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Couple looking to move, do not need work but need a permit?

Couple looking to move, do not need work but need a permit?

Old Apr 19th 2016, 6:41 pm
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Question Couple looking to move, do not need work but need a permit?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We are a young couple from the UK looking to relocate to the Cayman Islands, we have enough money to sustain ourselves comfortably and I earn a large income from online trading.

After doing a bit of research it seems that we do not have the circa $1.5M required to just move straight over, but we do not need to get a job and therefore can't get a work permit. Could we pay a company to "employ" us with an agreement to not pay a salary, would that just be outright illegal?

Is there another option for us to stay for a minimum of 2 years without getting jobs? This is getting very stressful, it definitely feels like we're going to have a lot of difficulty staying past 6 months regardless of being able to afford to live there.

Please excuse any naivity, and honestly all comments are welcomed and will help a lot.
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Old Apr 19th 2016, 7:55 pm
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Default Re: Couple looking to move, do not need work but need a permit?

Possibly a silly question but why the cayman islands?
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Old Apr 19th 2016, 9:47 pm
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Default Re: Couple looking to move, do not need work but need a permit?

We have spent some extended periods of time in different countries, the Cayman Islands have everything that we're looking for with the massive bonus of the language.
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Old Apr 19th 2016, 9:56 pm
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Default Re: Couple looking to move, do not need work but need a permit?

So what are you looking for? Its not a flippant thing, i chose where i am for specific reasons, i actually rejected the caymens. I could be wrong, but my logic about the place from memory was - there were a lot of positives, but negatives were - Govt that just about tolerated, not wanted ex-pats, expensive, not easy to get the perfect location to build unless extreme investments made, and poor agriculture meaning just about everything was imported.

Last edited by uk_grenada; Apr 19th 2016 at 10:04 pm.
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Old Apr 19th 2016, 9:57 pm
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Default Re: Couple looking to move, do not need work but need a permit?

A way for us to be able to move to the Cayman Islands, ideally!
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Old Apr 19th 2016, 10:15 pm
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Default Re: Couple looking to move, do not need work but need a permit?

Im asking - if you had an option, why there, given imho there are better places to live in the region.

If there are personal reasons why it has to be there, or it is simply to make ise of their fiscal arrangements then of course that is a different kettle of mahi mahi.
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Old Apr 19th 2016, 10:17 pm
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Default Re: Couple looking to move, do not need work but need a permit?

No personal reasons as such. I'd appreciate any info or some links to look into if you have somewhere similar to recommend? Perhaps that isn't quite so difficult to move to
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Old Apr 19th 2016, 10:29 pm
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Default Re: Couple looking to move, do not need work but need a permit?

Originally Posted by amc23x
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We are a young couple from the UK looking to relocate to the Cayman Islands, we have enough money to sustain ourselves comfortably and I earn a large income from online trading.

After doing a bit of research it seems that we do not have the circa $1.5M required to just move straight over, but we do not need to get a job and therefore can't get a work permit. Could we pay a company to "employ" us with an agreement to not pay a salary, would that just be outright illegal?

Is there another option for us to stay for a minimum of 2 years without getting jobs? This is getting very stressful, it definitely feels like we're going to have a lot of difficulty staying past 6 months regardless of being able to afford to live there.
Cayman Islands Immigration and Entry Requirements
Above is a link to the appropriate page of Cayman News Resident; item 4 is the one that you'll need, in the Immigration Requirements section.

It's hard to give you any assurance as to how long you'd be allowed to stay. As uk-Grenada says, the government here does not go out of its way at all to welcome foreigners. The politicians cater to the strong minority of ethnic Caymanians that reckons there are too many furriners here already. Even those of us who have been here for decades are not encouraged to feel welcome. We are "driftwood", and the sooner we drift away, the better.

The result of this is that there are two societies here - born-&-bred Caymanians on the one hand, and the fifty or so expat communities on the other. Britain (the Foreign & Commonwealth Office) tolerates this situation and makes no attempt to change it. My wife and I are very comfortable here, after 38 years of residence, but it's not for everybody. (And, we have had to fight very hard to stay on the Island, at times, even though we own property here.)

You emailed me privately, as well, but I thought it best to reply here on this public forum, in case others have the same questions. I'll be glad to follow up, if you have any further questions.

Last edited by Gordon Barlow; Apr 19th 2016 at 10:35 pm.
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Old Apr 20th 2016, 2:34 am
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Default Re: Couple looking to move, do not need work but need a permit?

Without knowing what you are looking for, your needs/motivations/limitations, its not really possible to assist. You have decided on your island for good reasons i'm sure. Generally - i might suggest a low risk approach of a toe in the water by renting something similar to your eventual aim and living there while you seek a more permanent location/solution and make sure it is really for you.
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Old Apr 20th 2016, 2:43 am
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Default Re: Couple looking to move, do not need work but need a permit?

I do feel for your position.

It must be 'discouraging' to not be accepted as a local after so long in what by now must be home.

Locals here generally appear happy that i a foreigner, have chosen an allegiance to their country - for it to be my home. I guess, Im not a true local, but i have been adopted by many and officialdom seems happy.

Regards


Originally Posted by Gordon Barlow
Cayman Islands Immigration and Entry Requirements
Above is a link to the appropriate page of Cayman News Resident; item 4 is the one that you'll need, in the Immigration Requirements section.

It's hard to give you any assurance as to how long you'd be allowed to stay. As uk-Grenada says, the government here does not go out of its way at all to welcome foreigners. The politicians cater to the strong minority of ethnic Caymanians that reckons there are too many furriners here already. Even those of us who have been here for decades are not encouraged to feel welcome. We are "driftwood", and the sooner we drift away, the better.

The result of this is that there are two societies here - born-&-bred Caymanians on the one hand, and the fifty or so expat communities on the other. Britain (the Foreign & Commonwealth Office) tolerates this situation and makes no attempt to change it. My wife and I are very comfortable here, after 38 years of residence, but it's not for everybody. (And, we have had to fight very hard to stay on the Island, at times, even though we own property here.)

You emailed me privately, as well, but I thought it best to reply here on this public forum, in case others have the same questions. I'll be glad to follow up, if you have any further questions.
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