brendan77

Hi there,

my fiance and I are looking to relocate from the u.k next year. We are interested in the Cayman Islands but are recieving alot of mixed information in terms of how easy it is for U.K citizens to live and work there.

does anyone have any advice about these two topics?

can a u.k citizen go to the cayman isalnds and begin work, as the three cayman isalnds are a u.k dependent territory , or do you require a work permit of some kind?

any info would be much appreciated

louisasurreygirl

You require a work permit which involves being offered a job first - you cannot just turn up there and try and find work (it's not advisable anyway).

Also bear in mind that the work permits take about 2-3 months to get approved from the immigration department there. The only advantage to being a Brit in Cayman is that you do not need to get an actual police clearance certificate (effectively the UK do not issue these anyway), and so you swear an affidavit to say you have had no convictions. Included in the w/p application is a form detailing your background, you will need 3 references and you will need to complete a full medical examination inclusive of HIV test!!

Hope that helps!

JAJ

They Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory but the territory has its own immigration laws which apply to British citizens the same as everyone else.

Getting permanent residence or citizenship in the Caymans is very difficult.

Baz

Most people either go over on holiday and look for work, get a job offer, and then leave the island while the visa is being processed. Your not supposed to, but everyone does it, its not a big deal really, it would be a big deal if you take up employment without a work permit.

The other alternative is gettinga job offer before you get to Cayman, which is also quite common, then you apply for your permit, and then turn up on island once it has been processed.

Cayman is great for a few years, and a very viable option depending on what you work as, its just not a long term option because as mentioned, its very hard to get residency or "status."

irishbloo

I lived in Cayman for a bit many years ago.In fact its where I met my husband.At the time we needed a work permit but we got it through work.We really enjoyed our time there.It did take us a bit to get used to the very slow pace of life.Nobody even walks fast there.Because the Island is so small you can get a bit of cabin fever.Lots of our friends flew to Us for a few days but because of my visa restrictions I wasnt allowed.Good luck.x Irishbloo

solvrite

Hello mate,

My wife and I have recently secured two jobs in Grand Cayman, and we are both British, we will be moving over there next month.

You will require a job offer before you will be issued a work permit. If you secure a job within the government you don't require a work permit at all!

I hope this sheds a little light on it for you.

Solvrite

caribsteve

Hi me and wife lived in cayman for over ten years, she got status as did our son but i never really bothered with it as i was classed as a person married to a caymanian.......however the permit process over there is a pain in the ar$e and alot of red tape nonsense you get no favors for being british i was on a permit for seven years annually renewable.....you would need to either find a job, accept it and get them to apply for a permit for you or go on holiday look for a job while there and get them to apply. the last option is supposed to be illegal but that is how most people do it. Beware it is a lovely place to live, but bloody expensive especially after hurricane ivan destroyed the place in 2004 everything has practically doubled.....but on the flip side the wages you earn will compensate for this, even though over the last few years we were there it got tougher and tougher to save any of it...we left this year in october to move to aus as there is so much more to do here and we have a three year old too......if you are free of kids, dont mind sharing accommodation, love drinking and/or diving it is a brilliant place to go for a couple of years, but dont bank on it for the long term it is near impossible to get residency or status and they now have a seven year roll over to inhibit you further from being eligible for either.

hope this helps, what do you both do i might be able to help you out with jobs, i now nearly everyone there!!!!!!!!!!

take it easy.

steve.

anomadmonk

after having lived in anguilla for two and half years , am now back in the uk

i too would like to move to cayman islands - but dont know anyone there

i am male, 28, single and work in sales - my last job in anguilla involved working with art antiques and furniture

do business such as these exist in the caymans? would be great to get a job over there for a couple of years!

help if you can! cheers

eggcup1234

Hi my boyfriend and i are trying to relocate to the Caribbean. We've thought about Grand cayman but haven't done a great deal of research into other islands.
I'm an accountant and he's an electrician.
It's likely that i'll be able to find work easily but i'm not so sure about him?
Have you had any luck finding work? Are you still planning to go to Cayman?

Shish kebab

I used to live in the Cayman Island and looking to return there. If your husband is looking for work as and electrician there are jobs but they use the USA standards of electric voltage so he would have to do some homework on that as the british certificate will be no good there.

I know someone who came over and got a job as an electrician through good will of someone he new but had to re learn all the American standads and regulations that they used. It worked out for him.

Jobs for an Accountant not hard to find.

sherril

Hi ALL!! My Fiance has been offered a job in Grand Cayman within the construction industry. We are not married so that means I will have to find a job ASAP, I am a wedding planner by trade and am fully certified in the UK,.. Can anyone help point me in the right direction of who to contact etc,..?? also we will be looking to rent an appartment/house on seven mile beach, do any of you know cost?? what we get for out money etc??

Thanks a million!

Shish kebab

Hi if you use this link it is the cayman island phone book you can look up wedding planners in that and any other company some places have web addresses and some you will need to ring A company called celebrations is one of the biggest there they are one of the main flower shops and do weddings. You will need to get a job first and then wait for your work permit that takes about 7-10 weeks before you can go to work I am sure your fiance is waiting for one to go through for him.

As far as living on seven mile beach you will pay a lot of rent for a place there rent can be as high $1'500 to $2'000 cayman dollars £900 to £1'200 pounds per month or higher rough estimate that will be for a one or two bedroom. you will need to pay all your bills on top eg electric gas if you have a gas cooker water and that is on a memeterou pay for what you use even down to flushing the toilet Cable TV. some places rararelyome with all uiutilitiesncluded after hurricane Ivan a lot of people put the rent up really high but a lot went back to the normal rate.

Your best bet is to look up some small hotels to stay in away from seven mile beach to start with while you look for an apartment or ask the company you will be working for if they can help you find a place or know anyone to help you out to start a lot of people do that and my old company used to do that I took a few new cocomersn. The cable and wiwirelesshone book web site is
http://www.candw.ky I hope this will help you.

sherril

Thanks a lot for the info, I emailed Celebrations yesterday and they have asked me to send my CV! I also heard back from Cayman weddings but they wont have anything until the end of the year! I will keep trying,.. If anyone else knows of any other job I could do then please get in touch! I really appreciate all the help!

Shish kebab

If you can't get a job as a wedding planner you could try the retail market these two companies are the biggest on the island always competing with each other I used to work for Kirks. The only thing with working in retail in Cayman is a lot of the money you make is on commission and if you don't make your target you just get the minimum wage not sure what it is now when I left it was $250.00 Cayman. but on the good side if you do well you can make a lot of money on your commission. most of the customers you will get are form the cruise ships. Try and contact Debbie Guyton at Kirk Freeport Plaza, PO Box 893 Cardinal Ave, Grand Cayman, Ky11-1103 she owns the company with her brother there jewellery store is a good one to get into great money in that. the other company is Island companies LTD, PO Box 10063 224 North sound Rd, KY1-1001, Grand Cayman Island. Look them up in the phone book like I gave you and you can see all the different stores they have. You could also look at working in restaurants they make good money oth in the hotels and private ones.

notimetowork

I'm looking for work in the Cayman Islands, as a legal secretary, which apparently is a job employers are crying out for. Not having any luck though, even with years of experience. Does anyone have any suggestions about who to contact?
Anne