014), Honduras (1,265), and Canada (1,254).
Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman (WORC) released the most recent statistics showing that the number of expatriate workers has increased by almost 1,900 since the end of February. However, there are growing concerns amongst Cayman citizens about the ever-increasing numbers.
As a result of the lack of suitable housing, school places, traffic congestion and the impact on the island’s natural resources, many believe that the numbers reflect an unsustainable situation. Moreover, a report published eight months ago on the National Census indicates it needs updating.
It was HSM Chambers, a local law firm specializing in immigration work, who were given access to the latest WORC numbers, as they have been doing their best to draw public attention to the perceived unsustainable situation.
There are currently at least 40,000 foreign nationals living in Cayman most of them do not have permanent residency rights, according to HSM.
It is estimated that more than 1,000 people are working at Cayman Enterprise City who is waiting for residency applications, as well as people in jail, who are in Cayman through the Global Citizen Programme, and who are waiting to become residents.
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